S4 E2 - Tracking Reading Growth Without a Benchmark Assessment

Has something in this episode resonated with you? Get in touch!

In this episode of the Structured Literacy podcast, Jocelyn addresses the common challenge of tracking student reading progress and communicating with parents after moving away from traditional benchmark assessments, which she argues were "made up" without research foundations. 

She introduces a free tool called "From Phonics to Uncontrolled Texts: An Instructional Framework For Moving Into, Through and Past Decodable Texts," featuring 16 research-based milestones that track students from early reading through skilled decoding to reading uncontrolled texts at 90 words per minute. The framework captures nuanced reading skills often missing from existing assessments, including comprehension monitoring, set for variability, and prosody, while working alongside rather than replacing phonics assessments and normed screeners. 

Jocelyn emphasises that while the tool provides visual progress tracking for students, families, and staff, its deeper purpose is building teacher knowledge and capacity to make informed instructional decisions beyond simply following programs, ultimately moving educators from knowing what to do to understanding why they're doing it. 

Lead the Shift That Lasts
The only whole-school transformation pathway that builds trust, develops teacher thinking, and equips leaders to lead sustainable change from within while building a deep understanding of human cognition and evidence-based practice. 

We are now taking bookings for 2026 to support those who are Leading Learning Success.

Click the link to book your discovery call. https://www.jocelynseamereducation.com/leadinglearning

Quick Links
Jocelyn Seamer Education Homepage
The Resource Room
Youtube channel
Facebook Page

#jocelynseamereducation #literacy #bestpractice #earlyprimaryyears #primaryschool #primaryschools #primaryschoolteacher #earlyyearseducation #earlyyearseducator #structuredliteracy #scienceofreading #classroom #learning #learningisfun #studentsuccess #studentsupport #teacherlife #theresourceroom #theevergreenteacher #upperprimary #upperprimaryteacher #thestructuredliteracypodcast #phoneme #grapheme #phonics #syntheticphonics