##### Straight Off the Tracks #####

      Helloooo Running Records! Recently, I have been introduced to running records as a means of literacy assessment. Students read a piece of text out loud to the teacher and the teacher records all the correct words and incorrect words or errors the student has throughout their reading. Once all the errors have been recorded, teachers then look for times when students self-corrected their own errors. These errors do not count in the overall calculation of errors. This assessment allows teachers to identify each child's error ratio, accuracy percentage, and their self-correction ratio. It will help teachers to identify where the child falls as far as reading levels go, and if the selected text was too hard, too easy, or just right for the student's current reading level.
      Yesterday, I performed my first running record with one of the second graders in my practicum classroom. In a previous post, I introduced you to some of her work. She is at a much lower reading level than most of the students in her class. My practicum teacher said she was at a DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) level of 14, and most incoming second graders are hoped to be at a DRA level of 18. I chose to read a book my NAU teacher read in one of my literacy classes, Dear Mr. Blueberry. The book cover says it is appropriate for children ages 4-7. I did not know going into the reading, that the book would have such a high DRA level. The book is for children very young, but as far as independent reading goes, it would be way too hard for most students in this age group. The book falls under a DRA level of 24, which is still a second grade reading level. I thought this book might be a bit challenging, due to some of the vocabulary words, but I did not realize how hard it would be for this student. My practicum teacher told me that all but 8-10 students in her classroom would be able to read this book without it being too hard. For my next running record with my student, I have chosen a book at much lower reading level.

Total # of Words: 445
Total # of Errors: 94
Total # of SC: 1

Error Rate: 1:3.73 (for every word she said correct, she had 3.73 errors)
Accuracy: 78.9% (this falls under Hard 50-89%)
SC Rate: 1:95 (she self-corrected once out of 94 errors + her self-correction error)

Here is the running record that I did for my child assessment student:

(Click to enlarge)

      My student struggled in the read aloud but she did not get frustrated or quit :). She said she has a hard time with long chapter books but she likes reading because she can learn more and learn lots of new words! She said she spends an average of 20 minutes reading during every sitting. If she is reading a chapter book, she either reads one chapter, or cannot put it down until she reads the whole book. 

      I did a reading interest survey with her and discovered she likes to read about animals, plants, friendships, fashion, and famous people (including her favorite magazine: People) She also enjoys reading science fiction books as well. The book she is most excited to get her hands on is Diary of a Whimpy Kid. 

      Overall, the running record was a bit challenging! I took a small recorder with me and got the student's permission to record her reading the book to me. Later, I wrote down all the words and listened back at her read aloud. Due to the number of errors, I found the far right columns on the running record a bit overwhelming and very challenging. It was hard to tell if her errors were due due to her knowledge of meaning, structure, or visual information. I hope that over time, I will be able to decipher which is which and how to identify errors more accurately.