At the beginning of the school year, I always get a lot of questions about placement. A very common placement question is: Do I conduct placement on students who were working in Read Naturally Live or Read Naturally Encore last year?
The short answer is no. You do not need to place students again. Placement is used for students new to the program before they start working in the program. For returning students, simply have them pick up where they left off in the spring. Some of these students may have lost some of the ground they gained last year and may not be as fluent as they were in the spring. Some may be better than they were last year. Most students will be able to pick up where they left off (although it may take them a few more practices to reach their goal than it did in the spring).
You need to monitor returning students closely, just like you do after initial placement with new students. There may be a couple students who need to have their goal lowered for a few stories. It is okay to lower the goal if you notice that a student is too frustrated when working at the level and goal from last year. Be sure to move the goal back up as soon as you think the student can handle it. Conversely, if you notice that last year’s level and/or goal are too easy for a student, be sure to move up the level or goal so that the student is sufficiently challenged.
Even though you don’t need to formally place returning students, you can still use the tips for confirming or checking initial placement. Find more tips in the Knowledgebase.
As always, feel free to call (800.788.4085) or email (clairehayes@readnaturally.com) me with specific situations or questions.
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