Subject: English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): K – 8
Measures Growth: Yes
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The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System is a tool for for one-on-one assessment that matches students' instructional and independent reading abilities to the Fountas & Pinnell A-Z Text Level Gradient. Two assessment systems are available by grade level: System 1 assesses students in grades K-2; System 2 assesses grades 3-8.
Pros: Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Results returned quickly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Cons: Difficult to administer
Very time consuming, especially when required to be given to all students. Very effective when used to establish reading level and ares of concern for below and approaching standard readers.
Submitted by Kevin in Washington on May 11, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Provides an accurate assessment of independent reading levels. The system provides me with the "next steps" for each student. I write my guided reading plans accordingly. The books are interesting for the children and challenging for strategy assessment.
Submitted by Fran in New York on April 23, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
The Benchmark assessment is the only one which measures progress throughout the year. It tells me each child's independent reading level. It allows me to group students accurately. We are required to use Reading Street and the GRADE exams, but I supplement those assessments with the individually administered Benchmark to take a close look at my students' skills.
Submitted by Noel in Massachusetts on April 19, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly
Our students have made great gains through using this assessment. They have moved up several levels through the year. The assessment focuses on comprehension; while also providing me with clues as to what issues they may have while decoding. SUPER!
Submitted by Laura in Massachusetts on April 18, 2013
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Results returned quickly
Cons: Difficult to administer • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
inappropriate for kinders
Submitted by a in Wisconsin on April 14, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Pros: Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
This assessment gives a true picture of how a student is reading, mostly because the student reads an actual book and is given the time to work through the text. It not only allows the teacher to assess accuracy, it also allows the teacher to see how a student is going about the process of reading. What decoding strategies are they using? Are they self-monitoring for meaning as they read? Are they engaging with the text? The teacher can assess comprehension not only by the responses students provide after reading the text, but also by paying attention to their comments as they read the book.
The only con to this assessment is that it is very time-consuming. However, it's value makes up for the time it takes to administer it. If I could choose only 1 assessment to give my students it would be this assessment!
Submitted by Denise in Oregon on April 14, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
This assessment assesses successful reading level, comprehension, fluency, accuracy, and self-correct rate. It can also include writing. Truly and accurately assessing all these areas of reading for each child, DOES take more time than other tests, BUT other tests are less complete, far less accurate, way less child-centered, less individualized, and provide less information as to next instructional moves. 45 minutes to an hour per child three times a year really shouldn't be looked at as too much time spent assessing. It's important info that we need to gather, and it has to be
a good overall look at each child. This DOES take time, but is very much worth it for assessors who fully understand the wealth of information this assessment provides. Perhaps we've gotten to used to the quick assessments that really tell us very little about each student's growth and needs.
Submitted by cynthia in Vermont on April 14, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System/s is a tool for for one-on-one assessment of children in grades K -8 that matches students' instructional and independent reading abilities to the Fountas & Pinnell A-Z Text Level Gradient. It helps provide a level for the child being assessed, shows which strategies the child is using and which are being neglected, and, over time will demonstrate a child's growth in reading levels. It may be a bit time consuming particularly as passages increase in length over time.
Submitted by Rosina in Ohio on April 13, 2013
Pros: Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly
I have always found the F & P assessment essential to my reading assessment of 2nd graders because I can quickly get specific information about strengths and weaknesses while leveling for reading progress. Unfortunately, I now have to abandon balanced literacy to be locked into a "core curriculum", so I am no longer encouraged to use F &P (but I still do for select students).
Submitted by Julie in Michigan on April 12, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly
I like this assessment system because it aligns with my philosophy about balanced literacy. Our team uses both kits 1 and 2 to assess our wide range of readers. I certainly work with students who are reading at a much lower level than "standard", and kit 1 is equally as essential to assessing these readers as kit 2. One area that is tricky is that each assessment takes about 15-20 minutes. To assess an entire class for report cards requires either 2 full sub days or a few weeks of abandoning reading instruction. Most importantly, the data I collect helps me grow the learner in literacy, especially when I combine my analysis of the IRR and areas for growth with reading instruction (either whole group or small group), word study, and writing instruction.
