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In creating cut scores, we predict to a different measure of reading achievement at the end of the year. The red/intensive-support/at-risk cut identifies students who are highly likely to perform below the 20th percentile on that measure at the end of the year without intensive intervention. The benchmark cut differentiates between students who are highly likely to perform below the 40th percentile (yellow/strategic-support/some-risk) and above the 40th percentile (green/core-support/low-risk). The blue/core-support/negligible-risk cut is not a growth goal, but is the score at which students are almost certain to perform at or above the 40th percentile.

Yes, when scoring ORF you are counting the words read correctly. If a student does not read a word correctly, they do not get credit for it.

The passages are intended to be equivalent in grade level. They do not progress in difficulty in any systematic manner. Each passage balances decodability, Lexile level, and various measures of comprehensibility. You can find out more about this in the Appendix A of the Administration and Scoring Guide.

The guide can be accessed from the Testing Materials Page. Just click on the "DOWNLOAD DIBELS MATERIALS" button and the Guide is the first link on the page after the click-through use agreement. https://dibels.uoregon.edu/materials