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SIR ARTHUR LEWIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE Division of Teacher Education and Educational Administration LIT 101 Promoting Reading

g in Primary Grades

Running Records
A Running Record is a procedure which was developed by Clay (1985) for assessing and analyzing students oral reading behaviors. Running records inform the teacher about students strengths and weaknesses and provides valuable information on the word decoding strategies they use. Running records are administered individually and require you to sit either in front or beside the student and listen as he or she reads. As a child reads a portion of a book, the teacher notes errors, self-corrections, repetitions, re-readings, hesitations, and appeals for help. The focus, first, is on what the child can do when reading, and, secondly, what the child needs to learn to do to become a better reader. Analysis of the results reveals the childs accuracy and self-correction rates; further analysis of the errors and self-corrections reveals the cueing systems (meaning, structure and visual) that the student uses and/or ignores. The Running Record allows the teacher to note and record the reading progress of a child over time. The Running Record also allows the teacher to determine if a given book, either a students own choice, or a book considered for instruction or for independent reading, is at an appropriate level for him. The teacher uses the running record to calculate scores, analyze errors, and document strategies the child uses to successfully decode words and construct meaning. Running Records are intended to help teachers: monitor ongoing student progress in reading find out which particular skills and strategies students are using focus on specific needs of individual children group together children with similar needs for reading instruction choose books at an appropriate level for your students Taking the Record 1. Sit the child beside you and explain that you want her to read the book independently. Read the title of the book to the child. 2. Give the child the book and use a record form or a blank sheet of paper to mark her reading behavior and record miscues. (A chart with 100 squares might be used to record one word per square to make word counts easier.)
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3. When a child stops during reading, it is important that you allow enough time for her to work on her problem before you supply the word. It is also important that you do not wait too long that she loses the meaning of the story while trying to solve the unknown word. 4. Use a standardized system (such as the one in the Table below) to record words read correctly, substitutions, omissions, deletions, and insertions. 5. Also take note of self-corrections. When a student corrects a miscue herself, it is an indication that she is monitoring her own comprehension. 6. You may also wish to note hesitations, repetitions and other reading behaviors which may not affect accuracy but provide information about the strategies the reader is using.

Scoring and Analyzing Running Records


- Each substitution counts as one error -If the student makes several substitutions for the same word, only one error is counted -Omissions, insertions and words supplied by the teacher count as one error -Repetitions are not counted as errors and should not be scored -Self-corrections are not errors and should not be scored -Running words are those which occur in the passage or book (not including the title) - It is important that the student not be penalized for imperfect pronunciation due to dialect, Creole, articulation difficulties (eg. a lisp) or the influence of a second language. For example, if the student consistently produces /d/ for /th/ when asked the first sound for the th words such as dem for them and dis for this, she should be given credit for the correct initial sound.

Marking a Running Record Form Several terms are used when marking a running record form. You should become familiar with these terms by reviewing the explanations below.

Errors (E)--Errors are tallied during the reading whenever a child does any of the following:

--Substitutes another word for a word in the text --Omits a word --Inserts a word --Has to be told a word

Self-correction (SC)--Self-correction occurs when a child realizes her or his error and corrects it. When a child makes a self-correction, the previous substitution is not scored as an error. Meaning (M)--Meaning is part of the cueing system in which the child takes her or his cue to make sense of text by thinking about the story background, information from pictures, or the meaning of a sentence. These cues assist in the reading of a word or phrase. Structure (S)--Structure refers to the structure of language and is often referred to as syntax. Implicit knowledge of structure helps the reader know if what she or he reads sounds
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Visual (V)--Visual information is related to the look of the letters in a word and the word itself. A reader uses visual information when she or he studies the beginning sound, word length, familiar word chunks, and so on.

Scoring and Analyzing a Running Record Scoring: The information gathered while doing a running record is used to determine error, accuracy, and self-correction rates. Directions for calculating these rates are given below. The calculated rates, along with qualitative information and the student's comprehension of the text, are used to determine the student's reading level. Qualitative Analysis: The qualitative analysis is based on observations that you make during the running record. It involves observing how the student uses the meaning (M), structural (S), and visual (V) cues to help her/him read. It also involves paying attention to fluency, intonation, and phrasing. Think back to the prompts you offered and how the student responded. These observations help you form a picture of the student's reading development. Error Accuracy Self-Correction The formulas below were used with the sample running record above. Error Rate Error rate is expressed as a ratio and is calculated by using the following formula: Total words / Total errors = Error rate Example: 99 / 8 = 12.38, or 12 rounded to nearest whole number The ratio is expressed as 1:12. This means that for each error made, the student read approximately 12 words correctly. Accuracy Rate Accuracy rate is expressed as a percentage. You can calculate the accuracy rate using the following formula: (Total running words Total errors) / Total running words x 100 = Accuracy rate Example: (99 8) / 99 x 100 = Accuracy rate 91/99 x 100 = Accuracy rate .919 x 100 = 91.9%, or 92% rounded to the nearest whole number
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You can use accuracy rate to determine whether the text read is easy enough for independent reading, appropriate to use without frustration during reading instruction purposes instruction, or too difficult for the reader. The breakdown of these three categories is as follows: Easy enough for independent reading = 95 100% Instructional level for use in guided reading session = 90 94% Too difficult and will frustrate the reader = 89% and below

Self-Correction Rate Self-correction rate is expressed as a ratio and is calculated by using the following formula: (Number of errors + Number of self corrections) / Number of self corrections = Self-correction rate Example: (8 + 3) / 3 = Self-correction rate 11 / 3 = 3.666, or 4 rounded to the nearest whole number The self-correction rate is expressed as 1:4. This means that the student corrects approximately 1 out of every 4 errors. If a student is self-correcting at a rate of 1:4 or less, this indicates that she/he is self-monitoring her/his reading.

The accuracy rate is determined by subtracting the number of errors from the total number of running words., then dividing that figure by the number of running words in the passage and multiplying by 100. e.g. Total running words in passage = 102 Number of errors = 16 Total words correct = (102 16) = 86 86/102 x 100 = 84% You can determine the level of difficulty of the text by using the following criteria: Independent Level (easy to read) 95 100% correct 90 94% correct 6 80 89% correct

Instructional level (ideal for teaching) Frustrational level (too difficult)

Based on the results of Matts Running Record below, is the story/text too difficult for him? Why?

Using a Retelling Rubric After the student reads a benchmark book and you take a running record, have the student do an oral retelling of the story. Ask the student to close the book then tell you about the story in as much detail as she/he can remember. If the student has difficulty retelling parts of the story or remembering certain details, you can use prompts such as "Tell me more about (character x)" or "What happened after...?" Analyze the retelling for information the student gives about:

Main idea and supporting detail Sequence of events Characters Setting Plot Problem and solution Response to text-specific vocabulary and language

Retelling Checklist

Can the student tell you what happened in the story or the subject of the book in her or his own words? Does the student include details about the characters in the retelling? Can she or he explain the relationships between the characters? Can the student describe the setting? How detailed is the description? Can the student recall the events of the story, and can she or he place them in the correct sequence? Can the student identify the problem and the resolution? Does the student use vocabulary from the text? Does the student's retelling demonstrate minimal, adequate, or very complete and detailed understanding of the text?

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