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Benchmark Books
With our Online Running Record tool, Raz-Plus or Raz-Kids members can:
Assign and listen to recordings of Benchmark Passages and Books.
Score recordings using an online tool and track student progress over time.
Benchmark Books & Running Records
Target students' instructional needs by assessing their reading skills
with developmentally appropriate texts while recording reading behavior. Benchmark Passages are
short text selections that are one part of a three-part process to provide effective
reading instruction for students and to assess their readiness to progress to more difficult text.
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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
Give a student a Benchmark Book he or she has
never seen before to read aloud.
Record the student's reading behavior using the
book's Running Record form.
If a student scores 90 percent, assess the student's
comprehension using a Quick Check from Level A-Z
and Retelling Rubrics .
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 )
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.
Showing 22 of 22 Books
22
View level aa features and chart
Level aa
Features and Chart
1–3 words per page; 2.5 words average
1 line per page
16–24 words total
One word change per page
1–2 high-frequency words per page
Repetition of high-frequency words
Mostly picture captions
One-to-one text-to-picture correspondence
Familiar topics
Consistent text placement
10 pages
View level A features and chart
Level A
Features and Chart
2–6 words per line; 3.5 words average
1 line per page
21–40 words total
Complete sentences
Repetition of high-frequency words
Repetitive pattern with one word change per page
Predictable language
One-to-one text-to-picture correspondence
Familiar topics
Consistent text placement
10 pages
View level B features and chart
Level B
Features and Chart
2–7 words per line; 4.5 words average
1 line per page
30–55 words total
Complete sentences
Repetition of high-frequency words
Repetitive pattern with one or two word changes per page
Pattern may change on last page, such as a surprise ending
Predictable language
One-to-one text-to-picture correspondence
Familiar topics
Consistent text placement
10 pages
View level C features and chart
Level C
Features and Chart
2–8 words per sentence; 5.5 words average
1–2 lines per page; no return sweep
50–80 words total
Complete sentences
Simple prepositional phrase and introductory clauses
Repetition of high-frequency words
Repetitive pattern with one to three word changes per page
Pattern may vary on first and last pages
Predictable language
Dialogue introduced
One-to-one text-to-picture correspondence
Familiar topics
Consistent text placement
10 pages
View level D features and chart
Level D
Features and Chart
9 words maximum per sentence; 6 words average
2–3 lines per page; return sweep of no more than one sentence per page
60–100 words total
Complete sentences
Simple sentences with prepositional phrases and introductory clauses
Repetition of high-frequency words
Repetitive pattern in middle with one to three word changes per page
Pattern may vary on first and last few pages
Predictable language
Dialogue introduced
Illustration labels in nonfiction books
High text/picture correspondence
Familiar topics
Text placement can be left-only on a spread; otherwise consistent on bottom or top of page
10–12 pages
View level E features and chart
Level E
Features and Chart
11 words maximum per sentence; 7 words average
2–5 lines per page
70–130 words total
Complete sentences
Simple sentences with prepositional phrases and introductory clauses
Repetition of high-frequency words
Repetitive pattern with two to four word changes per page
Pattern may vary on first and last few pages
Predictable language
Illustration labels in nonfiction books
High text/picture correspondence
Familiar topics
Text placement can be left-only on a spread; otherwise consistent on bottom or top of page
Table of contents, section headings, and index introduced in nonfiction books
12 pages
View level F features and chart
Level F
Features and Chart
12 words maximum per sentence; 7 words average
2–6 lines per page
100–180 words total
Text placement varies
Predictable language and language patterns
Two to four word changes in the middle pages that follow a pattern
Beginning and ending pages have different pattern
Repetition of portion of text from the preceeding page
Clear sequence
High text/picture correspondence
Table of contents, captions, index in nonfiction books
12 pages
View level G features and chart
Level G
Features and Chart
15 words maximum per sentence; 8.5 words average
2–7 lines per page
120–200 words total
Simple sentences with prepositional phrases and introductory clauses
Repetition of high-frequency words
Middle pages follow a pattern with three to six word changes per page
Pattern may vary on first and last few pages
Predictable language and patterns
Illustration labels in nonfiction text
Table of contents, captions, index in nonfiction books
Simple tables and charts
High text/picture correspondence
Text placement can vary
Variety of type sizes and styles
12 pages
View level H features and chart
Level H
Features and Chart
15 words maximum per sentence; 8.5 words average
3–8 lines of text per page
180–270 words total
Less repetition of high-frequency words
Much less reliance on pattern
Word order change from page to page
Simple story that builds logically from one page to the next
Controlled vocabulary with repeated use of story words
Moderate picture support
Table of contents, captions, index in nonfiction books
Simple tables and charts
Stories more complex
Books have more challenging ideas
More natural language usage
Begin use of simple captions
Glossaries introduced
16 pages
View level I features and chart
Level I
Features and Chart
15 words maximum per sentence; 8.5 words average
3–10 lines per page
240–320 words total
Increased sentence complexity
Less repetition of high-frequency words
No reliance on pattern
Controlled vocabulary with repeated use of story vocabulary
Table of contents, captions, index, and glossary in nonfiction books
Simple tables and charts
Increasing story complexity
Moderate picture support
16 pages
View level J features and chart
Level J
Features and Chart
15 words maximum per sentence; 9.5 words average
4–12 lines per page
300–400 words total
No reliance on predictable pattern
Richer vocabulary
Pictures used to enhance understanding
Table of contents, captions, index, and glossary in nonfiction books
Simple tables and charts
16 pages
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