Sarah Jacobs Running Record/Miscue Analysis ELD 307 Professor Rich

Within a classroom there are many diverse assessments a teacher can conduct to gather information about each individual student, in the classroom. Each of the assessments varies in topic, approach, and results. The assessments are also known to reveal different information about the class as a whole or a particular student. Each assessment has a different purpose as well as a different goal. Recently conducted with a student in my third grade classroom at Wicoff Elementary School, was the running record assessment. This assessment allows the teacher to understand the students independent reading level along with the students reading comprehension. The purpose of the running record assessment is to gather information regarding the students reading ability, reading comprehension, and fluency. Being able to collect this information allows the teacher to gain a better understanding of what types of books the student should be reading. By conducting this assessment the teacher is also able to identify the students progress throughout the year. Running records can be given at different points of the school year to determine the students progress. The assessment can also identify specific strengths and needs of the particular student. Reading is a huge part of Miss Belmontes third grade classroom. The classroom environment is mostly focused around reading. The classroom is surround by a variety of different books as well as posters relating to reading and literacy. Once the students have completed a task or an assignment instead of asking what to do next or simply doing nothing, Miss Belmonte formed a routine with the class, which is to take out a book and

independently read. Not only do the students have the opportunity to read a book of their choice but they also have a book club novel that each student is reading as well. Before conducting the assessment, I chose to work with a student named Joseph. Joseph is eight years old and is currently in Miss Belmontes third grade class. I have been working with Joseph throughout the semester and have also previously assessed him in word study. Joseph is very eager to be in school and participate in Miss Belmontes lessons. He is always reading factual books and relaying the information. For example, he was reading a book about dinosaurs and would explain the information to his peers as well as myself. I felt that assessing Joseph would be interesting because as a teacher it is important to gather information about your students in more then one area. There may also be connections from what I have observed and what was previously assessed. While preparing to conduct the running record/miscue analysis, I gathered all the supplies that were needed. The supplies consisted of a timer, a packet of papers which I would use to follow along with the students reading, ask questions from, and compute the score as well as the book that Joseph would be reading from. Joseph and I went into the hallway because it is a distraction-reduced environment. I chose the hallway to be able to have his full attention during the assessment. Since Joseph has done an assessment before with me, I just reminded him that he is helping me become a better teacher by letting me work with him. Joseph was given a clear explanation of the directions from Miss Belmonte and had me take over from there. Miss Belmonte wanted to stay so she can observe and assist if necessary. The

way the running record sheet was broken up, Miss Belmonte suggested that I stop Joseph at a certain point and to have him read independently. Joseph began by reading the title of the story, which was, The New Girl, along with the author. He then began to read the story aloud as I followed along on a sheet of paper. Joseph had one self-correction throughout his reading and had skipped over one word. Once he reached a certain area I had him stop just as Miss Belmonte suggested. Therefore I had Joseph read independently. Joseph was being timed throughout his reading and finished at two minutes and forty-four seconds. Once Joseph finished the story, I asked him to summarize the story for me. He did a good job on summarizing the story and was able to comprehend what he had read. I then asked him a few questions regarding the key understandings in the story. These questions related the important events from the story. Such as, What was the main characters problem in the story? I asked Joseph four questions, which he was able to answer thoroughly. I then asked Joseph three questions, which had him think beyond the text. For example, one question was, Why was Nora so unhappy about moving? Joseph was able to describe why Nora was so unhappy about moving and made his own connection with the character since he had moved severely times. The last set of questions, which were asked were about the text. One questions was, What makes the title The New Girl a good one for this book? After asking each set of questions Miss Belmonte and I would score Joseph on his ability to answer the questions and then calculate the overall score. Miss Belmonte explained how each section is divided up and how to score them. She worked with me in filling out each of the different areas. As well as giving

me a thorough explanation on why Joseph earned a particular score. The first area, which was calculated, is the accuracy rate, which Joseph received a 99% on. Joseph skipped over one word which was, we. The next area was self-corrections where Joseph received a one because had one word which he self-corrected. The word was, have. In the fluency section he received a two out of three. He received this score because he read in three or four word phrase groups rather than reading in larger meaningful phrases or word groups. Miss Belmonte then showed me how to calculate Josephs reading rate, which involved multiplication and division. Joseph received an 84.5 in this section. The last set of questions were relating to Josephs comprehension. In each of the three sections he received a three out of three. Receiving a three means that Joseph was able to reflect excellent understanding of the text and include all important information and ideas. His final calculation ended up in a perfect score. He received a ten, which is the highest score and means that Joseph has excellent comprehension. While reviewing the results of the running record assessment it is clear that Joseph is a good reader. As readers, we know that there is always room for improvement and expansion in types of books. According to Josephs fluency score, which was a two out of three, I would have him work on reading aloud when he is at home. Sometimes when reading independently is it hard determine your own fluency. Over all every other area Joseph excelled. He was able to comprehend the story, give details, and make personal life connections. As the teacher, I would have Joseph continue reading on this level so he can practice his fluency and then assess him again or have him meet with me and read a page or two aloud during the week.

Once he masters or shows improvement on his fluency I would have him move up a reading level. Overall, Joseph was able to excel in mostly all of the areas and was able to show an understanding of the story.