Placement Shortcuts

Schedule for Starting Small Group Instruction
Kindergarten
Continue Read Well K Whole Class instruction. Begin Read Well K Small Group instruction at the completion of Read Well K Whole Class, Unit 4 or 5 (about Week 5 or 6 of school).

First Grade
Begin small group instruction by the third week of school.

Second Grade
Begin small group instruction no later than the third week of school.

DOs and DON’Ts of Fall Placement

DO

  • Assess three to five students per day using the Read Well Assessments during the first two weeks of school.
  • Use the placement procedures from the Read Well Assessment Manuals for kindergarten students (if your RW adoption is new).
  • Consider the shortcuts below for returning Read Well students.

DON’T

  • Avoid using a standard guideline for placing students.
    For example:
    • Do not place students where they ended last year.
    • Do not automatically repeat units for the purpose of review.
    • Do not place students by their grade level.
  • Avoid placing students in Read Well using the results of universal screeners (e.g., DIBELS Next, DIBELS, or AIMSweb). These global assessments provide tools for the early identification of students at risk but do not accurately place students in Read Well programs.



For The Record • Read Well and DIBELS

"We recommend placing and grouping students in Read Well based on the Read Well unit assessments. We believe this will result in the highest success and the best results from Read Well students on end-of-year DIBELS assessments and for their reading proficiency in general.

—Roland Good, Ph.D.
DIBELS Next co-author
(personal communication, June 6, 2013; used with permission)


Why Assess Students Who Were in Read Well Last Year?

Read Well builds foundations based on student mastery. Placement is based on diagnosis and prescription.

Some children read over the summer, gaining skills. These children may be accelerated. Some children don’t read over the summer. These students may need joyful reviews. Every child deserves instruction that meets his or her needs.

Read Well is based on individual diagnosis, not standard guidelines.

Shortcuts: Kindergarten

None—use procedures outlined in the Assessment Manual.

Shortcuts: First Grade, Returning RW Students

GENERAL GUIDELINES
For first grade and above

STRONG PASS
Students should be assessed at higher units to see if they can skip forward.

PASS
Students are ready for the next unit.

WEAK PASS
Use discretion. Students may proceed with caution if instruction focuses on firming up weak skills. Watch trends in the data. If the student gets a Pass or Strong Pass in the next unit, proceed. If the next unit is a Weak Pass or No Pass, stop and do a quick review.

NO PASS
This is too high a placement. Test backward for a pass or strong pass. Start with the next unit.

Assess students on the Read Well 1 unit that is equivalent to the last unit completed in Read Well K Small Group (e.g., if students completed Read Well K, Unit 18, assess at Read Well 1, Unit 18).

  1. If the student has a Pass or Strong Pass, test up three to five units. Continue testing up in two- to three-unit increments until the student gets a Weak Pass or No Pass. Start instruction with the last Pass or Strong Pass.

  2. If the student has a Weak Pass or No Pass, test down three to
    five units. Continue testing down until the student gets a Pass
    or Strong Pass. Start instruction with this unit.

Example 1 • Nathaniel completed Read Well K Unit 12 in kindergarten

  • At the beginning of the year, Nathaniel is assessed on Read Well 1, Unit 12. Nathaniel gets a Strong Pass on Unit 12.
  • The teacher moves up three units and assesses Nathaniel on Unit 15. He gets a Weak Pass on Unit 15.
  • The teacher drops back down and begins instruction at Unit 12 with a 2-day review unit. Nathaniel’s group will then move forward at a pace commensurate with student performance.

Example 2 • Aisha completed Read Well K Unit 12 last school year

  • At the beginning of the year, Aisha is assessed on Read Well 1, Unit 12. Aisha gets a Weak Pass on Unit 12.
  • The teacher moves down three units and assesses Aisha on Unit 9. She gets a Strong Pass on Unit 9.
  • Even though Aisha could start at Unit 10, the closest available group will start with a review at Unit 6. The teacher will watch
    Aisha’s progress carefully to determine if she can move up to the next group.

Shortcuts: Second Grade, Returning RW Students

  1. If students did not complete Read Well 1, follow the procedures for first grade above.

  2. If students completed Read Well 1 or began Read Well 1 Plus, give the Read Well 2 Placement test and follow the recommended procedures in the Assessment Manual.

  3. If students were already working in Read Well 2 at the end of the school year, retest on the last unit completed.
  4. If students score a Pass or Strong Pass, begin instruction with the next unit.
    If students get a Weak Pass or No Pass, place them in Read Well 1 Plus for quick review. See the chart on the next page for parallel units. Transition back to Read Well 2 once a review has been completed.

Example 1 • Joan completed Read Well 2 Unit 12 in first grade

  • At the beginning of the year, Joan is assessed on Read Well 2, Unit 12. Joan gets a Weak Pass due to low fluency. (In first grade, Joan barely passed assessments, often retesting.)
  • Joan is assessed for placement in Read Well 1 Plus. She gets a Pass at Unit 44, but a Weak Pass at Unit 45.
  • Joan is placed in a group that will do Read Well 1 Plus, Units 45 through 50 (reviewing skills from Read Well 2). From there, the group will transition back to Read Well 2, Unit 13 and avoid doing the trade book unit Dinosaurs Before Dark twice.

Example 2 • Mary completed Read Well 2 Unit 12 in first grade

  • Mary is assessed on Read Well 2, Unit 12 and gets a Strong Pass. She has read ten Magic Treehouse books over the summer. Mary is assessed at Unit 17 and Unit 20. She could move forward into Unit 21 (Read Well 2 Plus).
  • The highest second-grade group in Mary’s school will begin Read Well 2, Unit 13. The teacher and Mary’s parents decide that the content and written composition in Read Well 2 is appropriate for Mary. She will also work in Accelerated Reader at more challenging reading levels.

Program Information

  • Read Well 2 Fluency Foundations is a quick review of Read Well 1, Units 16–38 (see chart below). If students completed Read Well 1 and need Read Well 2 Fluency Foundations—not to worry! These students will gain an average of 35 wcpm with Read Well 2 Fluency Foundations. If placed appropriately, Fluency Foundations second graders typically end up above grade level by the end of the year.
  • Read Well 2, Units 2–12 parallel Read Well 1 Plus, Units 39–48.
  • The readabilities of stories in Read Well 2 Plus average in the fourth-grade range. See Readabilities.

Program Parallels
















 

 

 

 



 

 

 

If students did not finish Read Well 1, you may wish to review with Read Well 2 FF , but be sure to transition back to Read Well 1 when the review is complete. See chart for parallel units.
    RW2 FF Unit RW1 Unit
    A 16, 17, 18
    B 19, 20, 21
    C 22, 23, 24, 25
    D 26, 27
    E 28, 29
    F 30, 31, 32, 33
    G 34, 35
    H 35, 36
    I 37
    J 38
    RW2 Unit RW1 Plus Unit
    2 39
    3 40
    5 41
    6 42, 50
    7 43
    8 44
    10 45
    11 46, 47
    12 48
    13 49, 50