Glossary · Fluency and assessment
What is a benchmark?
Definition
A benchmark is a target score for a given grade and time of year that predicts a student is on track to meet later reading goals.
Screening tools set benchmarks from research that follows students over time. A student who meets the winter benchmark in first grade is likely to read well by the end of the year without extra help.
Benchmark testing usually happens three times a year: fall, winter and spring. Scores sort students into bands, often at or above benchmark, below benchmark, and well below benchmark. The bands guide decisions about who gets extra support.
Benchmarks differ between tools, so a score from one tool can't be compared with a benchmark from another. And a student just above a benchmark isn't safe by default. Look at the trend and the classroom evidence, too.
In a lesson
A first grader's winter fluency score sits just above the benchmark. Her teacher notices she still guesses at vowel teams and keeps her in a small group for another six weeks.
Why does this matter for the record?
Record which tool and which benchmark a score was judged against. Benchmarks change between versions and tools.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.