Developmental reading assessment levels

Understanding Your Child's DRA Reading Level

The Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) is an individually administered assessment of a child’s reading capabilities. It is a tool to be used by instructors to identify a students reading level, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. Once levels are identified, an instructor can use this information for instructional planning purposes. 

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DRA Testing
The DRA test is traditionally administered on an annual or semi-annual basis. The test measures nine categories of reading behavior and six types of errors. It was developed in 1986 (and revised in both 2000 and 2003) by a committee of educators and is intended to evaluate certain aspects of your child’s reading level. 

How DRA Levels and Testing Work Together
Tasks measured by the DRA test are divided into several skill sets. Rhyming, alliteration, segmentation, and phonemic awareness are tested in the phonemic awareness section. Letter naming, word-list reading, spelling, decoding, analogies, structural analysis, and syllabication are tested in the alphabetic principle/phonics portions. Oral reading fluency or words per minute for contextual reading are tested under fluency. Vocabulary, comprehension, and reading engagement skills are also measured in the test.

After the test is evaluated and scored, your child is assigned a numeric (or alphanumeric for very early readers) DRA level A1 through 80. Children with stronger reading abilities yield higher numbers. Teachers are easily able to give children books they can read by choosing a text with the corresponding DRA level.  

How to Find Books on Your Child’s Level
Once your teacher gives you your child’s level, you can search for books at a particular DRA level on Scholastic’s Book Wizard. By providing your child with books on his level at home, you are ensuring reading advancement and success with materials that will not cause your child stress or discouragement.  

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How to 'Read' Your Child's Reading Scores

Is your child a G or an L? A 13 or a 24? As a second grader, is a DRA 32 a good reading score?

In most schools, and especially around report card time, kids come home with reports that detail a child's reading level. Oftentimes, these reports make little sense to parents. While most kids make terrific progress during the school year, parents sometimes struggle to make the same progress in interpreting reading scores and different leveling systems.

Most schools use one of three major leveling systems to define a child's reading level: Guided Reading, Reading Recovery, and Developmental Reading Assessment. Although some variations exist, the procedure for determining a child's reading score follows a sequence. First, a teacher (or school) chooses a benchmark book for a grading period. Then, each child sits one-on-one with a teacher and reads that book. The teacher reads along with a child and keeps track of the child's reading accuracy. After the story is read, teachers typically ask for a retelling of the book, or may ask some comprehension questions. With each assessment, a teacher is trying to find the level at which a child can read with 90 to 95% accuracy with good comprehension. That is considered your child's instructional reading level.

Here's a little about each leveling system, and a chart that shows you how they relate to each other and to a grade level assignment.

Guided Reading levels

This leveling system is based on the understanding that good teachers carefully match a reader with a book. Based on several characteristics of a book, such as text length, and vocabulary, books are assigned a Guided Reading letter. There are 26 levels, identified by letters A-Z (A being the easiest), and each book level has its own characteristics. If your child is "reading on a Level G," for example, he or she is able to read books with several events and a variety of characters. Sentences are longer than in previous levels, and the book may contain more difficult high-frequency words.

Reading Recovery

This leveling system is based on Reading Recovery, a one-on-one intervention program designed for low achieving first graders. Books used within this intervention program are grouped by characteristics and range from 1-50 (1 being the easiest). As with Guided Reading, books within a certain level share similar features. If your child is, "reading on a Level 2," he or she is able to follow a pattern within a book after it has been introduced by the teacher.

Developmental Reading Assessment

The Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) is a series of leveled books and recording sheets designed to allow teachers to determine students' reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension levels. Texts range from A-80 (A being the easiest). In most schools, teachers collect DRA information at the end of each grading period to determine student progress. Students are determined to be near, at, or above grade level, below grade level, or significantly below grade level based on their performance.

As a parent, it's important to understand the leveling system used at your school and how your child is doing toward meeting grade level expectations. Keep track of those letters and numbers being sent home, and if you don't see progress in your child's reading level, make an appointment to sit down with the teacher.

Literary development of a primary school student in the process of implementing information computer technologies

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essence, purpose, principles and features of the developmental program Elkonin-Davydov

Authors of the methodology

Daniil Borisovich Elkonin (1904–1984) — Soviet psychologist and teacher, author of works on the psychological aspects of children's games and their role in learning. The main work of his life was the system of developing education.

Vasily Vasilyevich Davydov (1930–1998) — professor, academician and vice-president of the Russian Academy of Education. A student and associate of Elkonin, who developed and began to apply the ideas of Daniil Borisovich.

Elkonin's theoretical work and Davydov's experimental research led to the creation of a primary school curriculum that combines learning with personal development.

The Elkonin-Davydov system has been used in Russia since 1991. In 1996, it was included in the list of recommendations of the Federal State Educational Standard, and after the Zankov program was excluded from this list, it became the only developmental program for elementary grades approved by the Ministry of Education and Science.

