1. Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System
CCTCA 2017
Presented by
Erin Warburton
Dr. Oakley School

2. Why Conduct an Informal Reading Assessment?
To guide teacher practice
To organize guided reading groups
To help students in selecting “just right” books
To stock classroom or school libraries with books that students can access
To have a starting benchmark in order to measure progress

3. Or, as Fountas and Pinnell say...
“By observing students one-on-one as they read original, precisely leveled books, and engaging in comprehension conversations that go beyond retelling, teachers are better able to make informed decisions and connect assessment to instruction”.

4. Kits 1 and 2
Kit 1 is levels A-N, approximately kindergarten/grade 1 through grade 2
Kit 2 is levels L-Z, approximately grade 3 through grade 8

5. What’s In the Assessment Kit?
Assessment Guide- information on how to use this tool
Assessment Forms
CDs- includes assessment forms, data management forms and professional development information
Optional Assessment Student Forms- word lists
Continuum of Literacy Learning- information about each reading level and related literacy lessons
One fiction and one non-fiction book for every level
Calculator/Stopwatch tool

6. Where-to-Start Word Lists
Ask student to read the list one level below his/her grade level
3rd graders should begin with the grade 2 word lists*
If the student reads 16 to 20 words on the list correctly, go to the next level
If the student reads less than 16 words correctly, then stop and begin the text reading at the level indicated in the “Where-to-Start” chart

7. Assessment Procedures “Administering the Benchmark Assessment”
Movie Clip
Assessment Procedures
“Administering the Benchmark Assessment”
** Comprehension and story length relevant to levels L-N are in fact true for levels L-Z

8. Reading Assessment Procedures
Photocopy required “Recording Forms” for oral reading starting at the “Where to Start” level suggested on the Word Lists testing
Work one-to-one with a student
Show the student the book
Read the introduction aloud to the student
Start calculator/stopwatch
Student starts reading while teacher records miscues on record sheet
If the student encounters the black rectangle, stop the calculator/stopwatch and ask the student to read silently until the end of the book

9. Teacher analyses miscues, records fluency score and calculates reading rate
Ask the general question: What happened in the book?
After, read the question prompts if more information is needed
Key understandings include:
Within the Text
Beyond the Text
About the Text – starts at Level L
Bonus point for additional understanding

10. Oral Reading Analysis Miscues include: Substitutions Omissions
Insertions
Skipping lines
Words “told” by the Teacher
You need to record all student miscues
You do not need to use the exact miscue coding indicated in the test manual
You can create your own marking system

11. Unique Scoring Criteria
If the student misreads the same word several times in a text it is one error each time missed.
If the student misreads the same proper noun several times in a text it is one error the first time and no error after that even if a different substitution is made.
If the student skips a line it is one error per word skipped.
If the student asks the teacher for a word, first say “you try it”, if they get it right it is not a miscue.

12. Scoring: Special Cases
If a student skips a full page of print intervene and tell them - do not count this as an error.
No matter how many attempts a student makes at a word, score only one error for each word.
If a student loses their place ask them to start over at a good starting point and restart your coding – do not count this as an error.
While we may not personally agree with the F&P scoring criteria we need to apply them consistently or the test results become less valid

13. Oral Reading demonstration

14. Partner Practice Work in a group of 2 (student and teacher)
The “student” reads the story “as printed” - Be aware it contains errors
The “teacher” records the student’s miscues
Discuss the miscues and determine an accuracy rate

15. Oral Reading Analysis and Accuracy Rate
REVIEW
Oral Reading Analysis and Accuracy Rate

20. Oral Reading Analysis/Accuracy Rate
Total of 7 errors and 2 self corrections
97% accuracy rate – continue with comprehension conversation

21. Scoring: Oral Reading (Decoding)
Levels A-K
Levels L-Z
Independent Levels A-K
% accuracy
Instructional Levels A-K
-90-94% accuracy
Independent Levels L-Z
% accuracy
Instructional Levels L-Z
-95-97% accuracy
If the student does not meet the minimum accuracy threshold do not ask the comprehension questions.

22. Determining Reading Levels
Levels A-K
A student can read this text independently if they can decode % of the words accurately, with excellent or satisfactory comprehension
A student can read this text instructionally if they can decode % of the words accurately, with satisfactory or excellent comprehension
Or, a student can read this text instructionally if they can decode % of the words accurately with limited comprehension

23. Determining Reading Levels
Levels L-Z
A student can read this text independently if they can decode % of the words accurately, with excellent or satisfactory comprehension
A student can read this text instructionally if they can decode % of the words accurately, with satisfactory or excellent comprehension
Or, a student can read this text instructionally if they can decode % of the words accurately with limited comprehension

24. When Do I Stop?
Continue testing until the text is too hard (oral reading is lower than 90% accuracy for Levels A-K OR lower than 95% accuracy for Levels L-Z OR comprehension is unsatisfactory)
A student can be instructional over several levels
It may take several reading sessions before a difficult level is reached

25. Writing Assessment
For every book, there is a “Writing About Reading Prompt”
This assessment is optional
Teachers may choose to use this assessment in order to see if the student can produce writing that relates to a given criteria
Background knowledge would have been activated through the reading

26. Miscue Analysis Why did the student make that miscue (error)?
Only analyze errors of substitution.
Only do a miscue analysis on their highest instructional level.
When analyzing miscues, only read up to the point where the miscue occurred.
Ex: A sentence reads, “I went to the kitten and picked her up”, and the student reads “I went to the kitchen and picked her up”. When examining this miscue, we will only read “I went to the kitchen”, as this is all the information the student had when they made the error.

27. Miscues might be...
Meaning. Ask yourself: does the error make sense in the context of the story read so far?
Some examples include:
“dance” read instead of “ballet”
“puppy” read instead of “dog”
“apple” read instead of “apricot”

28. Miscues might be...
Structural/Syntax. Ask yourself, does the miscue follow English language rules for grammar and syntax?
(Syntax and structure miscues almost always occur with either visual or meaning miscues)

29. Miscues might be…
Visual. Ask yourself: is there a visual similarity between the miscue and the word?
Some examples include:
“cool” for “cold”
“sweat” for “sweet”
“throg” for“through”

30. Miscues might be… Two or three of M,S,and V.
Examples: the text reads “We went to the photographer to get our photos taken”.
The student reads “we went to the photocopier to get our photos taken”
We only look at “we went to the photocopier”
Ask: does it make sense? Can we go to photocopiers? Yes.
Does it follow the syntax rules of our language? Yes.
Are there similarities between the letters/words photographer and photocopier? Yes.
This miscue is M,S,V

31. Movie Clip “Miscue Analysis” F & P Professional Development CD
“Elliot’s Analysis”

32. Continuum of Literacy Learning and IPP Targets
Consider a specific literacy behaviour on which to focus instruction.
Reflect punctuation through appropriate pausing and intonation while reading orally (Level E)
Take apart compound words to solve them (Level H)
Self correct when errors detract from the meaning of the text (Level L)
Infer characters feeling and motivations through reading their dialogue (Level M)
Understand the relationship between the setting and the plot of a story (Level M)

33. Continuum of Literacy Learning and IPP Targets
Consider a specific literacy behaviour on which to focus instruction.
Express changes in ideas or knowledge after reading a tex (Level O)
Notice and interpret figurative language and discuss how it adds to the meaning or enjoyment of text (Level S)
Talk about how the author built interest and suspense across a story (Level V)
Evaluate whether social issues and different cultural groups are accurately represented in a fiction or non-fiction text (Level Y)

34. Questions?

35. Contact Information
Erin Warburton