Submitted by Jenny in Washington on April 11, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Cons: It is hard to use the data
Some of the data is hard to interpret for some kids but at least I have hard data and can share it with co-workers for their thoughts. It is very time consuming to Benchmark properly...10-25 min. per student. Because of the time factor, I worry that some teachers only do the running record but not the full comprehension asssessment. At first I thought this was a waste of time because "I know where my students are in their reading!" Now, I teach by the motto "when in doubt, BENCHMARK!" I Benchmark all of my students at least twice a year. In between, I benchmark the kids who are "Iffy" in their comprehension so I can justify moving them up a level or NOT moving them up a level. It definitely helps guide my instruction when I take time to analyze the errors.
Submitted by Michael-Ann in Utah on April 11, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Cons: Difficult to administer
it is hard to complete in a timely fasion with the students that we have... doing this while trying to maintain a class is often difficult. I do appreciate the results... I wish there were more that 2 books per level... some kids are able to memorize the book and questions
Submitted by amanda in Illinois on April 11, 2013
Cons: Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Difficult to administer
I would appreciate a more succinct method for evaluation of students. There are too many pieces to manage for quick assessment. I have found the time necessary to administer the evaluation to be too costly for the time period I'm allowed during the day. I want one quick list to consult for evaluation, not three or more pieces of paper. Have a laminated guide for quick calculation. Often I can pin exactly where the student should be placed. Other times I have to have the student read three or four samples in order to discover the comprehension level. I do not recommend this and wish that I did not have to use this district-mandated method.
Submitted by Heat in Nebraska on April 10, 2013
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Does not assess higher-order thinking
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly
Cons: Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
The cons for this test greatly outweigh the pros. My district requires me to give this assessment three times a year. The six days total it takes me to administer is not worth the results. There is only one fiction and nonfiction booklet for each level, and does not help me assess the standards I have to teach.
Submitted by Anne in New York on April 10, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
I have found this to be a useful resource as it gives me more useful data than other assessments I have used. Also, the format of 1-1 gives me that value of observing the student as he/she decodes, rereads, self-corrects, analyzes, etc. so that I get insight into the strengths each child has and can note areas in which to give some intervention or extra attention. I don't find it to be as time-consuming as some complain about, and the diagnostic aspect of it is of great value and informs my instructional decisions.
Submitted by Stephen in Washington on April 10, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
The Fountas and Pinnell assessment is a quality, valid assessment of student reading. However, since it is primarily an oral test, it does not catch students who struggle with written directions (functional reading), or written expression. Another issue is that teachers need lots of training and practice to learn to administer. Of particular concern is the comprehension conversation. Many teachers simply ask the prompt questions. When administered this way, it is difficult to see higher order thinking. When the prompts are used to engage a student in a meaningful conversation, that is when you truly see what the student is (or is not) capable of understanding independently. This is tricky and requires practice.
Submitted by Denise in Connecticut on April 10, 2013
Pros: Assesses higher-order thinking
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
The F&P test is way too long for classroom teachers to administer. It should be administered by a third party (ex: reading coaches and reading teachers) to have accurate test validity.
Submitted by Lisa in Wisconsin on April 10, 2013
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Data is presented clearly
Students who read above grade level take a longer time to administer the Benchmark test on the F & P. It is also a very subjective test. Any teacher can make it say what they want it to say. Schools should limit the personel who give the test. A possibility might be to have reading teachers give the tri-annual tests, instead of each classroom teacher, in order to get more consistent reading scores across the board. Many times there are many discrepencies from one teacher's test score compared to another.(From one year to the next)
Submitted by Elena in New York on April 9, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
This assessment gives a good overview of a student's reading ability. You can get a picture of the student's accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. However, the comprehension, like with most assessments, seems to be skewed to lower level thinking skills.
Submitted by Allison in Michigan on April 9, 2013
Pros: Assesses higher-order thinking
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
When administering this assessment to Kindergarteners, each running record takes about 10-15 per student. What are the other students doing while I do this test? Plus, all the background noise can interfer with the student who is reading.
Our school is nice enough to pay for a full day sub (once a year) just so we can pull the students from the class and have authentic scores. But we gives this test four times during the year! Plus, the words introduced in the stories don't follow the words introduced in our Read Well curriculum. Therefore, it's just an extra test that does not guide my instruction. If I could give less then one star on this test, I would.
Submitted by Allison in California on April 9, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
This assessment does require 1:1 time with each student, but I found it is well worth the time investment. We do this 4X a year, since we need to set a baseline upon entry, then each quarter thereafter. This assessment ties directly to the leveled readers I use in my kindergarten classroom.
