The DORA Weighted Score is meant to provide either an individual student ranking or a group summary ranking for accountability purposes* via a single weighted DORA score. This score was added because some federal programs require a single score for reporting purposes.
This weighted score should NEVER be used for placing students into instructional groups. It is improper to do so because a weighted average of individual diagnostic measures does NOT translate into instructional groups. If you wish to place students into specific instruction, you need to look first at the type of program into which you wish to place them and next determine which DORA measure will help you do this. Or you may use the DORA profile letters of A to H, which are generated on the DORA tab and through the Raw Scores Reports.
Attached is an Excel file that shows the individual weights assigned to each of the 7 sub-tests of DORA by the grade level of the student. These were developed based on the skills' emphasis for on-grade-level reading instruction. For instance, because High-Frequency words and Phonics are expected to be mastered by 3rd and 4th grades respectively, at grades above these grade levels, the weights of these sub-tests are set to 0.
DORA Sub-test Legend:
HF - High-Frequency Words
WR - Word Recognition
PH - Phonics
PA - Phonemic Awareness
VO - Vocabulary (Oral)
SP - Spelling
CO - Comprehension
See attached DORA Weighted Score Excel File