DRA Training
Lyndhurst Public Schools K- 3
Elba Castrovinci
September 2013
A little about the DRA…..
 Provides a standardized method for assessing
primary students’ reading development
 Documents student progress over time
 Is conducted during a one-on one conference
 Utilizes carefully selected assessment texts
DRA- Text Characteristics
Levels A-2
 Highly patterned text
with simple illustrations
 One or two lines of text
on left hand page
 Familiar animals and
objects
 Repetitive language
structures
DRA- Text Characteristics
Levels 3-6
 Simple stories with
repetitive words, phrases
and actions
 Predictable language
structures
 Familiar characters and
experiences
 Highly supportive
illustrations
DRA- Text Characteristics
Levels 8-14
 Stories include problems
with which children can
relate
 Repetition of events
 More complex book, oral
language structures, and
high frequency words
 Supportive illustrations
DRA- Text Characteristics
Levels 16-28
 Imaginary or animal characters with human
characteristics
 Familiar topics and vocabulary
 Nonfiction text features such as photographs,
labels, charts, flowcharts, diagrams
 Some literary language structures
 Some description of characters and setting
 Moderate to minimum picture support
DRA- Text Characteristics 16-28
DRA- Text Characteristics
Levels 30-40
 More complex stories
 Characters, setting, problems, and resolutions
described in greater detail
 Different genres
 Minimum of picture support
 More specialized vocabulary
 Nonfiction text features such as headings, maps,
time lines, graphs, photographs
DRA- Text Characteristics 30-40
Administration Suggestions…
 Get ORGANIZED
 Photocopy ahead of time
 Make a schedule
 Conduct 2-3 per day
 Decide which students to assess first.
 Score the Oral Reading as soon as possible.
 Take anecdotal notes as the students reads aloud.
 Ask “Elba” to model a DRA.
DRA Testing Procedures
 Read only the bold directions in the Teacher Observation
Guide.
 Paraphrasing or giving more information can compromise
the reliability of the test.
 Beginning at Level 14, use a stopwatch to time the reading.
 If a student is stuck on a word, give 5 seconds of wait time,
then supply the word and mark it as a miscue.
DRA Testing Procedures
After taking a running record of a student’s oral reading, go
directly to the Oral Reading Fluency section of the Continuum
and score the student’s reading.
▼If the student’s total falls below the Independent range,
move to a lower level text.
►If the total is in the Independent or Advanced range,
administer the Comprehension section of the test.
DRA Testing Procedures
Beginning at Level 28, have the student write in the student
booklet.

All students must do the writing, unless they have a
documented accommodation for scribing. (This includes
1st graders)

You may ask students the questions orally afterwards to
gather instructional information, but you need to score the
written answers.
DRA-Observation Guides
 Record of Oral Reading Coding Conventions
As the student reads the text, the teacher uses
these conventions as a means of recording the
behaviors of the reader.
 Classifying Errors
 Is a repetition an error?
 Is a substitution an error?
 What about contractions?
 What about when students sound out the word?
Identifying Miscues
The Record of Oral Reading Guidelines, which provides
directions on how to code the oral reading, is included at the
back of the Teacher’s Guide.
Make sure you have a copy available during testing for quick
reference.
Identifying Miscues
Answers to frequently asked questions about miscues:
 Proper names—Count as an error only the first time if the student reads
it the same way; counts as an error each time the student reads it
differently and incorrectly.
 Contractions (e.g., “don’t for “’do not” or vice versa)—Count as one
miscue each time it occurs.
 Dialect or speech issues—Words mispronounced due to a speech
problem or dialect may be coded but are not counted as errors.
 Skipped line of text—Count as one error (missed whole line).
 Headers—Count as one error (missed whole line).
 Repetitions and self-corrections—Do Not Count as errors.
During the Running Record…
The only permissible things a teacher may say during the
running record are:
 “Try something” if the student comes to a word and just
stops and doesn’t try anything.
 Tell the word (after waiting for 5 seconds).

A “Told” is an error.
Scoring the Running Record
 If the Oral Reading
Fluency and/or the COMP
total are in the
“Advanced” column, go
to the next higher text
level.
 If either the Oral Reading
Fluency or the COMP
total is below the
“Independent” column, go
to the next lower text
level.
Other important information- Fall Testing
 If student was in the district use information from
previous teacher to help.
 If there is no DRA data, place three books out for the
student to choose. One above and one below the
student’s grade level.
 Testing should be completed within a 2 week period
by October 1st.
Other important information- Text Levels A & 1
 It is a good idea to give students both levels A &1 .
 Level 1 gives the student the opportunity to
demonstrate some early concepts of print not available
in text level A.
 L to R
 1 to 1 match
Reading isn’t just decoding words…
Reading
is
Thinking!