During the Benchmark assessment, students are first presented with a passage at their grade level. If they are unable to make sufficient progress on that passage, they may be re-leveled to another story. Students should be prepared to read the story for 4 minutes or until they complete the story - whichever comes first.
Before the Benchmark Assessment
Prior to the assessment, explain to students that:
Amira will explain what to do before they begin reading
They will be using their computer/iPad and headset/microphone to read aloud a story to Amira and that the story will appear appear on their screen
After they say a word, the text will turn from black to gray
While they read aloud, Amira will be listening to them read - they should read quickly and avoid taking long pauses (note: long pauses or distractions will negatively impact scoring)
When they are ready to move on to the next page, they will click the green arrow at the bottom of the page - they should not click this arrow until they give that page their best effort
When they are finished reading, Amira will explain to them that their reading is being saved and that Amira will take care of logging them out
After the Benchmark Assessment
The Benchmark assessment provides key insights and informs data found on the following reports:
Report | Purpose | Metrics |
Track class assessment progress | ||
Class-level information from latest benchmark assessment | Oral Reading Fluency Reading Mastery Sight Recognition Phonological Awareness Vocabulary Size | |
Student-level analyses including next steps for instruction | Phonological Awareness Sight Recognition Vocabulary Decoding | |
Parent-friendly data displaying both practice and assessment sessions | Oral Reading Fluency Reading Mastery Sight Recognition Phonological Awareness Vocabulary Size |
Learn more about the Amira metrics.
Benchmark Assessments Throughout the Year
The Benchmark assessment can be given three times a year.
Some districts may opt to include Dyslexia screening tasks during 1-3 of these assessments as well. To learn more about the Dyslexia assessment, please visit How do I get students ready for the Dyslexia Screener?