Find students' reading ability by assessing their reading skills with developmentally appropriate texts while recording reading behavior.
Benchmark Passages are short text selections that are one part of a three-part process to provide effective reading instruction for students and to assess their readiness to progress to more difficult text.
Benchmark Passages assess comprehension and reward students' progress from level to level. They are one part of a three-part process that provides a more complete assessment of reading behavior and comprehension than any of the parts independently.
Each level has 2 fiction and 2 nonfiction passages.
Each level has at least 1 fiction-nonfiction passage pair on the same topic.
Each passage uses a level-appropriate percentage of words from leveled books at that reading level.
aa-E = 100%
F-J = 95% + 5% new words
K-Z = 90% + 10% new words
The text of the entire passage is used in the online running record.
Most are one page long, but upper level passages can be two pages.
Assign an assessment using the Kids A-Z Student Management area or by clicking on the Assign button on the passage's thumbnail. (The software will automatically present a retelling and comprehension quiz when the student is finished reading.)
Check your Kids A-Z In Basket for the student's recording and score the student's reading behavior using the online running record form.
Check a student's scores against the expectations for a level to see if they should move levels. (For more details, see About Running Records)
Turn on student Incentives to reward students' progress from level to level.
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
2–7 words per line; 4.5 words average
1 line per page
30–55 words total
Complete sentences
Repetition of high-frequency words
Repetitive pattern with one or two word changes per page
Pattern may change on last page, such as a surprise ending
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
2–8 words per sentence; 5.5 words average
1–2 lines per page; no return sweep
50–80 words total
Complete sentences
Simple prepositional phrase and introductory clauses
Repetition of high-frequency words
Repetitive pattern with one to three word changes per page
Pattern may vary on first and last pages
Predictable language
Dialogue introduced
One-to-one text-to-picture correspondence
Familiar topics
Consistent text placement
10 pages
What Will You Have At a Party? Nonfiction, Lexile 90L
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
9 words maximum per sentence; 6 words average
2–3 lines per page; return sweep of no more than one sentence per page
60–100 words total
Complete sentences
Simple sentences with prepositional phrases and introductory clauses
Repetition of high-frequency words
Repetitive pattern in middle with one to three word changes per page
Pattern may vary on first and last few pages
Predictable language
Dialogue introduced
Illustration labels in nonfiction books
High text/picture correspondence
Familiar topics
Text placement can be left-only on a spread; otherwise consistent on bottom or top of page
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
11 words maximum per sentence; 7 words average
2–5 lines per page
70–130 words total
Complete sentences
Simple sentences with prepositional phrases and introductory clauses
Repetition of high-frequency words
Repetitive pattern with two to four word changes per page
Pattern may vary on first and last few pages
Predictable language
Illustration labels in nonfiction books
High text/picture correspondence
Familiar topics
Text placement can be left-only on a spread; otherwise consistent on bottom or top of page
Table of contents, section headings, and index introduced in nonfiction books
12 pages
Shoes in Different Seasons Nonfiction, Lexile 150L
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
12 words maximum per sentence; 7 words average
2–6 lines per page
100–180 words total
Text placement varies
Predictable language and language patterns
Two to four word changes in the middle pages that follow a pattern
Beginning and ending pages have different pattern
Repetition of portion of text from the preceeding page
Clear sequence
High text/picture correspondence
Table of contents, captions, index in nonfiction books
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
15 words maximum per sentence; 8.5 words average
2–7 lines per page
120–200 words total
Simple sentences with prepositional phrases and introductory clauses
Repetition of high-frequency words
Middle pages follow a pattern with three to six word changes per page
Pattern may vary on first and last few pages
Predictable language and patterns
Illustration labels in nonfiction text
Table of contents, captions, index in nonfiction books
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
15 words maximum per sentence; 8.5 words average
3–8 lines of text per page
180–270 words total
Less repetition of high-frequency words
Much less reliance on pattern
Word order change from page to page
Simple story that builds logically from one page to the next
Controlled vocabulary with repeated use of story words
Moderate picture support
Table of contents, captions, index in nonfiction books
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
15 words maximum per sentence; 8.5 words average
3–10 lines per page
240–320 words total
Increased sentence complexity
Less repetition of high-frequency words
No reliance on pattern
Controlled vocabulary with repeated use of story vocabulary
Table of contents, captions, index, and glossary in nonfiction books
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
15 words maximum per sentence; 9.5 words average
4–12 lines per page
300–400 words total
No reliance on predictable pattern
Richer vocabulary
Pictures used to enhance understanding
Table of contents, captions, index, and glossary in nonfiction books
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
18 words maximum per sentence; 9.5 words average
4–14 lines of text per page
350–460 words total
Much less concern about repeated use of high-frequency words
Paragraph spacing introduced
Photo captions more complex
Table of contents, captions, index, and glossary in nonfiction books
* Lexile® ranges are provided only as an additional resource.
They are estimates and not certified by MetaMetrics®. Their actual
relationship to Learning A-Z levels has yet to be determined.
Features and Chart
18 words maximum per sentence; 9.5 words average
400–600 words total
Full pages of text
Text can wrap illustrations
More complex sentences
More specialized vocabulary
Illustrations used to extend meaning
Table of contents, captions, index, and glossary in nonfiction books
