FOUNTAS & PINNELL Benchmark Assessment System

1. FOUNTAS & PINNELLBenchmark Assessment System Learning about children’s reading abilities

2. Purposes of Fountas & Pinnell: • To teach teachers how to do Running Records to find INSTRUCTIONAL level. • Using standardized coding, comprehension and fluency rubrics, and questions within, beyond, and about the text. • Regular running records should be as valid as Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark assessments. • To develop inter-rater reliability within the school and district. Done twice a year. As teachers become proficient regular monthly running records and Fountas and Pinnell Benchmarks should match.

3. INVENTORY YOUR KIT • Benchmark Books • Assessment Guide Book • Assessment Forms Book (big spiral) • Optional Assessments Student Forms Book • Continuum of Literacy Learning Guide Book • Calculator/Stopwatch • DVD case

4. BEFORE THE TEST • Gather materials: • Where-to-start word lists, if needed. • Benchmark book • Recording form and pen • Fountas & Pinnell Timer/Calculator

5. THE RECORDING FORM

6. COMPREHENSION

7. STANDARDIZED CODING

8. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS • Proper Nouns: When a student makes the same error repeatedly, only count as an error one time. • Titles are not part of running words • Information found in text features are not part of running words. Have students read the captions, charts and graphs after completing the running record.

9. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS • Observe and note student reading behaviors. • Students may look back in the text to answer questions, but the teacher should not prompt them to do so during the running record. During guided reading instruction teach students to look back as a strategy for comprehension. • As the professional, the teacher makes placement decisions based on the Fountas & Pinnell assessment, running records, and daily guided reading observations. It is not necessary to do a Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark to change a student’s guided reading level or group. • Testing is always done on a book the student has never read before. (a cold read)

10. For students above Level Z • Find a text at an appropriate Lexile level for the student. Search internet for text above “1200L” or use the website www.lexile.com/fab/ to help find a text. • Do a running record on the text. • Use informational or literature comprehension stems found on the CBL website for the comprehension conversation.

11. Using the Calculator/Stopwatch • Turn calculator on. • When student begins to read, press “Start Time.” • When student finishes, press “End Time.” • Press RW and enter words read. Number is found on front of the Benchmark Book. • Pres “#Errors” and enter number of errors the student made. • Press “#SC” and enter the number of self corrections the student made. • The blue keys will give you important information about the student’s reading. Record this information on the recording form.

12. RW vs. Total Running Words • RW is on the front of the book. Total running words is on the back of the book. • RW is the same as total running words for Levels A-J, but is not for levels I-Z. • Always use the RW on the front of the book for your calculations. • For Levels I and above, students read aloud to the black box in the text, then read silently to the end of the book.

13. Interpreting the Assessment • Teachers should check for error patterns to identify student needs for instruction. • Compare current and previous running records to determine error patterns and to measure progress. • Use the Guided Reading Rubric as a tool to determine student’s instructional reading levels. http://cbl.jordandistrict.org/reading/guided/ • Use the within, beyond, and about questions included in the assessment to determine the student’s comprehension of the text. http://cbl.jordandistrict.org/reading/guided/

14. Role of Fluency • Remember fluency is more than rate. Fluency also includes pausing, phrasing, stress, and intonation, which is sometimes referred to as prosody. • Use the fluency rubric found on the recording form to determine appropriate fluency levels for students. • Fluency is important because it can impact comprehension. If accuracy and comprehension meet the benchmark, move the student to the next instructional level and continue working on fluency.

15. FluencyRubric

16. Suggested Fluency Rates • Level A-B texts do not have suggested rates.