ILS – Individuell Läsning och Skrivning för årskurs 7 och 9

ILS – Individual Reading and Writing Grades 7 and 9 is a Finnish-Swedish, research-based and standardized mapping material for systematic monitoring of students' reading and writing skills in the higher grades. Reading and writing skills develop throughout compulsory school, but difficulties may only become apparent in grades 7–9 when the demands increase. Systematic mapping enables the identification of difficulties, monitoring of support measures, well-founded pedagogical decisions and prevention of dropouts and motivation problems. It also strengthens the transition to the second stage. The material maps three central areas: reading fluency (decoding and automation), spelling and reading comprehension (grade 7 in printed form, grade 9 digitally). Together, these provide a comprehensive picture of the student's skills. ILS contains both group and individual tasks. The group tasks provide an overview of the class's level and help identify students at risk. Individual tasks enable in-depth analysis, qualitative information about reading aloud and basis for individually adapted support. Students with results at the 25th percentile or lower are recommended to have individual follow-up. The material is standardized in Finnish-Swedish schools (grade 7 in the fall, grade 9 in the spring) and several tasks are common with the ILS for grades 1–5. This enables long-term follow-up of reading and writing development from the start of school to grade 9. The material includes guidance, administration instructions, forms, test protocols, answer keys, norm tables and copying and printing materials. The group tasks take approximately 2–35 minutes per part and individual tasks approximately 10 minutes per student. The material is particularly suitable for special needs teachers, Swedish teachers and other professional groups with expertise in reading and writing development.