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Every year around this time, we like to remind teachers of the importance of checking their students’ initial placement in Read Naturally programs such as Read Naturally Live and Encore II. The student's initial placement is an educated estimate as to where the student will be appropriately challenged and make optimal progress. 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 we recommend checking 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.

For teachers using Read Naturally Live:

Sequenced series

Students in the sequenced series of Read Naturally Live will receive Data Mentor suggestions for level, goal, and comprehension adjustments. Data Mentor analyzes the student's data and prompts teachers with timely advice on changes that will help accelerate progress. Learn more about Data Mentor here! This tool is essentially doing the ongoing work of checking the student's placement, but as a teacher with personal knowledge of the student, you can decide whether or not to accept the suggestions from Data Mentor. It's important to note that Data Mentor is currently available for the Sequenced series only.

Phonics or Idioms series

For students working in the phonics or idioms series, the teacher will need to check initial placement manually. This webinar recording walks you through the steps.

For teachers using Encore II:

Teachers using Encore II may use our helpful, easy-to-use Checking Initial Placement Calculator for Encore II. 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. Watch this video for more information about using the calculator.

Encore II users may also print out this guide and use it in conjunction with students’ progress graphs.

If you have questions about the process  for checking initial placement 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.