There are many ways to evaluate students, and we choose to keep formal testing to a minimum. The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) is an informal evaluation given to students who are pre-readers through the 8th grade reading level. This screening is administered at the beginning of the school year to help us informally determine each child’s reading level or reading readiness for pre-readers. It is administered in the spring to measure growth in the areas of reading. The Iowa Assessments, a nationally norm-referenced test, is administered in the spring to measure aptitude.