Read Naturally student and teacherEvery year around this time, we like to remind teachers of the importance of checking their students’ initial Read Naturally placement. The student's initial placement is a best guess as to where the student will be appropriately challenged and make optimal progress in Read Naturally programs. After the student completes three to six stories, you have more specific data about how they are performing in both fluency and comprehension. This is the point at which you should check initial placement to see whether adjustments to the initial level and goal are needed. 

How do you go about checking initial placement? We have several free resources to guide you.

First, note that students new to Read Naturally Live who were initially placed within the last two weeks will receive Data Mentor suggestions for level, goal, and comprehension adjustments. This new feature, which was just added to Read Live late last month, analyzes the student's data on the first few stories completed and prompts teachers with timely advice on changes that will help accelerate progress. Learn more about Data Mentor here!

Teachers may also use our helpful, easy-to-use Checking Initial Placement calculators. Simply enter the data from your student's last three stories, and the calculator will recommend whether to keep current levels/goals or make adjustments. If adjustments are indicated, the calculator will make recommendations for a new level and/or goal. These calculators are available for both Read Naturally Live and Read Naturally Encore II:

We have several additional resources providing more information about the Checking Initial Placement process.

If you are a Read Naturally Live user, this video provides a detailed overview of the checking initial placement process. This webinar recording also walks you through the steps. You may also print out this guide and the Students-at-a-Glance report, and follow the instructions in the guide to interpret the data. 

If you are an Encore user, you may print out this guide, and use it in conjunction with your students’ progress graphs.

If you have questions about the Checking Initial Placement process or anything else, we're here to help! Don't hesitate to get in touch and let us know what you need. We love to support you in helping your students reach their goals.