Submitted by Ginny in Vermont on April 9, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data
We call received our materials three years ago. Our intentions are good at the start of each year, but thie assessment takes time we don't have to use properly. Years ago, we would select a passage, set a time and have students read. We updated our network and went to Aimsweb. When we received our Fountas & Pinnell, I felt we were headed backwards. I can progress monitor ten students by computerized Aimsweb in the time it takes to assess one student using F&P.
Submitted by Susan in Illinois on April 9, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Difficult to administer • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
This takes around 5-7 minutes per student to administer so timewise it's a beast. It tends to give the same information--data--that I already know about the majority of my students. So it's pretty much a backup of what I already know. The results for 1 student are available right away but when you must test 30 students, a month can go by before you get through them all. Only doing this twice in a year isn't enough. I would rather use it with a few students and check them once a month. Even better, would be to use a different tool.
Submitted by Karla in Minnesota on April 9, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
I enjoy the time I get to spend with each student formally assessing reading progress. The F&P Benchmark helps me plan for small group instruction and independent conferencing. In addition, F&P helps me to plan for whole group instruction - I can see where I need to fill in gaps and where I excel as a teacher of reading. The testing does take awhile, however, and I wish that I had more time for these required assessments.
Submitted by Jennifer in Washington on April 9, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Useful for formative assessment practices, teacher friendly, not cumbersome.... addresses five essential components of reading. Also opportunity to evaluate vocabulary knowledge.
Submitted by Patrice in Massachusetts on April 9, 2013
Cons: Not aligned to the standards I teach • Does not assess higher-order thinking • Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time
Fountas & Pinnell is time consuming and addresses little beyond basic comprehension.
Submitted by Wendi in Vermont on April 9, 2013
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment provides ability level assessments which helps to identify and address students' individual academic needs. This is a great assessment tool to use for strategic data planning.
Submitted by Beverly in Illinois on May 18, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
This assessment is a must have for teachers using a balanced literacy model. This assessment measures growth in fluency, decoding, and comprehension. I wish it had a few more titles for each reading level to use with the students who don't pass a level after two tries. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the assessment.
Submitted by Gabriela in California on May 17, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Pros: Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly
Cons: Results are not returned quickly
It is a good guide to help teachers to see where students are. It is comprehensive and teachers do need time to be acclimated with the program to adminster it well. The program however cannot be used solely and works well with other reading programs such as Reading Streets which Boston currently uses.0
Submitted by Teresa in Massachusetts on April 5, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year
Is helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
Submitted by Telesa in Tennessee on March 31, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Cons: Difficult to administer • It is hard to use the data
This assessment measures decoding and reading comprehension. It is a powerful tool if it is used 3 or 4 times a years to measure progress. It is too time consuming to use for all our middle schoolers and it is most helpful to place students on a guided reading. This is difficult then to measure the progress of higher level readers in our classrooms.
Submitted by Marney in Massachusetts on February 28, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly
The program is well-organized for assessing student reading levels. The biggest draw backs is that there are not enough books at each grade level, so students who struggle to move reading levels end up reading the same books over again when assessed, which doesn't yield the most accurate results. If you have to give the test orally, it takes forever; however, it is more manageable when student write their own responses. Also, the program is only in Spanish to a certain level so students above level M in Spanish cannot use this assessment. Finally the teacher must be trained properly to give this assessment because it is scored subjectively and student scores may vary greatly, depending on who is grading the assessment.
Submitted by Marilyn in Illinois on February 28, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year
Cons: Difficult to administer • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
Fountas and Pinnell System 2 assesses up to grade 8. However, the process of going through the different leveled books by grades 6-8 takes a substantial amount of time. At the middle school level there is a lot more opportunity to talk through the readings at a higher level. I found myself taking at least a half hour with all of the students I assessed so far.
Also, the results can vary greatly depending on the genre of the book (fiction or non fiction). I find the process of matching kids to leveled books at an independent and instructional level cumbersome.
Nonetheless, I am a full supporter of the reading workshop model and believe that student choice with a variety of books is essential to loving reading. Fountas and Pinnell can give a direction to go to when deciding what books to match up up with lower level readers.
