40L$Quick$Screen$Reading$Grade$Level$Test
Student'Name:'_______________________
#'correct
1 up rat sit hog ten
rate mope cute teen site
2 pool leaf shutter pause sunset
cowbell napkin mainstay wander spoilsport
3 chief shouting fantastic motor sawmill
noisy ledge alike grackle partook
4 belief molecule dwindle coastal surgical
cyclone receive disengage extinct polygon
5 symmetry concentrate physicist incumbent experiment
wretched implosion glucose philosophical compliance
6 anxious obstinate allegation impromptu theocracy
continuous digression immeasurable coincidence conveyance
7 collegiate aspiration psychiatrist entrepreneur surveillance
impetuous provisional jurisprudence manifold coordinate
'
8 pseudonym myopic gracious exhaust inconsiderate
emphasize negligence seminary antithesis renaissance
9 archeology legitimacy vengeance antagonize expenditure
referendum personify condemnation unremitting acknowledgement
10 impertinent diadem picturesque reconnoiter preeminent
opulence nebulous ensconced transmutation mortification
11 myriad amiability querulous tautological sagacity
renunciation qualitative beatitude ambiguity herculean
12 immateriality abrogated imperceptibility rhododendron etymological
extemporaneous sardonically miasma loquacious diametrical
'
Grade'Level'Score'='number'of'words'correct/10,'for'example,'42'words'correct,'grade'level'4.2.
Stop'test'when'student'misses'5'words'in'a'row,'10'words'total,'or'misses'>3'and'is'getting'frustrated.
Print'two'copies,'one'for'student'and'one'for'tester.
Raw$Score$(total$words$correct) ________________ Reading$Grade$Level$(divide$raw$score$by$10) _________________
"2013"by"40L,"[Link].""May"be"reproduced"for"eduation"use.
40L$Quick$Screen$Reading$Grade$Level$Test$Instructions$
!
The!40L!Quick!Screen!Reading!Grade!Level!Test!has!not!been!normalized.!!It!has!been!tested!with!large!
numbers! of! students! and! correlates! well! with! existing! grade! level! tests.! ! It! was! developed! by! 40Ls!
director,! who! had! 19! years! of! experience! teaching! and! testing! remedial! students! at! the! time! of! its!
development.!
!
Print!two!copies!of!the!test,!one!for!you!and!one!for!the!student.!!You!will!need!a!copy!to!write!on!for!each!
student!you!test,!but!the!students!copy!should!not!be!marked!on!and!can!be!used!again!with!each!student!
tested.!!Start!by!telling!the!student,!I!will!be!giving!you!a!test!to!see!how!well!you!can!read!a!variety!of!
words.!!You!are!being!tested!for!accuracy,!not!speed.!!If!you!cannot!figure!out!a!word,!you!can!say!skip!
and!move!on!to!the!next!word.!!This!will!help!me!know!which!word!you!are!reading,!if!you!skip!a!word!
without!telling!me!I!might!get!confused.!We!will!start!on!line!1!and!you!will!read!the!words!to!me,!reading!
each!row!from!left!to!right!until!I!tell!you!to!stop.!If!the!student!is!older!or!young!but!a!good!reader,!you!
can!add,!The!first!few!rows!of!words!may!be!easy!for!you,!but!I!want!to!make!sure!you!can!read!them!all,!
reading! all! the! words! is! part! of! the! test.! ! Hold! your! copy! of! the! test! to! hide! your! markings! from! the!
student!being!tested.!!The!student!needs!to!try!to!read!all!10!words!in!each!numbered!line,!saying!skip!for!
any!that!they!cannot!figure!out.!
!
When! giving! this! test,! you! should! not! tell! the! student! if! their! answer! is! correct,! either! verbally! or! with!
nonNverbal!cues.!!If!they!cannot!figure!out!a!word!after!a!few!attempts,!they!should!say!skip.!!If!they!keep!
trying,!say!you!can!skip!a!word!if!you!cant!figure!it!out,!just!say,!skip!and!move!on!to!the!next!word.!!
Not!telling!them!if!they!are!correct!or!not!will!allow!for!a!more!accurate!grade!level!assessment!and!will!
also!allow!you!to!use!the!test!for!retesting!without!biasing!the!results.!!You!should!use!neutral!words!like!
OK!instead!of!a!confirming!word!like!good.!!If!the!student!needs!affirmation!to!continue,!you!can!say,!
Youre!doing!a!great!job!on!the!test,!keep!reading,!lets!move!on!to!this!next!word,!placing!your!finger!
under!their!next!word.!!!
!
If!the!student!loses!their!place,!point!out!the!next!word.!!If!the!student!jumps!to!the!wrong!line!after!the!
end!of!a!line,!redirect!them!to!the!correct!line!by!placing!your!finger!under!the!word!that!they!should!be!
reading!in!the!correct!line.!!If!the!student!reads!a!word!incorrectly,!mark!this!on!your!paper!by!putting!an!
X!over!or!on!the!word!they!read!incorrectly.!!If!they!say!the!word!incorrectly!but!then!correct!themselves,!
write! an! OK! or! S/C! (for! SelfNCorrect)! next! to! your! X! and! count! the! word! as! correct.! ! If! you! did! not!
understand!their!attempt!to!read!the!word,!tell!them,!I'm!sorry,!I!didnt!hear!that!very!well,!can!you!read!
it!to!me!again?!while!placing!your!finger!under!the!word!in!question.!!If!the!student!is!reading!too!fast!for!
you! to! keep! up! with! your! markings,! tell! them! to! pause! at! the! end! of! each! row! until! you! tell! them! to!
continue.!
!
When! the! student! misses! 5! words! in! a! row,! stop! the! test! and! score! the! test,! words! read! correctly! after!
missing! 5! in! a! row! should! not! be! counted! towards! the! total! score.! ! (You! should! stop! the! test,! but! if! the!
student!is!adamant!about!continuing!and!you!have!time,!you!can!continue.)!!Also!stop!the!test!after!the!
student!has!missed!10!words!total.!!You!should!also!stop!and!score!the!test!if!the!student!has!missed!more!
than!3!words!and!is!getting!too!frustrated!to!continue.!!!
!
To!score!the!test,!count!the!number!of!words!read!correctly!and!divide!that!total!by!10!to!get!a!decimal!
score!of!reading!grade!level.!!For!example,!a!student!who!missed!the!word!mope!in!line!1,!pause!in!line!
2,!then!noisy,!ledge,!alike,!grackle,!and!partook!in!line!3!would!have!missed!5!words!in!a!row!on!line!3,!
so!you!stop!the!test.!!There!are!10!words!in!each!numbered!line!(5!on!top!and!5!on!the!bottom),!so!the!
student!missed!7!of!30!words!read.!!30!!7!=!23!words!read!correctly.!!23/10!=!2.3,!so!the!student!would!
be!reading!at!a!grade!level!of!2.3.!!!A!student!who!read!every!word!correctly!up!to!line!6!but!then!missed!2!
words!on!line!6,!3!words!on!line!7,!then!5!words!on!line!8!would!stop!for!hitting!the!10!word!limit.!!If!the!
last! word! the! student! read! correctly! on! line! 8! was! seminary,! the! student! would! have! read! 78! words.!!!!!
78!!10!=!68.!!68/10!=!6.8,!grade!level!6.8.!