Benchmark Books & Running Records

Why Use Benchmark Books

Benchmark Books at Levels aa-J provide cold reads, or unseen text, to assess student's reading behavior and comprehension. They are one part of a three-part process that provides a more complete assessment of reading behavior and comprehension than any of the parts independently.

• Each level from aa-J has 1 fiction and 1 nonfiction Benchmark Book.
• Only the first 100-150 words of each Benchmark Book are used in Running Records.
• To assess students at Levels K-Z2, use Benchmark Passages.
• Benchmark Books are assignable as eBooks on Raz-Plus

How to Use Benchmark Books

1. Give a student a Benchmark Book he or she has never seen before to read aloud.
2. Record the student's reading behavior using the book's Running Record form.
3. If a student scores 90 percent, assess the student's comprehension using a Quick Check from Level A-Z and Retelling Rubrics.
4. If a student scores above 94 percent on both the running record and the comprehension quiz Quick Check, he or she is ready for the next level. (For more details, see About Running Records)
5. Use Benchmark WOWzers to reward students' progress from level to level.

Editor's Note: Foreign language editions should not be used as formal assessments of a student's reading progress in that language.