Basic Reading Inventory
Basic Reading Inventory
Basic Reading Inventory
Forms (p. 7)
All forms can be used to find oral reading, silent reading (Form D is suggested for this),
and listening comprehension levels.
Forms D and E are informational text.
Forms LL and LI permit a more in-depth appraisal of the student’s ability to read literary
or narrative and informational or expository materials. These two passages can be read
orally and/or silently.
Silent Reading Comprehension- Refer to the look-back instructions at the end of this
document.
o Choose a form that has not been read orally. Form D is designed specifically for
silent reading.
o Begin at the highest independent level achieved on the oral reading passages.
o Follow the scoring procedure for the Oral Reading Comprehension passages
listed above.
o Continue assessing until an independent, instructional, and frustration level is
found.
Writing Prompt (p. 46) – available for use, but not required.
o Writing prompts are not intended to be used as a measure of comprehension;
rather as an informal way to assess writing fluency, spelling and use of
conventions, organization, and relevance to the prompt.
o Each form provides a writing prompt that goes along with the passage. If you
choose to, have the student write on a separate sheet of paper. Use the
provided rubric to score.
Helpful Charts/Information:
Figure 2-1 on p. 25 – Sample of Graded Word Lists
Figure 2-3 on p. 28 – Suggested Method for Recording Miscues
Figure 2-4 on p. 31 – Retelling Evaluation Criteria
Figure 2-5 on p. 33 and Figure 2-6 on p. 34 – Sample of Graded Passage
Figure 2-9 on p. 47 – Reference for Scoring
Figure 2-10 on p. 48 – Rubric for Writing Response
Approaches/Considerations to Look-Backs
o Use the comprehension score without look-backs to calculate the student’s score to
determine whether that passage is at the student’s level.
o Look-backs that result in the correct answer should be given half credit. Five or more look-
backs in a single passage may be an indication that the student is having difficulty
remembering the passage content.
o For the passages in grades 9-12, it may be appropriate to use comprehension scores with
look-backs to determine the student’s instructional level.