The study examines performance on an evaluation instrument for classroom use for the purpose of improving instruction that focuses on awareness of language in reading and writing. Findings are reported on the piloting of the first in a series of literacy assessments with students from a rural elementary school in Ecuador. All students who participated in the pilot study are first language speakers of the language of instruction, Spanish. The report follows up on two recent studies on: awareness of language in self-correction (writing ability of bilingual and second language learners, Mexico), and overall literacy attainment comparing boys and girls in rural schools in Latin America with the objective of confirming or disconfirming recent UNESCO estimates of gender parity. The authors present a proposal for monitoring literacy learning in elementary school that will help teachers to integrate teaching and evaluation, an approach that can more effectively link classroom testing to actual instructional practice and student learning outcomes. Further development of the materials presented for discussion can be especially useful for monitoring progress in second language learning and bilingual development.