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Purpose and objectives of the Elkonin–Davydov system

The purpose of the Elkonin–Davydov system is to teach children to set problems on their own, determine methods for solving them, and analyze the result.

To achieve this goal, a number of tasks are set:

• The teacher must rally the class, and the students must collectively formulate goals and look for ways to achieve them. It is assumed that the teacher does not give ready-made knowledge, but only answers the questions that the students have in the process of discussing the problem.
• Teachers should pay attention to the formation and development of self-esteem and self-control in children. For this, a grading system without fixed grades is used.
• Pedagogical methods should change in accordance with the stages of psychological development of students. In other words, the program should “grow up” with the students.
• A partnership must be formed between the teacher and the students. An adult and a child are equal participants in the educational process.

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How the Elkonin-Davydov system is taught

The peculiarity of the Elkonin-Davydov system is that knowledge is not given to children in finished form. The training is organized in such a way that students can independently set a task, suggest ways to solve it, and then critically evaluate what happened. The main forms of activity in the classroom are discussion and experiment.

Lesson work is done in pairs or small groups. The teacher poses a problem to the class and invites each group to find a solution. At the same time, he corrects the work of students with leading questions.

According to the Elkonin-Davydov system, there are no wrong answers. Any suggestion is a "working version".

The Elkonin-Davydov system does not have the usual grading system. At the end of the lesson, students are asked to evaluate their progress. Children choose their own assessment criteria for each type of assignment. Most often, students draw a scale opposite each task and mark on it how accurately the answer is formulated or how neatly the work is framed.

Then the teacher also evaluates the work on the selected scale. It is believed that this method allows the student to understand how well he completed the task, and the teacher - to get an idea of ​​​​the child's self-esteem.

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Another feature of the program is "traps" when the teacher intentionally makes mistakes, and the students must notice this and correct him. This allows schoolchildren to form critical thinking, to accustom them to the idea that any knowledge needs to be tested.

Didactic, role-playing and other games are often used in the lessons. Learning through play helps children to unleash their creativity and use not only knowledge but also imagination to solve problems.

According to the Elkonin-Davydov program, homework is reduced to a minimum. The system assumes that students gain knowledge through discussions in the classroom, and not through textbooks at home.

Educational and methodological complex of the Elkonin-Davydov system

Textbooks in the Elkonin-Davydov system are far from playing the main role. Most of the knowledge students receive by interacting with each other and with teachers.

The Educational and Methodological Complex (EMC) of the Elkonin-Davydov system is published by the BINOM. Knowledge Laboratory.

Russian language

• Primer (grade 1). Authors: Repkin V.V., Vostorgova E.V., Levin V.A., Nekrasova T.V.
• Primer (grade 1). Author: Timchenko L.I.
• Primer (grade 1). Authors: Elkonin D.B., Tsukerman G.A., Obukhova O.L.
• Russian language (grades 1-4). Authors: Repkin V.V., Vostorgova E.V.
• Russian language (grades 1-4). Authors: Lomakovich S.V., Timchenko L.I.

Literary reading

• Literary reading (grades 1–4). Authors : Matveeva E.I.

Mathematics

• Mathematics (Grades 1-4). Author: Aleksandrova E.I.
• Mathematics (Grades 1-4). Authors: Davydov V.V., Gorbov S.F., Mikulina G.G., O.V. Saveliev.

Environment

• World around (grades 1-4). Authors: Chudinova E.V., Bukvareva E.N.

Pros and cons of training according to Elkonin-Davydov

Testing shows that children who have been trained according to Elkonin-Davydov have a well-developed outlook, memory, attention, creative thinking, teamwork skills and the ability to introspect. This is definitely an advantage of the system.

But there are also a number of disadvantages:

• It can be difficult for new children to join the educational process. Conversely, children who have replaced the Elkonin-Davydov system with a traditional program, such as the School of Russia, find it difficult to readjust.
• According to the creators of the system, children should not memorize the rules, but understand the principles. Therefore, teaching Russian begins with the basics of linguistics, and the course of mathematics begins with the theory of the origin of numbers. How relevant this knowledge is in the first grade is a moot point.
• The Elkonin-Davydov system is designed only for elementary grades. You will have to continue your studies in middle and high school in other programs.
• The teacher must not only master the methodological methods of the system, but also literally think in terms of its categories. From his professionalism depends on how effective the training will be.
• The lack of grades, the unquestioning authority of the teacher and other features of the system cause confusion among some parents.

Who is Elkonin-Davydov suitable for? Schools that use this program do not conduct entrance exams or intelligence tests.

At family education, Elkonin-Davydov's developmental education program is suitable for those parents who are ready to become a scientific colleague for their child. You will have to discuss a lot and make sure that the student does not receive “ready-made knowledge”, but finds answers on his own.

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