Read Naturally Live: Placing students

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Once a student has been enrolled in Read Live and assigned a license for Read Naturally Live, you must place the student. Read Naturally Live includes a built-in placement test that automates the process of determining what instructional level, reading-rate goal, and curriculum type are appropriate for a student. The placement test's recommendations are only guidelines. You should select the series, level, and goal best suited for each student.

Proper placement is critical to student success. The student should be challenged, but not frustrated, by the level of text difficulty. The student should be able to reach the goal—not easily, but with effort. This ongoing “tension” (reading challenging material and working toward a goal that requires effort) will maximize the student’s achievement.

By using the Read Naturally Live built-in placement test and then checking initial placement after the student completes three to six stories, you can provide each student with a reading level and a goal that are just beyond the student’s comfort level. The student will not be frustrated, because the Read Naturally Strategy provides appropriate, flexible scaffolding as students complete the steps for each story.

The Read Naturally Live placement test passages are representative of each Read Naturally level, and a student's performance on one or more passages is used to determine the appropriate level for the student. Using any data other than a student’s fluency performance on Read Naturally placement passages may result in multiple trial and error attempts to discern the correct level and goal.

To place students using the Read Naturally Live built-in placement test:

1. Either:
   1. On the Read Live home page, click Student.  Ask a student who has not yet been placed to log in.  Click the yellow Conduct Placement button in the page header and enter your teacher credentials.  OR...
   2. On the Read Live home page, click Staff Member. Log into the Staff Member Module with your credentials. From the navigation menu, select Read Naturally Live. Locate the student's name in the list. In the Placement Test column for the student, click Place.
2. Estimate the level at which the student is currently reading, and select that level in the Placement Testing Level column. Base this estimate on benchmark assessment results, other test results, and your own knowledge and experience regarding the student.
3. Click Next.
4. Seat the student at the computer and explain how the placement process will work. Conduct a one-minute timing by performing these steps:
   1. Read the title of the story to the student.
   2. Tell the student to click Start Timing when he or she is ready to begin reading.
   3. As the student reads, count his or her errors.
      • Guidelines for Counting Errors
   4. If the bell sounds, tell the student to click the last word read. If the student finishes the story before the bell sounds, tell the student to click Finished.
   5. Under Timing Results, enter the number of words the student missed.
   6. Click Next.
5. Look at the test results and the software's recommendation. Then, select an option for how to proceed:
   1. Click Stop testing and pick a level. Then, select one of the recommended series/level/goal combinations, and click Next.
   2. Click Continue testing and click Next. On the Read Naturally Live Placement screen, repeat the steps for conducting a placement test using a different level.

For more information about placing students: