Read Naturally student and teacherEvery year around this time, we like to remind teachers of the importance of checking their students’ initial Read Naturally placement. The student's initial placement is a best guess as to where the student will be appropriately challenged and make optimal progress in Read Naturally programs. After the student completes three to six stories, you have more specific data about how they are performing in both fluency and comprehension. This is the point at which we recommending checking initial placement to see whether adjustments to the initial level and goal are needed. 

How do you go about checking initial placement? We have several free resources to guide you.

First, note that students in the sequenced series of Read Naturally Live will receive Data Mentor suggestions for level, goal, and comprehension adjustments. Data Mentor analyzes the student's data and prompts teachers with timely advice on changes that will help accelerate progress. Learn more about Data Mentor here! This tool is essentially doing the ongoing work of checking the student's placement, but as a teacher with personal knowledge of the student, you can decide whether or not to accept its recommendations.  

Teachers may also use our helpful, easy-to-use Checking Initial Placement calculators. Simply enter the data from your student's last three stories, and the calculator will recommend whether to keep current levels/goals or make adjustments. If adjustments are indicated, the calculator will make recommendations for a new level and/or goal. These calculators are available for both Read Naturally Live and Read Naturally Encore II:

If you are a Read Naturally Live user, this webinar recording walks you through the steps of checking initial placement, including how to accept Data Mentor suggestions. If you are an Encore user, you may print out this guide and use it in conjunction with your students’ progress graphs.

If you have questions about the Checking Initial Placement process or anything else, we're here to help! Don't hesitate to get in touch and let us know what you need. We love to support you in helping your students reach their goals.