Collecting Rate and Accuracy Data

Note: the goal of collecting rate and accuracy data is to provide parents and educators with guidance in helping struggling readers stay on their instructional text level.

It is critically important for struggling readers to spend most of their "reading time" at this level. If they work at independent level (too easy) or frustration level (too hard), they will not make optimum progress.

  1. Before reading, select and mark a 100 word passage in instructional level text. Begin this count on the second or third page of the text.
     
  2. Proceed through the lesson as usual. That is, introduce the text by building and/or activating important concepts and vocabulary. Use "echo reading" (you read a paragraph and the child "copycats" you) for 3-4 paragraphs to get the ball rolling. Stop and talk about what is happening in the text when the opportunity strikes.
     
  3. When the child reaches the "start mark", use your stop watch to time how long it takes him/her to read the 100 words. As s/he is reading make slash marks or do a "running record" to count the number of errors.
     
  4. If the child takes longer than 3 seconds to read a word, simply say the word and let the child keep reading. Do not try to teach the word.
     
  5. Use the "conversion chart" to calculate words per minute (wpm). Count the number of errors made. Record these data.
     
  6. Follow the same procedure on a different sample of text. Record those data.
     
  7. Examine the accuracy and rate data for at least 3 samples of text. Is accuracy consistently above 90% (i.e., fewer than 10 errors)? Does rate meet grade level expectations (see chart below) If so, the child may be ready for a slightly more challenging text. If not, stay at the current level and continue to collect accuracy and rate samples.
     
Fluency Criteria
Level
Bump-Up & Placement Rate
End-Of-Year Benchmark Rate
Pre-Primer (Early StepsSM 5)
no less than 20 wpm
N/A
Primer
no less than 30 wpm
no less than 30 wpm
End Grade 1
no less than 40 wpm
no less than 40 wpm
Mid Grade 2
no less than 60 wpm
no less than 65 wpm
End Grade 2
no less than 80 wpm
no less than 90 wpm
Mid Grade 3
no less than 80 wpm
no less than 90 wpm
End Grade 3
no less than 100 wpm
no less than 110 wpm
Mid Grade 4
no less than 100 wpm
no less than 110 wpm
End Grade 4
no less than 100 wpm
no less than 120 wpm
Mid Grade 5
no less than 100 wpm
no less than 120 wpm
End Grade 5
no less than 100 wpm
no less than 130 wpm
Mid Grade 6
no less than 100 wpm
no less than 130 wpm
End Grade 6
no less than 100 wpm
no less than 150 wpm
  • Placement Rate = The minimum words per minute needed to qualify for clinic intervention at that 1-1 tutorial level.
  • Bump Up Rate = The minimum words per minute needed to be moved to next level of text. Must be reached at least 2 times before bumping up.
  • End-Of-Year Benchmark Rate = The minimum words per minute needed to say a student meets end of year grade level expectations.

Note: accuracy and rate data are always collected on new, "cold" sections of text that the child has not previously read.

Note: if the data are "unclear" or "mixed," we recommend that you collect additional data samples until you assemble enough evidence to warrant staying at a particular level or "bumping up" for a slightly more challenging level..