How do I determine which of the four levels individual students best fit into currently (for each component)?

At the beginning of each week, the teacher determines which of the four levels each student should work at for the components that week. Data to determine this can be based on:

Observational assessment of students in module lessons and also in previous units of the ALL Block (for example, hearing students reading aloud and listening as they discuss answers when reading texts closely; Informal assessment checklists are provided for teachers in Module 1 to support this process).
Reviewing completed student work products from both module lessons and the ALL Block components (for example, graphic organizers, note-catchers, QuickWrites, and exit tickets).
From the results of mid- and end-of-unit assessments.

Determining students’ current levels is most challenging in Module 1 because teachers may not have had the opportunity to gather data about student achievement at this point in the year. When working with students who participated in the module lessons and the ALL Block in the previous grade, data gathered from tracking progress over the course of the previous year should be available to inform leveling decisions in Module 1. If this data is not available, in Units 1 and 2 of Module 1, the placement of students does not need to be precise because the focus of the first two units of the ALL Block is becoming used to the structure and components and learning to self-manage as they work independently. By Unit 3, sufficient data should have been collected from the Units 1 and 2 module lessons, assessment, and the ALL Block.

Determining student levels is for the purpose of grouping students for teacher-guided activities and is not shared with students. Grouping is flexible, so, for example, students may be on grade level for Reading and Speaking Fluency in Unit 1, but show significant enough progress by Unit 3 to be leveled above grade level for this component. This progress may have been observed in module lessons, work products completed during the module lessons, normal mid- and end of unit assessments, or in previous units of the ALL Block.

ALL Block FAQs