- 1). Determine what level of reading material the student will read for the assessment. If past reading documentation is available for the child, use this information to find a successful starting point. Use your best judgment to find reading material you are positive the student can read successfully if the child has never completed a DRA before. You can always provide a more difficult text if the student needs more of a challenge.
- 2). Introduce the reading material to the student by having her read the title and look through the pictures prior to reading the text.
- 3). Cue the student to begin reading the text. If you are using a DRA observation guide, use the exact wording from the text for documentation. If an observation guide is not available, you can use a blank sheet of paper to record the student's reading.
- 4). Mark a check mark over each word the child reads correctly if you are using the observation guide. If you are using blank paper, simply make a series of check marks from left to right for each correctly read word.
- 5). Circle the words the student misread if you are using the observation guide. Write in how the word was read by the student. Write down each word the student pronounces incorrectly as it is read if you are using blank paper. For example, if the student reads the first six words correctly but mispronounces the seventh word, your paper should have six check marks and the mispronounced word written after them.
If the student consistently reads a proper noun incorrectly, it is counted as one error. However, if the student pronounces the proper noun differently each time, each mispronunciation error on the same word must be documented. Adding or skipping a word is counted as one error each time the student does so. Count one error if the child skips an entire line of text. If the student repeats a word or corrects a word she recognizes she has read incorrectly, do not record an error. - 6). Ask the student comprehension questions. Record the questions, write down their answers and document whether each answer is correct. Ask the child to tell you about where the story took place, who the main characters were and the order of events in the story. If you are using an observation guide, it may provide specific comprehension questions for you to ask the student.
- 7). Determine the student's current reading level and progress by analyzing the data you have collected.
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