What Is Dynamic Assessment and Why Does It Matter?
- National Center on Improving Literacy
- Jun 23
- 1 min read
Updated: Jul 2
Dynamic assessment is a testing approach that focuses on how well a student can learn something new as opposed to what a student currently knows. It combines features of single timepoint or “static” assessment and multiple timepoint assessment to predict reading problems.
Dynamic Assessment
Brief assessment appropriate for identifying reading risk.
Provides key information about a student’s response to instruction.
Single Timepoint (Static)
Measures reading skill at the time of administration.
May over-identify risk for students from varied backgrounds, languages, traditions, and beliefs.
Multiple Timepoints
Measures development of reading skill via multiple assessments given over time.
May be used when diagnosing dyslexia.
Benefits of a Dynamic Assessment (DA) of Decoding:
Accurate Prediction
Petersen et al. found the DA of decoding in kindergarten predicted reading problems in 2nd through 5th grade more accurately than static tests.
Statistical Bias Reduction
DA can be used to screen incoming students as early as kindergarten because it does not measure prior knowledge, but the ability to learn.
Early Identification
Petersen et al. found that static tests disproportionately overidentified Hispanic students’ reading risk, while DA mitigated this bias.
Efficiency
The DA used by Petersen et al. took approximately 3 minutes per student to administer.
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Suggested Citation
National Center on Improving Literacy. (2023). What Is Dynamic Assessment and Why Does It Matter? https://www.improvingliteracy.org/resource/what-is-dynamic-assessment-and-why-does-it-matter
References
Petersen, D. B., Gragg, S. L., & Spencer, T. D. (2018). Predicting reading problems 6 years into the future: Dynamic assessment reduces bias and increases classification accuracy. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 49(4), 875–888.
