Assessing reading
This unit examines the importance of assessing reading and building skills profiles of individual pupils. We present some simple tools to assess a pupil’s reading skills and provide information and guidance on the following areas:
- The process for assessing reading
- Gathering background information about a pupil’s academic performance
- The importance of assessing both decoding and comprehension
- How to assess a pupil’s decoding skills
- Sight vocabulary and miscue analysis as ways of assessing reading
- Problems with comprehension and how they can be assessed and identified
- Assessing working memory
Assessing phonic knowledge: the non-lexical route
- Task 1: production of speech sounds
- Task 2: pupil produces sounds from whole words
- Task 3: matching letters to sounds
- Task 4: non-word task
This route relies on the pupil blending phonemes and sounds together, so you need to model speech sounds as clearly as possible. Be careful, for example, not to add an extra ‘uh’ (sometimes called schwa) to a consonant, as this has the potential to confuse and create a non-word. For example, ‘mat’ is /m/ /a/ /t/, not /muh/ /a/ /tuh/.
Don’t worry if the pupil does pronounce an ‘uh’ sound with consonants, but do make a note if this happens. Producing the additional ‘uh’ sound during the blending process can hinder the pupil’s attempts to decode through phonics, as it will stop the word making sense. Some pupils will mentally delete the ‘uh’ and have no difficulty blending sounds into words. For pupils experiencing difficulties it is always a good idea to avoid anything that becomes an extra process in learning (such as having to mentally delete sounds).
The third task simply involves finding out for which letters the pupil knows the corresponding sounds. Organise the pack of sounds into a basic set (a-th) and a harder set (ng-ure). Present the first set, and if the pupil struggles do not present the second set. If the pupil gets bored or fidgety, try to adapt the activity.
The final task is designed to test the non-lexical route of DRCM. As you are asking pupils to sound out words that don’t exist, those struggling with literacy can find this task quite challenging. Be careful about how you break down the task, be encouraging, and allow thinking time. Make it clear that the words aren’t supposed to make sense. Only present one card at a time, and if the pupil is struggling, end the test.
The lexical route: the irregular word recognition test
- Gather words
- Read out loud
- Enter your findings
Put together a list of words that the pupil’s peers recognise in class. Get some guidance from their regular teachers beforehand to decide on a suitable starting point – there’s no point testing the recognition of overly complicated words if they’re still struggling with the basics.
The child now tries to read out as many words as they can. Make sure that all the words you test are truly irregular; many early high frequency word lists include regular words like ‘mum’.
Use a profile sheet to record what you found during the test. Analyse these findings with a colleague; explain to them how the assessment was carried out and why assessing vocabulary in this manner is important. Make notes about this discussion in your learning log.
Reading recovery and miscue analysis
Reading recovery teacher Judy Grimwood talks you through how miscue analyses (or running records) work. This video includes a case study of Judy working with a pupil on a miscue analysis, as she explains how you can help pupils progress through carefully observing their learning.
This video clip relates to activity 4 in your PDF of unit 11.
Show transcriptJudy Grimwood – Reading Recovery Teacher:
My name is Judy Grimwood and I’m the Reading Recovery Teacher at Orchard Vale Community School in Barnstaple, North Devon.
Children tend to enter this school with lower than average ability. That’s their starting point.
Classroom interaction:
Teacher: Now leave a space, and think about how are you going to find that word giraffe please.
Judy:
We initially assess children in reading recovery in particular with a series of assessments, and we look at all different areas. We look at how they use sounds and letters. Some children don’t work in sound mode, and obviously that tells us something straight away.
Classroom interaction:
Teacher: What was the next word? Seven.
Pupil: (sounding out) “sss”
Teacher: Seven. You can do that can’t you William.
Pupil: “sss” “sss”
Teacher: Excellent.
Judy:
We look at how they approach print. We look at their high frequency word reading, and then every single day, I take a running record and I look very carefully at what information the child is using as they’re reading so it’s about continual assessment.
Group work interaction:
Teacher: Handa put seven delicious fruits in her basket, like we’ve just done.
Judy:
I work primarily in Key Stage One, children need to be given the opportunity to be exposed to quality first teaching, and for at least a year before they’re even considered for reading recovery.
