Ohh the main reason I started to write was to include this little that I found on the web. The montessori teacher just gave DD4 a book to read that has DRA level on it so I was checking into it. It claims to be written by a PhD. Have not completed reading it yet. Similar info as in the ehow article posted earlier, just a bit more academic.

http://natalierathvon.com/images/DRA_Review-08-25-2006.pdf