FP Score Sheet Tutorial
Please review the following guide before inputting data into the Fountas & Pinnell data file that may or may not scare you because it’s an Excel file, but trust me, I’m here to help. Enjoy!
Part 1: Layout of Fall and Spring
The picture below is an example of what you will see when you open your Fountas & Pinnell score sheet (without the labels).
Most of the information on the page is either demographic information (blue shaded) or instructional reading level scores (purple shaded).
The Fall and Spring tabs look almost identical. Please be careful to note which one you’re in. They will say “Fall” or “Spring” in the yellow information square at the top of the window (next to your grade and that school year).
Teacher Information
The box at the top presents all the information you need to know that you’re looking at the right file. Check for the current school year and season, as well as your grade, school, and name. If any of this information is incorrect, you have the wrong file! Ask your literacy coach, principal, or Doug Drover for the right file.
If you are replacing a teacher who completed the Fall assessment, please change the name of the Teacher here.
Though not necessary, you have the option to complete the date the assessment was completed. If left blank, we record the date the file was submitted to division office.
Demographic Information
Most of this information has already been entered for you. All you have to do is review and confirm that it’s correct.
You will have to add any ROAs.
New for 2016-17 is the addition of the student’s Government ID and displaying the actual Enrol Date. You don’t need to add anything here. It’s just to meet Ministry requirements for tracking.
If a new student has arrived: please add their name to the bottom of the list. Don’t drag names around to put them in alphabetical order.
If a current student has had a change to their status as FNM, ROA, IIP, or EAL: please indicate this by deleting or adding an X in the relevant box.
If a student on the list has moved: don’t change anything here. In previous years, you typed ‘MOVED’ next to the kid’s name. There’s now another place for that.
Reason for Exclusion
This is new for 2016-17. Type in here the reason a student is not being assessed. This will either be because the student has moved, the student is non-attending, or the student has been exempted. If exempted, state the reason.
Catch-Up
This is new for 2016-17. It will be filled for you, and indicates whether or not the student started grade 1 as a non-readers (AR or AP). If they were not reading at the beginning of grade 1, they have slightly different growth expectations that other students… but are still expected to catch up by the end of grade 3.
Independent Level
For most students, this column is blacked out. It’s only used to record the highest Independent reading level if F&P can’t find an Instructional level.
Instructional Level Scores
You are required to enter the student’s Instructional reading level. It will be either:
- AR for students who show few pre-literacy skills on the Emergent Reader Checklist,
- AP for students who show many pre-literacy skills on the Emergent Reader Checklist,
- a reading level of A-Z according to the F&P book they read, or
- Z+ for students who were Independent at level Z.
The score sheet will not accept any other results.
You must also record, at that Instructional level, the Accuracy and individual Comprehension scores.
As you enter information, the score sheet will automatically colour-code scores for quick reference.
You may choose to also record Fluency scores and Reading Rates, but this is optional.
Part 2: Recording Frustrational Levels
On the rare occasion that a student does not have an Instructional reading level (they jump from Independent to Hard), please enter the lowest Frustrational level under “Instructional Level” and the highest Independent reading level under “Independent Level”.
Please record the student’s Oral Reading and Comprehension scores at the level you intend to teach at.
The above example shows three situations for students at level C.
Case 1 is a student with level C as Instructional (Accuracy is yellow, Comprehension is blue). Note that Independent level is blacked out, because this information is unnecessary.
Case 2 is a student with level C as Frustrational and level B as Independent. In this case, the teacher indicated the student will be instructed at level C since she included the Accuracy and Comprehension scores from the Frustrational level.
Case 3 is also a student with level C as Frustrational and level B as Independent. In this case, the teacher indicated the student will be instructed at level B since she included the Accuracy and Comprehension scores from the Independent level.
All are correct, based on how the student read and the teacher’s judgment of next steps.
Part 3: The Analysis Tab
When you have completed entering all of the F&P data for the Spring assessment, this window will offer immediate analysis of the results. Information presented here is gathered only from students who:
- were registered before September 30th of the current school year,
- have an Instructional score in the Fall assessment, and
- have an Instructional score in the Spring assessment.
The left half of the Analysis tab presents individual student results and a look at growth expectations for the class.
The right half of the tab presents class-wide results based on reading levels. This includes the proportion of proficient readers, the distribution of readers in the class, and median reading levels.
Student Report
This shows the names, Fall scores, Spring scores, and the growth in levels for each student who wrote in both the Fall and Spring. Levels of growth are coloured according togrowth expectations based on where the student started in the Fall. They are not based on the actual grade the student is in.
Growth Report
The table shows the count of students in each level of growth expectations, while the pie chart shows the proportion.
Growth expectations are based on the levels of growth needed for students to maintain reading at grade level. This means that it’s determined by where the student started in the Fall.
In the example class on the previous page, Barclay grew fewer levels than Oscar but met the expectations of growth for a student who started the year with few pre-literacy skills. Oscar was reading at grade level by the end of the year, but didn’t meet the growth expectations.
Class Reports
The charts present the same information different ways. The Proportion of Proficient Readers shows the change between Fall and Spring in the proportion of students who are reading at or above grade level. The Fall/Spring Distribution shows how many students are in each of the four level groupings.
The table serves two functions. First, it presents the raw numbers of students that feed into the two charts. Second, it calculates median values at each level and for the class as a whole.
The tables and charts are more valuable for larger classes since they synthesize information that is less evident in the Student Report.