DRA is designed to develop what?

• A. Critical readers through group comprehension
• B. Basic decoding skills
• C. Vocabulary development only
• D. Test-taking strategies

Answer: (A)

The main idea behind this assessment is to guide instruction by boosting how well a child understands and thinks critically about what they read, especially in group settings. DRA uses leveled passages and running records to gauge accuracy and fluency, but the real purpose is to develop comprehension strategies—predicting, questioning, inferring, summarizing, and making evidence-based interpretations—through opportunities to discuss and analyze text with peers. That focus on reading for understanding and thoughtful discussion in small-group contexts is what makes it best described as building critical readers through group comprehension. While decoding and vocabulary are important parts of reading, they’re means to support understanding, not the sole aim of this assessment, and it isn’t about test-taking strategies.