Abstract

Good literacy instruction depends on knowing about each child’s reading and writing behavior. Teachers need a good authentic assessment that provides a description of the child’s literacy strengths and weaknesses. The Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement (Clay, 2005a) is an authentic, systematic observation tool that is used to assess children’s current reading and writing knowledge and ability. The survey’s varied tasks can reveal patterns of literacy behavior indicating a child’s strengths and weaknesses. Sensitive observations can provide the teacher with the information necessary to make appropriate instructional decisions. A description of how data from the Observation Survey facilitates development of appropriate literacy instruction to support first graders’ continued growth in reading and writing is presented and discussed.