[LIT] Running REcords

[Lori Jackson]

Miscue is a more sohpisticated way of looing at error pattersn and differs in many ways from running records.  In miscue, you
work with an unread passage of at least 300 words.  Most sources advise that these not be the at the beginnning of a story, so
that a reader, I suppose, has a chance to build up a bit of steam.  The entire portion that is analyzed must be exactly
transcribed.  The reading is tape recorded to ensure that all miscues are accounted for.  Checkmarks are not used at all, but
errors and reruns and the like are coded in a similar way.  The anaylisis focuses entirely on the nature of the error and does
not concern itself with a ratio of correct to incorrect.  It is much more in-depth and considers use of both preceding and
following text with regards to meaning, differenetiates between meaning making at different levels (say within a sentence
versus within a text) and provides you a much clearer picture of the kinds of errors a student is making.  Part of the process
is the valueing of errors which do not impact meaning.  I have only done a couple, but one thing that really hit me hard was
that when a child makes a sophisticated susbstitution, it is a an act of comprehension -- that the child must have an
understanding of the text to make this substitution.  I was thinking it much like when you are writing and just can't spell
the word you want, so you search for an acceptable synonym.  Doing miscue has been a real eye opener for me, but clearly it is
not a process a classroom teacher can undertake with every child he or she encounters.

In our district we are using running records until third grade.  Our primary assessment tool in the primary DRA Kit.  We need
to makes some changes at the intermediate level and it is my goal to lead our building level coaches through a study of
miscue, as I believe it would be a helpful tool for intervening with our struggling upper grade readers.

Lori

Heather Poland wrote:

> ok, I emailed my professor to clear up what she had said before in class
> about not doing Running Records with older than primary kids. Here is what
> she says:
>
> [quote]I wouldn't have any serious objections to any teacher doing running
> records, if it feels useful to him/her.  However, running record
> assessment was designed for beginning readers and is probably most
> useful for them because they tend to engage in reading strategies much
> more visibly than do older, more proficient readers.  All too often,
> teachers would just be working hard to mark down lots of checkmarks on
> words for running records on older students.  Don't forget that running
> records are a particular kind of assessment, as well, that does not
> utilize a prepared copy of the text.  Sometimes, when teachers talk
> about running records they are actually doing IRI assessment instead.
>
> I wouldn't recommend running record as a required district assessment
> for students above about second grade.  They weren't designed to be used
> as summative assessment in general.[/quote]
>
> The bold is my own :)
> So I think part of it is that for Running REcord, the teacher does NOT have
> a copy of the text and since there are so many words, it would be really
> difficult to get all the checks down. It is more helpful to have a copy of
> the text and mark the miscues, and that would be miscue analysis/IRI
>
> --
> - Heather
>
> "The world of books is the most remarkable creation of
> man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments
> fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out;
> new races build others. But in the world of books are
> volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet
> live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were
> written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men
> centuries dead." --Clarence Day
>
> "While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little
> good evidence exists that there's any educational substance
> behind the accountability and testing movement."
> —Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds
>
> "When our children fail competency tests the schools lose
> funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase
> funding. "
> —Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate
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--

Lori Jackson
District Literacy Coach & Mentor
Todd County School District
Mission, South Dakota

2006 Literacies for All Summer Institute
Redefining Literacies: Expanding Our Vision of What is Possible
July 13-16, 2006
Charlotte, North Carolina