This past September all of our Kindergarten through 7th grade students completed a Benchmark assessment in the area of Reading. Various basic skills were assessed, depending on the grade level of the students, including letter identification, letter sounds, oral reading fluency, and comprehension. These assessments take 1 to 3 minutes to complete depending on the skill being measured and students' performance is scored for speed and accuracy to determine proficiency.To monitor the general progress of our students as a whole, this process will be repeated again with all of the students in January and May. In addition, data that is gathered from these Benchmarks assist school personnel in developing skill-based reading groups based on the needs of our students. Students with Benchmark scores below a certain target may be identified as needing more specialized academic instruction or intervention in the area of Reading. These students may also need more frequent monitoring to ensure that the the chosen intervention is resulting in adequate progress.
