Benchmark Passages help teachers measure student progress and determine when an intervention may be needed for a struggling student. Each Benchmark Passage includes a passage followed by reading comprehension questions that focus on comprehension skills and strategies that students have learned up to that point. Benchmark Passages are automatically given to students after key episodes, and student performance is shared with teachers in their Kids A-Z management area.
While the episodes have built-in formative assessments throughout the entire sequence, Benchmark Passages allow teachers to monitor progress in students' reading comprehension skills and intervene if a student is struggling. Benchmark Passages are placed after every ten episodes.
How to Use Benchmark Passages
Students read a Benchmark Passage when they finish episodes 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50, and answer multiple-choice questions that are scored automatically. You can see student performance across all benchmarks by accessing the Kids A-Z Reports.
The passages and questions can be printed for students to take offline. Students may also find it helpful to mark up and refer to a printed copy of the passage when answering the comprehension questions online.
