Should I use WCPM for Stages 1, 2 and 3? What passages should I use for WCPM when students are operating in Stages 1 and 2?
Ideally, students should finish the Early Reading Profile first, achieving 95% accuracy with a strong level of automaticity (reading whole words without decoding) before moving on to WCPM.
Step 1: Early Reading Profile First
The Early Reading Profile screens Stages 1, 2 and 3 reading accuracy and also automaticity. The screen is located within the Year 1 & 2 and the Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Screening and Tracking Manuals. The profiling of Stage 1, 2 and 3 reading skills is useful as it enables teaching and learning reading goals to be set and importantly the assigning of appropriate reading material; whether that
is decodable reading books or the PLD phonic passages.
The PLD Early Reading Profiles can be accessed here to determine reading accuracy levels and also the automaticity level for reading the lists of increasingly complex words.
Here is the Early Reading Screen Year 1 & 2
This can also be found on page 23 of the Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Screening and Tracking Manual
Watch this video to view the overview of Literacy assessments - Early Decoding and the Emergence of Fluency
Step 2: Word Correct Per Minute Second
When students' accuracy is 95% without the reliance on decoding, it is appropriate to conduct one final check, reading fluency, through the calculation of the Words Correct Per Minute.
This video shows how to present and calculate the rate of Words Correct Per Minute Fluency and Words Correct Per Minute
The Year 1 & 2 WCPM Assessment can be found on page 20 of the Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Screening and Tracking Manual
The Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 WCPM Assessment can be found on page 20 of the Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Screening and Tracking Manual
Step 1: Early Reading Profile First
The Early Reading Profile screens Stages 1, 2 and 3 reading accuracy and also automaticity. The screen is located within the Year 1 & 2 and the Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Screening and Tracking Manuals. The profiling of Stage 1, 2 and 3 reading skills is useful as it enables teaching and learning reading goals to be set and importantly the assigning of appropriate reading material; whether that
is decodable reading books or the PLD phonic passages.
The PLD Early Reading Profiles can be accessed here to determine reading accuracy levels and also the automaticity level for reading the lists of increasingly complex words.
Here is the Early Reading Screen Year 1 & 2
This can also be found on page 23 of the Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Screening and Tracking Manual
Watch this video to view the overview of Literacy assessments - Early Decoding and the Emergence of Fluency
Step 2: Word Correct Per Minute Second
When students' accuracy is 95% without the reliance on decoding, it is appropriate to conduct one final check, reading fluency, through the calculation of the Words Correct Per Minute.
This video shows how to present and calculate the rate of Words Correct Per Minute Fluency and Words Correct Per Minute
The Year 1 & 2 WCPM Assessment can be found on page 20 of the Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Screening and Tracking Manual
The Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 WCPM Assessment can be found on page 20 of the Year 3, 4, 5 & 6 Screening and Tracking Manual
Updated on: 01/03/2024
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