GRADE 5 READING PLACEMENT TEST

The placement test measures the decoding and 4. (After two minutes, stop the student. Record 2:00
comprehension skills of students entering Reading as the time. Count every unread word as an error.
Mastery Transformations Grade 5 Reading. The test If the student read the passage in less than two
results provide guidelines for grouping students and minutes, record the total time to read.)
also allow you to identify students who should not be 5. (After the student finishes part 1, retain the
placed in the program. student’s copy of the test, which you will
The placement test has two parts. In part 1, each redistribute in part 2.)
student reads a passage aloud as you count decoding
errors. In part 2, students answer comprehension Instructions for Part 2
questions about the passage. You will need one copy of
After all students have finished part 1, administer
the test for each student.
part 2 to students who made 0-6 errors on part 1. Use
the following procedure.
Instructions for Part 1
1. (Assemble the students.)
You should administer part 1 in a corner of the
2. (Give each student a copy of the placement test.)
classroom so that other students will not overhear the
3. (Say:) Here is the passage you read earlier. Read
testing. Use the following procedure.
the passage again silently, then answer the
1. (Give the student a copy of the placement test.)
questions in part 2. You have seven minutes. Go.
2. (Point to the passage and say:) You’re going to read
4. (Collect the test papers after seven minutes.)
this passage aloud. I want you to read it as well as
5. (Total each student’s errors, using the answer key
you can. Don’t try to read it so quickly that you
on page 2.)
make mistakes, but don’t read it so slowly that it
doesn’t make any sense. You have two minutes to
read the passage. Go.
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3. (Time the student and count one error for each time
the student:
• Misreads a word.
• Omits a word ending, such as s or ed.
• Reads a word incorrectly and then correctly.
• Sounds out a word instead of reading it normally.
• Skips a word.
• Skips a line. [After counting the error, point to
the correct line and ask the student to keep
reading.]
• Does not identify a word within three seconds.
[After counting the error, say the word and ask
the student to keep reading.]
If the student does not finish the passage within
the given time limit, count every unread word as
an error.)

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 Answer Key for Part 2 Placement Guidelines
1. Circle the answer. What kind of royal person was Place your students as follows:
Midas? • Students who made 0-6 errors on part 1 and
a. an emperor  b. a king  c. a prince 0-2 errors on part 2 can be placed in Reading
2. Circle the answer. So his daughter was . Mastery Transformations Grade 5 Reading.
a. an empress  b. a queen  c. a princess • Students who made more than 6 errors on part 1 or
more than two errors on part 2 should be given the
3. What did Midas love most of all?
placement test for Reading Mastery Transformations
Ideas: his daughter; Marygold Grade 4 Reading.
4. What did he love almost as much?
gold
5. The more Midas loved
Ideas: his daughter; Marygold , the more

he desired gold .
6. Why did Midas think that dandelions were not worth
picking?
Idea: They weren’t gold.
7. What kind of flowers had Midas planted in his
earlier days?
roses
8. Midas used to inhale the perfume
of those flowers.
9. What did Midas think about his garden now?

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Idea: how much it would be worth if the
roses were gold

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 Name Date

PLACEMENT TEST
Part 1 Part 2
The Golden Touch 1. Circle the answer. What kind of royal
person was Midas?
Once upon a time in ancient Turkey there
lived a rich king named Midas, who had a a. an emperor  b. a king  c. a prince
daughter named Marygold. 2. Circle the answer. So his daughter was
King Midas was very fond of gold. The .
only thing he loved more was his daughter. a. an empress b. a queen c. a princess
But the more Midas loved his daughter, the 3. What did Midas love most of all?
more he desired gold. He thought the best
thing he could possibly do for his child would
be to give her the largest pile of yellow, 4. What did he love almost as much?
glistening coins that had ever been heaped
together since the world began. So Midas
5. The more Midas loved
gave all his thoughts and all his time to
collecting gold. , the more
When Midas gazed at the gold-tinted he desired .
clouds of sunset, he wished they were real 6. Why did Midas think that dandelions were
gold and that they could be herded into his not worth picking?
strong box. When little Marygold ran to meet
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

him with a bunch of buttercups and

dandelions, he used to say, “Pooh, pooh, child. 7. What kind of flowers had Midas planted in
If these flowers were as golden as they look, his earlier days?
they would be worth picking.”
And yet, in his earlier days, before he had 8. Midas used to inhale the
this insane desire for gold, Midas had shown a of those flowers.
great love for flowers. He had planted a garden
9. What did Midas think about his garden now?
with the biggest and sweetest roses any person
ever saw or smelled. These roses were still
growing in the garden, as large, as lovely, and
as fragrant as they were when Midas used to
pass whole hours looking at them and inhaling
their perfume. But now, if he looked at the Errors:
flowers at all, it was only to calculate how
much the garden would be worth if each of the
rose petals was a thin plate of gold.

