This manual is about the assessment, evaluation, and documentation of literacy development and growth in a student's early years of public schooling in North Carolina and is aligned with and complements the state's revised English Language Arts Standard Course of Study and Grade Level Competencies. The manual offers a perspective for change and challenge as educators at all levels of involvement continually address the goals of producing a literate, productive citizenry. The manual is divided into the following parts: Part A: Formative and Summative Assessment (Introduction and Notes to the User; State Board of Education Policy; Reading Continuum Summative Profile); Part B: Screening for Stages of Reading (Introduction; Running Record; Oral Reading Strategies Analysis); Part C: Language, Comprehension, and Response to Text Including Spelling and Writing (Language, Comprehension, and Response to Text; Spelling and Writing Summative Profile); and Part D: Targeted Assessment of Reading Competencies (Book and Print Awareness; Phonemic Awareness; Decoding and Word Recognition; Reading Skills Assessed in Connected Texts). (NKA)