Pre-service and practicing teachers get practical help for preparing for the challenging California Reading Initiative Competency Assessment (RICA(R)) in a unique case study approach that covers all domains, concepts, strategies, and assessment required by RICA(R). This is the ideal resource for pre-service teachers who want practice in synthesizing and analyzing assessment and strategies for reading in the K--8 classroom, for credential candidates who need to prepare to succeed in taking the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA(R)), and for in-service teachers who want to enhance their assessment and instruction, while increasing students' learning. The book's unique organization includes a set of case studies at each grade level, followed by a section to assist teachers with brainstorming their knowledge as a first step in writing responses in narrative form. Following this, teachers get a section of strategic ideas that should be covered in writing their plan, as well as a sample narrative. The cases cover the diversity of student profiles in California's school population; represent all elementary grade levels; include a wide variety of scenarios for whole classes, groups, and individual students; cover the five domains required by the RICA(R); and present a full range of ready-to-use instructional strategies.