Time: Errors:

Reading Mastery Transformations Grade 5 Reading  3

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 GRADE 5 LANGUAGE ARTS PLACEMENT TEST
Reading Mastery Transformations Grade 5 Language Arts is appropriate for students who have completed the Grade 4
Language Arts program, or who place into the Grade 5 Reading program. Students who do not place into the Grade 5
Reading program may still benefit from Grade 5 Language Arts but may need some support.
Students should also be able to copy words accurately at no less than 14 words per minute. In order to evaluate
writing fluency, administer the Placement Test. Reproduce the page and distribute a copy to each student. The
directions for presenting the writing fluency assessment appear below.

Reproduce a copy of the test for each student. Place the test copy face down on each student’s desk.

Administering the Placement Test

Name Date

PLACEMENT TEST
Al didn’t say anything, but he had a lot of thoughts. Most of them had to do with how
ridiculous Roger was. Al was tempted to say, “You could follow those training procedures all
year long, and I’d still beat you in one mile, two miles, or cross country.” But all Al said was,
“So you’re going to buy into this program?”
“Yeah,” Roger replied.
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Total written words (56 or more pass) Errors (0–8 pass)

Pass Fail Pass Fail

Reading Mastery Transformations Grade 5 Language Arts 1

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• Don’t turn your test paper over until I tell you. Write your name and date on the back of your paper. Pencils down Program: RM Component: LA_Placement_Test
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when you’re finished. ✓ Vendor: SPi-Global Grade: 5

• Keep your pencils down. Wait until I say “begin” to start. Turn your paper over and I’ll give you directions. ✓
You’ll have four minutes to copy as much of this passage as you can. Copy it exactly with all the spelling and
punctuation correct. Make it clear which letters are capital letters. See if you can get to the bold-faced word,
you’re. (Set timer for 4 minutes.) You have four minutes. Ready, BEGIN. (After 4 minutes.) STOP! Everybody, put
your pencil down.
• (Collect papers.)

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 Scoring
Al didn’t say anything, but he had a lot of thoughts. Most of them 14
had to do with how ridiculous Roger was. Al was tempted to say, 27
“You could follow those training procedures all year long, and I’d 38
still beat you in one mile, two miles, or cross country.” But all Al said 53
was, “So you’re going to buy into this program?” 62
“Yeah,” Roger replied. 65

For each passage, count the number of complete words written (subtract omitted words).
Count the number of errors. Count as an error:
• Each paragraph that is not indented;
• Each lowercase letter that looks like an uppercase letter;
• Each uppercase letter that looks like a lowercase letter;
• Each added word;
• Each added letter;
• Each missing punctuation mark;
• Each added punctuation mark;
• Any punctuation mark that is out of order.
Note: A word may have more than one error.

PLACEMENT TEST CRITERIA

Circle Pass or Fail on the student page for each criterion.

Words Written

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Fewer than 56 words (F)
56 or more words (P)

Errors
9 or more errors (F)
Fewer than 9 errors (P)

Writing Fluency and Grouping

Use Placement Test performance to group children in smaller groups or practice writing fluency daily until all
students in the group meet both writing fluency criteria.
Students who make 9 or more errors (2 errors per minute) or write less than 56 words (14 words per minute) on
the writing fluency task can begin the Grade 5 Language Arts program but would benefit from continued practice with
writing fluency. A good procedure is to devote 10 minutes a day to writing, beginning with a goal of copying words at a
rate of 10 words a minute with no more than 2 spelling errors, and gradually increasing the goal until students can
copy 14 words a minute. Have students copy from stories at the end of the textbook.
The results of the writing fluency task may also be used to group students. Grouping students who write at a
similar rate will help lessons flow more smoothly, as there will be less variation in the time it takes students to finish
the writing tasks.

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 Name Date

PLACEMENT TEST
Al didn’t say anything, but he had a lot of thoughts. Most of them had to do with how
ridiculous Roger was. Al was tempted to say, “You could follow those training procedures all
year long, and I’d still beat you in one mile, two miles, or cross country.” But all Al said was,
“So you’re going to buy into this program?”
“Yeah,” Roger replied.
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

Total written words (56 or more pass) Errors (0–8 pass)

Pass   Fail Pass   Fail

Reading Mastery Transformations Grade 5 Language Arts  1

RM_LA_PT_G5_905570.indd 1 09/07/20 6:16 PM

Program: RM Component: LA_Placement_Test

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Vendor: SPi-Global Grade: 5