This primer provides the basic information that teachers and tutors need to get started on the complex process of reading assessment. Designed for maximum utility in today's standards-driven classroom, the primer presents simple, practical assessment strategies that are based on theory and research. It takes teachers step by step through learning to recognize "good reader" behaviors, assessing each student's strengths and weaknesses, analyzing the evidence collected, and making instructional decisions. The primer discusses using formal and informal measures for a variety of purposes, including assessment of emergent literacy, word identification, fluency, comprehension, and motivation for reading. It includes concrete examples and sample assessment materials. The primer is divided into the following chapters: (1) Overview of the Reading Process: What Do Good Readers Do, and How Do Teachers and Tutors Assess This?; (2) Assessments as Part of Instruction: How Can We Assess What We Teach?; (3) The Informal Reading Inventory Process: How Does It Address the Three Purposes of Reading Assessment?; (4) Early Literacy: What Do We Need to Know about Beginning Readers?; (5) Word Identification: How Can We Assess a Student's Word Identification Ability?; (6) Reading Fluency: How Can We Assess Reading Fluency?; (7) Comprehension of Narrative and Expository Text: How Can We Address Understanding of Stories and Textbooks?; (8) Motivation: What Makes Students Want to Read, and How Can We Assess This?; and (9) Standardized Tests: What Do They Tell Us about Reading Performance? Concludes with a general summary. Contains 130 references. (NKA)