Danielle Koncius ELD 307- Dr.

Casey Miscue Analysis/Running Record

A miscue analysis is one of the teachers most commonly used methods of assessing their students oral reading behavior by evaluating the comprehension, fluency, accuracy, and the types of errors made while reading the selected running record. A running record is the reading material that is examined during a miscue analysis. The purpose of a miscue analysis is to allow teachers to determine the reading level of a student in order to select appropriate reading material to inform instruction. To conduct a running record, the teacher must be familiar with each students individual reading level in order to select the most appropriate reading passage to assess. There should be two copies of the text, one for the student to read off of and one for the teacher to mark the words read correctly and the errors. It should be explained to the student that they are going to read a passage out loud and the teacher will be listening as well as taking notes. It is important to fill the student in on what the teacher will be doing so that they are not confused or distracted by the note taking. With the running record in the teachers hand and the story/passage in the students hand, the child will begin reading. As the student is reading out loud, the teacher will mark each word on their copy of the passage by using the appropriate symbols for a running record. For example, if the student substitutes a real word that is incorrect, the teacher should write the incorrect word above the word in their copy of the text. If the student appears to be unable to read a word, the teacher should wait five to ten seconds before asking the student if they need help with the word; this is counted as an error. The teacher should ask questions about the text after the student is done with it to check for comprehension. These questions

should be along the lines of asking about characters and the main ideas of the story. Once the passage has been read and the teacher has completed the recording form, the teacher should then score the students performance. The oral reading is scored by an accuracy rate chart that determines the accuracy percentage based on the amount of errors that were made. The fluency score is determined by referring to a fluency scoring key which is scored 0-3 (zero being the lowest fluency and three being the highest) and each number is corresponded with a description of fluency levels. For my first miscue analysis/running record, I wanted to choose a student who I felt would be able to read the story on their own for the most part but would still make enough errors that would allow me to practice using the running record coding system. The book that my co-teacher and I felt was most appropriate for this young reader, Matt, is a level E book. Matt is, as determined by past running records, of average reading level. Matt did not necessarily respond with excitement when I had ask him to come out into the hallway and read a short story for me, but he did not seem disappointed about missing quiet time to read either. Matt read the story, The Loose Tooth by Lucinda George with 92% accuracy. I felt that this story was appropriate to use because it allowed me to see many of his strengths and weaknesses when it comes to reading. Matt displayed the use of reading strategies such as using context clues to self-correct when a word that he read did not seem to fit in the sentence properly. For example, when the word said came up, Matt often replaced it with another similar word such as say, but quickly recognized that said Mom makes more sense and corrected himself. Matt presented some difficulty articulating words with long a words such as Kate and played. It is very much expected at this age and reading level for students to have difficulty with these types of words and it is anticipated for Matt to more highly understand the concept of long vowel sounds. Matt did not read the story very fluently; rather, he read

each word individually in a more choppy manor. I have recognized that the few words that Matt could not read and asked for help or simply omitted were mostly consonant diagraphs including br, ck, sh, and ch combinations. Again, difficulty with these words is very much expected, especially if these letter combinations are a part of a longer word such as breakfast and school. Based on the findings of the running record, I would feel comfortable keeping Matt at an E reading level. Matt did not struggle to the point where I feel that he should practice at a lower level and he did not complete the reading with enough ease for me to suggest that he be brought up another level. I would also use my recognition of Matts difficulty with consonant diagraphs and be sure to familiarize him with these words during future lessons to make him comprehend and more comfortable with this concept. This goes the same for the long vowel sounds and I would make sure to keep him practicing and reading these words so he will recognize these words more fluently in the future.