[saralara]

Hi.

We adopted this three years ago, which might have been in the first year or two of it's existence. We had been using the QRI, which for my purposes was basically useless (I teach first). I like the test a lot, but it is insanely time consuming, especially for first graders who sometimes go up 10 levels in one year. (I had a kid rocket from A to N this year. I wish I could replicate that every year with every kid...)

So, I have a couple questions for any other users out there...

The kindergarten teacher tested them in the summer (July-- we're year round.) Do you think I can get away with skipping the fall test (September) and using her scores as a baseline? Testing in the Fall is a special headache because I am giving so many other baselines, much of them are 1:1, and the kids don't have the rules down yet.

How do you decide that it is time to retest? Do you do it on a calendar or do you "move up" kids by testing them when you feel they are ready to pass the next level?

Do you use the F&P levels in any way related to grading?

TIA...Sara

[Marcigran]

Sara:

I use the last Kindergarten assessment in September to group my new firstgraders. Most of the levels are fairly accurate since everyone does not read much over the summer. Kids that have changed are easy to spot.

I do another F & P assessment by beginning of Nov., but do running records often before that, so I change groupings based on that.

Then I do further F & P assessments in Jan, April and June - so 4 times at most.

[saralara]

Thanks. I've decided to skip September. That's a load off my plate.

[live2read]

Just want to add - since you asked about grading. At the end of each 9 weeks we test our kids and their instructional reading level accounts for 40% of their grade. We believe that your level of proficiency should count for a lot as it is a reading grade- not a worksheet grade if you know what I mean...also, F&P has been around awhile...the kits have changed over the last few years but they're not that new.