FountasPinnell Benchmark Assessment
For Grades K - 6
Basic Guidelines for Assessment
●F&P is a tool used to help assess reading levels of students and is a model for how to do a running record.
●F&P is used to determine the student’s Instructional level in order to place this student into the appropriate Guided Reading group.
○Each student’s current instructional level is reported monthly.
●F&P is administered by the classroom teacher within the first 30 days of school and 30 days before the end of the school year.
○Running records are done regularly throughout the school year.
■Students reading below grade levelneed to be assessed bimonthly
■Students reading on grade level need to be assessed monthly
■Students reading above grade levels may be assessed less often, every 6-8 weeks
●Select either fiction or nonfiction text. Use a text that hasn’t previously assessed.
●It maynot be necessary to formally assess each student on every level. If the teacher has documentation of growth in guided reading groups, students may be skipped to the appropriate level for assessment.
●Students reading on levels J-Z will read orally to the black box then continue reading silently to the end of the text.
●F&P and Running Records are placed in the child’s F&P folder.
○Do not remove PALS, DIBELS Benchmarks, and SRI reports from the F&P folder.
●You can use the “Where-to-Start Word Test” if a Guided Reading Level is not available from the previous year.
Administration & ScoringTips
●Note the Errors (E#) on the lower left corner of the book. If a student makes that number of errors and there is still text left to read, that text is not an instructional level. Stop testing and try a lower level or an alternate text. (Alternate texts may be found with your Journeys materials or in your leveled libraries.)
○If no words are missed, consider stopping the assessment and moving to a higher level. Do not move to a higher level if you are not sure if the student will be able to pass the comprehension portion. If you aren’t sure, continue the assessment, even if no words are missed.
○If a student misses the same word multiple times, and this type of error prevents the student from passing this level, you may want to try an alternate text before determining placement.
●F&P timers may be used for levels C-Z.
○The timer can be used to calculate errors and self-corrections on all levels.
○Official timing and recording of fluency does not begin until Level J.
Accuracy (Standard Marking)
●Use the F&P standard markings:
○When a word is read incorrectly, put a line above the word and write what the student said (error).
○Put a hyphen above the missed word if no word was said or it was skipped (error).
○Write A if the student Appeals (or asks) the teacher for the word (no error unless the word is given by the teacher).
■Always say “You try it” before giving the student the word. Write a Y above the word if this is said.
■Put a T if the student was Told the word by the teacher (error).
○Write SC if the student Self-Corrected an error (no error).
○Write R for Repeat and draw a line to the place where the student repeated (no error).
●A proper noun repeated incorrectly multiple times is only counted as one error.
●If the student skips a line, prompt them to go back to the line skipped. Make note of this prompt given.
Comprehension (Within, Beyond, About)
●Leave the text in front of the student during the comprehension portion so they may refer back to the text if they choose. Do not remind students to look for answers in the book during the assessment. This skill is practiced during small group instruction.
○The Comprehension questions are “Prompts”. Use these questions to guide your discussion. Be sure to ask all 3 types of questions. (Within, Beyond, About)
○Levels C-K assess “Within and Beyond” questions. (“About” questions are included in the “Beyond” question.)
○Levels L-Z assess “Within, Beyond, and About” types of questions.
- See the “Continuum of Learning” book in your F&P kit for sample questions for each reading level. Use these types of questions during instruction and when taking running records.
Fluency
●There are 5 components to consider when rating fluency. Use ALL five areas to determine a student score. Do not use rate as the only indicator.
○Phrasing: the way words are put together in groups
○Intonation: the way the voice varies in tone, pitch, and volume based on the text being read
○Pausing: the way a reader is guided by punctuation, stops for periods, etc.
○Stress: the way a reader emphasizes certain words
○Rate: words per minute read (WPM) (See suggested rates for each level.)
What to do with the information gathered
●Analyze the errors and self-corrections the student made to determine instructional needs.
●Make note of other skills or strategies you observed. (Finger reading, skipping lines, sight word errors, skipping punctuation, etc.)
Book Level Information
Level A Books
If the student can demonstrate the following, move to level B:
- Holds book correctly
- Tracks words from left to right
- Can find spaces between words
- Points to a word each time a word is said whether or not it is read correctly
- Provides a word that makes sense based on the illustrations
- Repeats the pattern correctly
*Do not assess Fluency at this level. Comprehension may be asked to check understanding, but is not used to determine advancement.
*Do not wait until a student has mastered letters and sounds before beginning Guided Reading Groups.
*Teacher may double track the first two pages of text, reading it together orally.
Level B Books
A student working at this level:
- Demonstrates all Level A skills plus…
- Provides a word that makes sense with the illustration and chooses a word that begins with the letter of that word. For example: If the picture is a ball and the students says “frog” then it is incorrect. If the student says “basketball” then it would be correct since basketball begins with a “b” just like ball does. Picture words are counted as errors if the word said doesn’t match the first letter of the word in the text.
- Demonstrates knowledge of 15-20 sight words in and out of text.
*Comprehension may be asked to check understanding, but is not used to determine advancement.
*Do not assess fluency at this level. Only sight words read incorrectlycount as errors.
*Teacher may double track the first page of text, reading it together orally.
Level C – Z Books
●Accuracy: Errors and self-corrections are recorded using the official scoring marks
●Comprehension: Within, Beyond, and About questions
●Fluency: Assessed using multiple criteria – pausing, phrasing, stress, expression, rate