Teacher Copy

Level K
A-K Reading Assessment for Independent Reading Levels

Readers Name___________________ Grade________ Date________________ Independent Level: Yes No

Excerpt from The Blind Men and the Elephant by Karen Backstein Accuracy Rate: _______
Level K 221 words

Book Introduction: Show the cover of the book to the student and say this to the reader before her or she begins reading:
This story is folktale about six blind men from India called The Blind Men and the Elephant. Although they couldnt see,
they want to discover what an elephant was like. Lets join them to see what they learn about elephants.

Check the reading Running Record: Student will read the first 100 words aloud E SC
behaviors you notice and the rest of the text silently. Code and analyze miscues for
the first 100 words. You may also choose to record and analyze
E SC M S V M S V
the child using.
These notes may not miscues after 100 words for more information.
determine the
readers independent Pg. 3: Long ago and far away,
reading level, but will
inform your teaching: there lived six blind men.

Although these men could not see,

Rereads and self-
corrects regularly. they learned about the world

in many ways.
Monitors for all
sources of Pg. 4: They could hear the music of the flute
information: checks to
make sure what has with their ears.
been read makes
sense, sounds right, Pg. 5: They could feel the softness of silk
and looks right.
with their fingers.

Reads with some Pg. 7: They could smell the scent of food
fluency: automatic
cooking and taste its spicy flavor.
processing of print,
phrasing, and
Pg. 8: Together they took care of their home,
appropriate intonation
and expression.
and they were very happy.

Pg. 9: Then one day, the blind men heard

Uses an
increasingly more some exciting news.
challenging repertoire
of The prince had received a new
graphophonic/visual
strategies to problem elephant at his palace.
solve through text.
Pg. 10: The blind men had heard of elephants,

Solves unknown but they (100 words) had never met one.
words with relative
ease. They did not know what an

elephant was like.

August, 2013 TCRWP

 Teacher Copy
Level K
A-K Reading Assessment for Independent Reading Levels

E SC
E SC M S V M S V
Pg. 11: Let us go to the princes palace,

said one of the blind men.

Then we can find out what

the elephant is really like.
Pg. 12: Off they went.
It was a long walk to the palace.
The blind men grew hot and thirsty.
Pg. 13: But they did not stop.
They could not wait to touch
the elephant.
Pg. 14: Finally they reached the palace.
A guard came to greet them.
The blind men told him why
they had come.
Pg. 15: Of course you may touch the
elephant, said the guard.
I am sure the prince will not mind.
Pg. 16: The guard led the six men
to the animal, which stood quietly
in the garden. (221 words)

Student reads the remainder of the story silently.

Total miscues including Accuracy Rate: Circle the number of miscues the reader did not self-correct.
self-corrected: _____
100% 99% 98% 97% 96%
Self-corrections: _____ 100 words 0 miscues 1-2 miscues 3 miscues 4 miscues 5 miscues
221 words 0 miscues 1-3 miscues 4-5 miscues 6-7 miscues 8-9 miscues
Miscues reader did not
96%-100% accuracy is necessary to determine the readers independent reading level.
self-correct: ______
Try lower level text if the reader did not achieve this level of accuracy.

Literal and Inferential Retelling or Summary

Say, Please retell or summarize what you just read. Write notes regarding the students retelling or summary on the
back of this page. If the student has trouble getting started, you can prompt him/her. Make a note that you prompted the
student. 0

Use the Retelling Rubric and Sample Student Responses to determine if the childs retelling and responses to the
comprehension questions are acceptable. If a student answers a comprehension question as part of the retelling you do not
have to ask him/her that question. Students at this level should be able to answer most of the questions, and should be able
to retell/summarize a story using elements of narrative text structure.

August, 2013 TCRWP

 Teacher Copy
Level K
A-K Reading Assessment for Independent Reading Levels

Comprehension Questions Section: Analyze the students retelling/summary to see if it contains information that answers
each question below. If a question was not answered in the retelling, ask it and record the students response.

1. Literal Question: According to the story how did the blind men learn about their world?

2. Literal Question: What did the blind men discover about the elephant?

3. Inferential Question: What did the elephant represent?

4. Inferential Question: Explain what the prince meant when he told the blind men, You are all right, but you are
wrong, too.

Oral Reading Fluency Scale Circle the Appropriate Level

Level Reads primarily in larger, meaningful phrase groups. Although some regressions, repetitions, and deviations from
4 text may be present, these do not appear to detract from the overall structure of the text. Preservation of the authors
syntax is consistent. Most of the text is read with expressive interpretation.
Fluent

Level Reads primarily in three or four-word phrase groups. Some small groupings may be present. However, the majority
3 of phrasing seems appropriate and preserves the syntax of the author. Some expressive interpretation is present; this
may be inconsistent across the reading of the text.

Level Reads primarily in two-word phrases with some three or four-word groupings. Some word-by-word reading may be
2 present. Word groupings may seem awkward and unrelated to larger context of sentence or passage. Beginning a
Non fluent

little expressive interpretation, frequently first seen when reading dialogue.

Level Reads primarily word-by-word. Occasional two-word or three-word phrases may occurbut these are infrequent
1 and/or they do not preserve meaningful syntax. No expressive interpretation.
Adapted from: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics,
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2002 Oral Reading Study.

Final Score
Yes No Was the readers accuracy rate at least 96%?
Yes No Did the reader read with fluency (a 3 or 4 on the fluency scale)?
Yes No Did the reader demonstrate understanding of three out of the four comprehension questions?
(The child may answer the questions through retelling, and/or may need the teacher to ask the questions directly.)

Please note: If the childs retelling includes answers to comprehension questions, do not ask the questions over again. Mark the question
as answered correctly. Only ask the comprehension questions that were not already addressed in the childs retelling.
Is this the student's independent reading level?
If you did NOT answer yes to all questions in this Final Score box, try an easier text. Keep moving to easier texts until you find
the level at which you are able to answer yes to all questions in the Final Score box.

If you circled three yes answers in this Final Score box, the student is reading strongly at this level. However, it is possible that
the student may also read strongly at a higher level. Keep moving to higher passages until you can no longer answer yes to all
questions. The highest level that showed strong reading is the independent reading level. For example, you might find that you
answered yes to all questions in the Final Score box for level K, then a yes to all questions for level L, but only two yes
answers for level M. Level L is the highest passage on which you were able to answer yes to all questions in the Final Score
box. Level L is the current independent reading level for the student.

August, 2013 TCRWP