[Grade 3] EL Education Foundational Skills Assessment Tracker

Do you want data on your third graders' ability to decode and to spell? This is a Google Sheets spreadsheet that will help you do just that! It is based on materials from EL Education, starting with the Reading: Foundational Skills assessment in Grade 3 Module 1 and including EL's K-2 phonics tests as well.

These tests can give you excellent foundational skills data about your third graders no matter what program you teach. You don't have to teach EL to give these assessments! (You can also assess Grade 4 here and Grade 5 here.)

Part of the Reading: Foundational Skills assessment in Grade 3 EL is having a student read a list of 50 multisyllable words out loud to you (Phonics and Word Recognition Checklist, Part II). I have chosen to include only that part of EL's test in this tracker because you can get lots of great information from listening to the student decode words like preschool, conductor, threatening, and laughed. Based on this assessment, if a student struggled to read most of the words correctly, you can move on to spelling tests that align with EL's K-2 Skills curriculum. You can even move down to Letter Names and Sounds if needed. Please check out the preview document to see what these five tests might look like!

This tracker helps you collect the results in one place, but it ALSO then calculates percentages, color-codes the results, groups students by score, and gives directions for next steps! Along with clear directions and explanations, you will have:

1. Grade 3 Word Reading Scoring Sheets for 30 students (the 50 multisyllable word list, plus a slideshow of the words);
2. Spelling Scoring Sheets for the Consolidated Alphabetic stage of word learning (featuring words with vowel digraphs, schwas, and suffixes);
3. Spelling Scoring Sheets for the Full Alphabetic stage of word learning (featuring words with r-controlled vowels, clusters, and digraphs);
4. Spelling Scoring Sheets for the Partial Alphabetic stage of word learning (featuring words with short vowels and common blends);
5. Letter Name and Sound Scoring Sheets (plus a slideshow of the words);
6. Class Data tab that lists all the students' scores on all the tests they have taken;
7. Word Reading Groups tab that buckets students by their percentage correct; and
8. Microphases Groups tab that shows the results for any students who took the spelling tests.

Phew! There is an abundance of useful, actionable information ready to be uncovered by you, and this spreadsheet will support you from start to finish. A jam-packed directions page will guide you through the steps for assessing and explain everything you need to know about foundational skills. I have also linked all the PDF directions, slide decks, and affix lists you will need, all for ease of use.

You can use this tracker at the start of the year, at the end of the year, or even three times a year! (Recommended to make a second copy immediately after downloading so that you maintain a clean version.) I am always happy to help on your journey to supporting your students with their reading skills, so please reach out via the Q&A tab here or email me (my email is at the bottom of the Directions page) if I can help in any way. ENJOY!

~Maggie