Submitted by Amy in Massachusetts on February 13, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
This assessment system is essential for any elementary teacher using a balanced literacy model. As a Kindergarten teacher, I'm frustrated by the fact that computer-based standardized assessments are seldom age appropriate or aligned to Kindergarten standards. The F & P benchmark system, on the other hand, helps me quickly and accurately capture my students' individual growth on measures that really matter, like fluency, comprehension, and reading level. The assessment system also measures students' progress with letter recognition, word recognition, and phonemic awareness. My one complaint is that there are only two books per reading level, so my students who entered Kindergarten reading far below level A ended up reading the same book for two different administrations of the assessment. Adding a third title at each reading level would be very helpful for kids who don't move reading levels quickly enough.
Submitted by Katie in Illinois on February 11, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year
Cons: Results are not returned quickly
F & P is a great assessment tool to use to gain awarenes of student's independent and instructional levels of reading. Once you get the hang of the assessment process, it is very easy to administer.
Submitted by Jona in California on February 10, 2012
Pros: Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Cons: Difficult to administer
This assessment allows me to uncover reading process and ability. It is fantastic as a diagnostic and for measuring progress. It can be difficult to calibrate between multiple teachers.
Submitted by Celeste in California on January 24, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Cons: Difficult to administer
This is a very useful tool in assessing a variety of reading skills. The assessment is an intensive process and I was much better at using the system after training with colleagues during PD time. A few minor complaints - the way the master manual is set up makes photocopying very cumbersome and tedious. I also wish there was more room on these masters to make notes about what students say in response to the comprehension questions. I find this is most useful for my below- and on-level readers. I can't afford to spend the time with my advanced readers to benchmark them. It's important that the benchmarks be administered by the teacher responsible for leading this student's reading instruction. I gain the most info by sitting with the student and listening to them read and answer the questions. Reading another teacher's notes on the benchmark would not be nearly as valuable.
Submitted by Caitlin in Massachusetts on January 23, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Great tool to track students' growth in reading. It measures higher order thinking and comes with supplements on what objectives teacher can use to hit about the text thinking. However, writing rubrics are weak and it's a good idea for teachers to determine as a group what are acceptable comprehension and written comprehension responses.
Submitted by Vibha in Illinois on January 22, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Great tool to track students' growth in reading. It measures higher order thinking and comes with supplements on what objectives teacher can use to hit about the text thinking. However, writing rubrics are weak and it's a good idea for teachers to determine as a group what are acceptable comprehension and written comprehension responses.
Submitted by Vibha in Illinois on January 22, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
This assessments lets me track my students' reading strategies, fluency and comprehension throughout the course of the year. It gives me immediate feedback on what skills students are proficient and on which skills students need more help.
Submitted by Tracie in Illinois on January 21, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Pros: Easy to administer • Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly
The reading assessment takes time to administer, since it must be done in a one-on-one setting. However, I believe it is important for teachers to take the time to listen to each student read, monitor comprehension of text, and look for development in literary written response, at least 2-3 times/year. This assessment helps me guide my students towards choosing appropriate leveled books for their independent reading. The assessment provides two texts, fiction and nonfiction, at each level. I only wish it did not involve hours of photocopying recording sheets.
Submitted by Sandra in California on January 19, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses higher-order thinking
Cons: Misses growth of some students, such as those far below and/or far above grade level • Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Results returned quickly • Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly • Data I receive helps me understand where I am teaching well and where I need to improve
Cons: Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
Some of my pros and cons above for rating the "usefulness" of this program are contradictory. Here's why:
For students who are able to decode well and do not require specialized phonics support (such as Orton-Gillingham lessons), Fountas and Pinnell benchmarking does an excellent job of assessing their comprehension. The accompanying texts for teachers with the benchmarking system outline the skills necessary at every benchmark level to be considered a proficient reader. Teachers who are new to this system may find the teacher texts difficult to digest; these are best used as references.
For students who require phonics support and are not fluent decoders, the benchmarking system gives an inaccurate benchmark of their reading comprehension. For example, a student that I work with 5 times per week for 45 min each session on phonics is able to comprehend at grade level (5th grade) when provided audio support (through an audio CD or when the text is read aloud to him). When this same student was benchmarked using the Fountas and Pinnell system, he was assessed at a level K, which is 1st-2nd grade.
Submitted by Phuong in Massachusetts on January 19, 2012
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