If you're an Educator, you can administer the Reading Level Assessment (RLA) to your students. Here's a list of what to do before students log in to Imagine Language & Literacy, how to introduce students to the Reading Level Assessment, and what to do during the Reading Level Assessment. Before you can administer the Reading Level Assessment, a District Administrator or School Administrator must enable the Reading Level Assessment for your organization. If you run into problems during the administration of the Reading Level Assessment, check the Troubleshooting section for help.
The Reading Level Assessment can be administered during 3 different testing periods scheduled throughout the school year.
| Test Window | Assessment | Test Period Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Test Window 1 |
Beginning-of-Year Reading Level Assessment |
August 1-October 31 |
| Test Window 2 |
Middle-of-Year Reading Level Assessment |
December 1-February 28 |
| Test Window 3 |
End-of-Year Reading Level Assessment |
April 1-June 30 |
Note
Students who are eligible to take the Reading Level Assessment must be in Grade 2 and have completed or placed above Beginning Book 48. Students who have previously taken a Reading Level Assessment are not eligible to take another for at least 90 days from the day they started the previous Reading Level Assessment.
Before students log in to Imagine Language & Literacy
- Determine if and when you want to administer the Reading Level Assessment. If you enable both the Benchmark Test and the Reading Level Assessment for the same testing period, your students will receive the Reading Level Assessment immediately after they finish the Benchmark Test. Determine if you want to enable the Reading Level Assessment and what testing period you want to administer it in to prevent testing fatigue. You'll also want to consider how many of your students are eligible to take the Reading Level Assessment before you decide whether to enable it or leave it disabled.
Recommendation
If you want to administer both the Benchmark Test and the Reading Level Assessment to your students during the same testing period and are concerned about testing fatigue, Imagine Learning recommends that you enable the Benchmark Test and disable the Reading Level Assessment for the same test period. After all your students have completed the Benchmark Test, enable the Reading Level Assessment towards the end of the testing period. Students will then have 28 days from the day they started the Reading Level Assessment to complete it.
- Enable or disable the Reading Level Assessment. By default, the Reading Level Assessment is disabled. After you've determined if and when you want to enable the Reading Level Assessment, a District Administrator or School Administrator can enable the Reading Level Assessment for the testing period that you want. Keep in mind that when you enable or disable the Reading Level Assessment, you enable or disable it for your entire organization.
- Prepare your device or laptop hardware. Students using Imagine Language & Literacy should be using devices that they are familiar with, if possible. Students will also need headphones to complete the Reading Level Assessment. For more information, see Imagine Language & Literacy System Requirements.
- Print Login cards. Students will need their login card to access the Reading Level Assessment. Print a login card for each student so they know how to log in to Imagine Language & Literacy. For more information, see Printing Login Cards.
- Change students' support language, if necessary. By default, students hear the Reading Level Assessment in English. If you need to, you can change the support language so that a student hears instructions for the Reading Level Assessment in their first (or native) language. For instructions on changing a student's support language, see Editing student account information.
Introducing students to the Reading Level Assessment
- Show students how to log in. Use a projector or smartboard to show students the Imagine Language & Literacy login screen and how to enter their username and password exactly as it appears on the login card. Show students how to use the Show (
) icon above the Password field to show their password as they type.
Allow extra time to help students who may need help logging in. Once students log in, confirm that they can hear audio messages welcoming them to Imagine Language & Literacy.
- Explain to students why they need to complete the Reading Level Assessment. This example script can be adapted to your specific organization or class.
When you log in to Imagine Language & Literacy, some of you will see a test. It will help me know which books are at the right level for you to read. There will be a few practice questions before it begins. Keep your eyes on your own screen. If you don’t know the answer to a question, try your best and go on to the next question. If you need help, raise your hand quietly, and I will come help you.
- Show students how to pause the Reading Level Assessment if they need to. If students need to close Imagine Language & Literacy before the session ends, show them how to use the Pause button in the lower right corner of the screen to exit the Reading Level Assessment. If students haven't completed the Reading Level Assessment, they'll pick up where they left off the next time they log in.
During the Reading Level Assessment
- Allow adequate time for students to complete the Reading Level Assessment. Educators should plan on at least 25 minutes to administer the Reading Level Assessment. Because the Reading Level Assessment is adaptive, students may take anywhere from 10-60 minutes to complete the test, depending on their skill level.
- Monitor students as they take the Reading Level Assessment. Monitor students as they take the Reading Level Assessment and encourage them to stay on task. Watch for students who are clicking through test questions without reading them. Encourage these students to read each item carefully and provide their best guess on a question even if they do not know the answer. Ensure that students do not receive help answering test questions.
Parents who are monitoring their student at home should not help their students during the Reading Level Assessment. Students who receive help on the Reading Level Assessment will be improperly placed in Imagine Language & Literacy. For more information about using Imagine Language & Literacy at home, see Using Imagine Language & Literacy at home.
- Check student testing status. As students take the Reading Level Assessment, Administrators and Educators can view student testing status.
- Allow students to continue their session once they finish the Reading Level Assessment. Some students may finish the Reading Level Assessment before their session is over. Allow these students to continue using Imagine Language & Literacy until their session ends. Students will be automatically logged out of Imagine Language & Literacy when their session ends.
- Check Reading Level Assessment results. After students complete the Reading Level Assessment, Administrators and Educators can view student test results.
Troubleshooting
Here are some solutions to problems you might encounter when administering the Reading Level Assessment.
Check the volume settings to ensure that the volume is turned up. Make sure the student's headphones are plugged into the right jack or USB port.
If you lose Internet connectivity during the Reading Level Assessment, reconnect your device. This may also require restarting your student's device. Your student will automatically begin where they left off when the device lost its Internet connection.
If your student's computer freezes during the Reading Level Assessment, close the current browser window and log in to Imagine Language & Literacy again. Your student will automatically begin where they left off when the computer froze.