Test of Thoughtful Literacy (TOTL): Multiple Choice Informal Reading Inventory

Information about Assessment 

Test of Thoughtful Literacy (TOTL) is a research based assessment constructed by literacy professionals after years of investigation in fostering proficient readers. This higher-level (inferential and critical thinking) multiple-choice assessment is designed to identify a child’s current reading level. It can also be used to determine areas of strength and areas of concern in a student’s thinking for text based, inferential, and critical response questions. General and special education classroom teachers in 2nd through 12th grade can use this assessment. It is correlated directly to NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress). Ideally, this assessment would be used to identify a quick reading level for each child in the classroom. This would allow a teacher to differentiate and develop approaches to meet the needs of each learner. This normally would be extensive testing done by a reading specialist in a pull out session; however, this assessment will allow a teacher to get a general level of comprehension.  

Reading Levels of Passages

The TOTL assessment contains two narrative passages per reading level that originate from the Critical Reading Inventory (Applegate, Quinn, Applegate, n.d.). The levels range from 2nd grade through 8th grade. Grade levels are indicated with 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, etc. This allows this assessment to be sensitive to struggling readers so it can be used with older grade levels. Two passages allow for this assessment to be utilized as a pre and post test. Professional development is available for progress monitoring that can be used to support student growth throughout an academic school year. For more information on these opportunities, please reach out to catherinemariegibbons@gmail.com.

Full Link to Overview and Administration of this Multiple Choice Informal Reading Inventory for Narrative Reading