Reading Recovery Session interaction
Judy: So this is “Zac and the Ducks” isn’t it, this is the new book, that we did yesterday.
Judy:
Lexie is in Year Two. She came into programme at Level Zero in reading, and she could write a few simple words, including her name.
Reading Recovery session Interaction:
Lexie: (reading) “The ducks, ss, ss, dad…”
Judy:
The book that you take the running record on is not totally unfamiliar to them but it’s a relatively new text. She only read it once yesterday.
Reading Recovery Session interaction:
Judy: Here you...
Lexie: (reading) “Here you are”
Judy:
When we do the new book, we have a full book introduction. We had a big chat about the book and we’ve looked at it together, and then she’s had a go at reading it independently.
Reading Recovery Session interaction:
Lexie: (reading) “The ducks are…”
Judy:
So in the running record which is also known as Miscue Analysis, I mark everything that Lexie does or says. So she has ticks for the word that she gets right, and after the lesson is over, I will go back and I will look at that running record or Miscue Analysis, and I will analyse it so that I know where I need to go forward with my teaching.
Reading Recovery Session interaction:
Lexie: (reading) “I am hungry too”
Judy:
I had seen through previous running records that Lexie was using meaning and structure information but not looking very carefully at the way the words look, not looking for visual information in the text. And today she continued not to use visual information as much as I would have liked.
Reading Recovery Session interaction:
Judy: Read this sentence again from here.
Lexie: (reading) “Here is some bread”
Judy:
The word she used was ‘some’ instead of ‘the’ and I was trying to get her to look at, you know, does this word look like ‘some’, and getting her to look at the information in the word to see if she could see that it couldn’t be that word because of the way the word looked.
Reading Recovery Session interaction:
Judy: Here is.
Lexie: (reading) “Here is the bread.”
Judy: Well done Lexie. I was looking at this word and I was thinking, that doesn’t look like “sssome” because it hasn’t got a “sss” at the beginning has it? It looks like the word “the”.
Judy:
It’s about very closely observing what they do, all the time and picking up and that and feeding that back into their learning.
Reading Recovery Session interaction:
Judy: Keep going Lexie.
Lexie: (reading) “Dad said to…”
Judy:
I was pleased with Lexie because she was actually working, she was actually being an active learner,
Reading Recovery Session interaction:
Lexie: (reading) ““I am hungry too.” Dad looked in the bag…”
Judy:
That’s one of the things that we have to work on very hard. Children come into reading recovery sometimes, and obviously, come into school being very passive. They think you’re going to do it to them. They think that the learning is going to sort of be done to them. They don’t realise they’ve got to engage in that process. And obviously what we’re working at all the time is encouraging them to do the work so that when you’re not sitting next to them anymore, they can do it by themselves. So you’re trying to encourage this active learning. And for Lexie today, she was doing that.
Reading Recovery Session interaction:
Lexie: (reading) “The ducks are looking for bread.”
Judy: “The ducks are looking for bread”. Well done, keep going.
Judy:
Today Lexie was on a Level Four book, and that’s a new level for her. So even though it’s a little tiny step, it’s a big step in terms of the child.
Reading Recovery Session interaction:
Judy: Here we go, last page.
Lexie: (reading) ““Here you go hungry Zac.” Said Dad.”
Judy: Wow Lexie well done! Do you know what I really liked? I liked the way you kept going. It was a bit hard in places that one wasn’t it? But you kept trying and you kept looking. Good girl.
Process for a miscue analysis
- Select text
- Make your own version(s)
- Find quiet and record
- Observe but don’t help
- Playback
- Review
- Respond
First, choose a sample of text that:
- The pupil has not previously seen.
- Is approximately 100 words long.
- Is at a level where the pupil will make some mistakes – you will need about 20 substitutions to analyse (see the playback stage).
You’ll need to photocopy the text or type out your own version, creating a format that leaves enough space above each line for your marks and annotations. For younger pupils, you may need to put together a few different texts to collect enough errors to analyse.
Go to an area where there’s no noise and you won’t be interrupted. Make sure you have the means to audio- or video-record the reading, as it won’t be possible to make sufficient notes as the pupil reads. Observe the pupil’s approach; are they reluctant, distracted, or keen to discuss the text?
