EDUC 302
DIBELS ADMINISTRATION AND SCORING GUIDE FOR THE ORF AND MAZE
TESTS
Oral Reading Fluency (ORF)
Applicable grades: Beginning of first grade through end of eighth grade.
Objective: Student reads a passage aloud for 60 seconds.
Uses: Benchmark and risk assessment; progress monitoring.
Materials
• Scoring book
• Student form
• Pen or pencil
• Clipboard
• Timer
Administration
1. Position the clipboard and timer so that the student cannot see what you
record.
2. Place the student copy of the ORF form in front of the student.
3. Say these specific directions:
Please read this
(point to the 1st word of the 1st paragraph of the passage)
out loud.
If you get stuck, I will tell you the word, so you can
keep reading. When I say “Stop” I may ask you to tell
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, EDUC 302
me about what you read, so do your best reading.
Start here
(point to the first word of the passage).
Ready?
Begin.
4. Start the timer when the student says the first word of the passage. Do
NOT count the title. If the student fails to say the first word after 3
seconds, tell the student the word and mark it as incorrect, then start the
timer.
5. Follow along in the Scoring Booklet. As the student provides responses, put
a slash
( / ) through each word read incorrectly. See Acceptable Prompts and
Scoring Rules for more details.
6. At the end of 60 seconds, place a bracket (]) after the last word read and
say, “Stop.”
Acceptable prompts
There is only one acceptable prompt for ORF: a prompt for when students
hesitate.
Hesitation Prompt. If student hesitates for 3 seconds on a word, give the
correct word, and mark the word as incorrect. Repeat this as many times as
needed throughout administration. The maximum time for each word is 3
seconds.
Discontinue rules
Discontinue ORF Rule. If the student does not read any words correctly in
the first line of the passage, discontinue ORF, put a bracket after the last
word attempted and record a score of 0.
Discontinue Benchmark Assessments Rule. Benchmark assessment
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, EDUC 302
always continues regardless of ORF score.
Scoring rules
ORF provides two scores: the sum of words read correctly and an accuracy
percentage. The accuracy percentage is calculated by dividing the sum of words read
correctly by the number of total words attempted (including errors) and multiplying
by 100:
words read correctly
Accuracy = x
100
total words read
Page 3 of 24
DIBELS ADMINISTRATION AND SCORING GUIDE FOR THE ORF AND MAZE
TESTS
Oral Reading Fluency (ORF)
Applicable grades: Beginning of first grade through end of eighth grade.
Objective: Student reads a passage aloud for 60 seconds.
Uses: Benchmark and risk assessment; progress monitoring.
Materials
• Scoring book
• Student form
• Pen or pencil
• Clipboard
• Timer
Administration
1. Position the clipboard and timer so that the student cannot see what you
record.
2. Place the student copy of the ORF form in front of the student.
3. Say these specific directions:
Please read this
(point to the 1st word of the 1st paragraph of the passage)
out loud.
If you get stuck, I will tell you the word, so you can
keep reading. When I say “Stop” I may ask you to tell
Page 1 of 24
, EDUC 302
me about what you read, so do your best reading.
Start here
(point to the first word of the passage).
Ready?
Begin.
4. Start the timer when the student says the first word of the passage. Do
NOT count the title. If the student fails to say the first word after 3
seconds, tell the student the word and mark it as incorrect, then start the
timer.
5. Follow along in the Scoring Booklet. As the student provides responses, put
a slash
( / ) through each word read incorrectly. See Acceptable Prompts and
Scoring Rules for more details.
6. At the end of 60 seconds, place a bracket (]) after the last word read and
say, “Stop.”
Acceptable prompts
There is only one acceptable prompt for ORF: a prompt for when students
hesitate.
Hesitation Prompt. If student hesitates for 3 seconds on a word, give the
correct word, and mark the word as incorrect. Repeat this as many times as
needed throughout administration. The maximum time for each word is 3
seconds.
Discontinue rules
Discontinue ORF Rule. If the student does not read any words correctly in
the first line of the passage, discontinue ORF, put a bracket after the last
word attempted and record a score of 0.
Discontinue Benchmark Assessments Rule. Benchmark assessment
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, EDUC 302
always continues regardless of ORF score.
Scoring rules
ORF provides two scores: the sum of words read correctly and an accuracy
percentage. The accuracy percentage is calculated by dividing the sum of words read
correctly by the number of total words attempted (including errors) and multiplying
by 100:
words read correctly
Accuracy = x
100
total words read
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