[MOSAIC] F&P benchmark

[Sandra Stringham]

Debbie wrote:
I'm wondering if anyone has used the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment and how it compares to the DRA2. I'm considering getting it as a supplement for my Title I program. We give DRA's 2 times a year, but teachers are required to give a formal running record (Rigby Benchmark or Reading A-Z Benchmark) second and third quarter. It seems like they are always asking me for something more - the kids who don't move up (especially in 2nd and 3rd), have seen the stories and they are looking for something the kids haven't read before. I think part of the problem is in the testing - and hopefully I'll be providing some inservice this spring to help eliminate that, but I would like to hear how this assessment aligns with the others. 
 

 
My district established a PreK-2 assestment task force who's goal was to find the best available instrument, that gave us the most information in the least amount of time, that had national norms, that aligned prek with k...K with 1...1 with 2...2 with 3, so that the information I gathered year end was reliable and the next years teacher could take that information and go...not retest.
 
This was a 4 month committee that stretched into over a year.  We looked at every assessment that you could imagine, including DRA2.
 
The result:  we use MAP for 2nd with F&P
                    lowest 20% can also be tested using Map for Primary
 
1st:  MAP for primary with F&P
 
And I won't go into the rest because my point is the F&P assessment is a much better instrument for testing that the DRA2.
 
We piloted F&P and DRA2 in all levels of schools.  We do have to use the EDL2 for our Spanish speaking population because F&P does not have Spanish.  But we were looking for the BEST possible instrument and it made no sense to choose the DRA2 just because F&P did not come in Spanish when overwhelming teachers prefer-ed F&P.
 
The kit comes with a continuum of literacy learning that is outstanding.  Professional development is way above DRA2.  I've changed my teaching to make sure that I am teaching within the text, about the text, and beyond the text.  All 3 of these areas are assessed.  There are 2 kits:  A-N an L-Z (double check the cutoffs..they do overlap for obvious reasons).
 
I've given the DRA for years and did not like it AT ALL.  I felt I was testing their memory..not their comprehension.  The F&P assesses for deep comprehension....shows you how to teach for deep comprehension and it's QUICK..taking me away from teaching for limited amounts of time to test.
 
We assess beginning, middle, and end of year using F&P.  Plus, this is designed for ongoing assessment and I can assess more than that as needed.
 
I would run, not walk to purchase it, and I would dump DRA.
 
Sandi
Elgin IL