Remember that you are a tester, rather than teacher, in this instance.
You shouldn’t:
- Help, support, or otherwise act as a teacher.
- Interrupt, unless the pupil needs reassurance or stops and requires encouragement to get going again.
You should:
- Explain to the pupil what you are doing and why at the start of the assessment.
- Supply a word if a pupil refuses to attempt it.
Play back the recording and annotate your version of the text with a pencil, using the following marks:
- Sc: self-correction, for when the pupil corrected an initially misread word without being helped or asked to do so. This is a good sign, as the pupil is ensuring their reading makes sense.
- S: substitution, for when the pupil reads a word incorrectly as another real or made-up word.
- R: refusal, for when the pupil stops and does or will not read the word.
- O: omission, for when the pupil misses the word entirely.
- I: insertion, for when the pupil adds another word to the text.
Consider why the pupil made any substitutions. Were they:
- Unsuccessfully attempting letter sound conversion?
- Using a word that looks similar?
- Choosing a word that looks completely different, but would fit into the context?
Think about the pupil’s most frequent errors. Are they:
- Relying heavily on letters and sounds to read without considering if it makes sense?
- Ignoring letter sound cues in the search for meaning?
Ideally, the pupil should be trying to combine meaning and letter sound-based cues. You should use your analysis to develop a reading strategy that, for example:
- Improves the accuracy of the pupil’s letter sound conversion if required.
- Develops comprehension skills if the reader has not considered whether the text makes sense while reading.
- Focuses on phonic decoding, if the reader tends to concentrate purely on the text making sense, rather than relating letters to sounds.
A miscue analysis for marking
In this audio clip, Judy Grimwood, a reading recovery teacher, asks a pupil to read a passage from the book, Zac and the Ducks. The pupil struggles at points with reading the continuous text aloud, but is helped along by Judy and encouraged to persevere. You can use this recording to practice conducting your own miscue analysis.
- A miscue analysis for marking
This audio clip relates to activity 4 in your PDF of unit 11
Show transcriptJudy Grimwood – Reading Recovery Teacher
This is “Zac and the Ducks” isn’t it? This is the new book that we did yesterday. Alright, so you’re going to read it to me now, aren’t you? Alright.
Lexie:
“Here comes Zac and Dad.”
“Here comes…the ducks. Dad…ss ss, Dad…”
Judy:
That’s it, “Dad.”
Lexie:
“…said…”
Judy:
Keep going.
“Dad said”
Lexie:
“Zac, look at the ducks.”…
Judy:
Keep going.
You know that word.
“The”
Lexie:
“The ducks are…”
Judy:
“The ducks are…”
"The ducks are…”
Lexie:
“…looking”
Judy:
Turn over.
Keep going
Lexie:
Is it “here”?
Judy:
Is it “here”?
Lexie:
I don’t know.
Judy:
What do you think?
Lexie:
“Here are…” no “Here…”
Judy:
Shall we go back, try that again. This word is “The”.
Lexie:
“The ducks are looking for…bread.”
Judy:
“The ducks are looking for bread.” Well done. Keep going.
Lexie:
“Said Zac.”
Judy:
Keep going Lexie.
Lexie:
“Dad said “Look” to Zac “Look in the bag.”.”
“Zac look…looked in the bag. Here is some bread.”
Judy:
“Here is some bread.”
Lexie:
“Here…”
Judy:
“Here is some bread.”
Lexie:
“Said…”
Judy:
Keep reading.
Lexie:
““For the ducks.” said Zac.”
Judy:
Keep on going.
Lexie:
“Here…here…”
Judy:
“Here” “Here you”
Lexie:
“you”
Judy:
“Here you”
Lexie:
“Here you are ducks.”
Judy:
“Here you are ducks.”
Lexie:
“Said Zac…Zac said, “Look” to…”
Judy:
“Zac said to”
Lexie:
“…the ducks, “I am hungry too.” Dad looked in the bag.”
Judy:
Last page.
Lexie:
““Here you go hungry Zac.” said Dad.”
Judy:
Wow Lexie, well done, do you know what I really liked? I liked the way you kept going. It was a bit hard in places that one wasn’t it? But you kept trying and you kept looking, good girl!