Scoring the ComprehensionConversation

You will also have evidence of comprehensionfrom the first reading of the text in the previous les-son. If you use this evidence in combination with abrief conversation after reading, you are able to scorethe student’s thinking in three categories. You may bethinking about some of these questions as you scorethe comprehension conversation after the reading.

Within the Text

q Is the reader gaining the literal meaning of thetext through solving words, monitoring her ownunderstanding, and accuracy?

q Can the reader tell what happened or reportimportant facts?

q Is the reader searching for and using informationand remembering information in summary form?

q Is the reader adjusting her reading to fit theform—and also sustaining fluency?

Beyond the Text

q Is the reader making predictions?

q Is the reader making connections with priorknowledge, personal experience, or other texts?

q Is there evidence that the reader is inferring whatis implied but not stated in the text?

q Has the reader shown that he is synthesizinginformation by changing his own thinking?

FIGURE 6.5 Self-Correction Chart

FIGURE 6.3 Fluency Rubric

FIGURE 6.4 Accuracy Chart

Assessm

ent and Record K

eepingsection

6

103

Red_System Guide_6_Appendix_REVISE_Layout 1 3/11/14 11:47 AM Page 103

104

About the Text

q Is the reader able to think about the literary ele-ments of the text and recognize the writer’s craft?

q Can the reader think critically about how thetext was written?

Assign a score in all three areas. If the reader cameup with one or more unique and valuable additionalunderstandings not identified in the key understand-ings, give an extra point. Now calculate a total score ofunsatisfactory, limited, satisfactory, or excellent. For atext to be appropriate, the student’s comprehensionmust be satisfactory or excellent (see Figure 6.6).

Scoring the Oral Reading andComprehension Conversationin the Reading Record: Summary

The following is a summary of the steps to scorethe reading record:

1. Accuracy: Circle the number of errors on thegraph (or use the F&P Calculator/Stopwatch).

2. Self-Corrections: Record the number of self-corrections.

3. Fluency: Circle the fluency rating.

0 = no phrasing or expression

1 = minimal phrasing or expression

2 = some phrasing or expression

3 = mostly phrased and expressive reading

4. Comprehension:

• Assign points in each category (Within,Beyond, About the Text), making a decisionfor each based on:

0 = no understanding

1 = little understanding

2 = satisfactory understanding

3 = excellent understanding

• Assign 1 extra point if appropriate for uniqueexpression of understandings.

• Circle total comprehension score on thegraph. For levels L–Z:

0–4 = unsatisfactory

5–6 = limited

7–8 = satisfactory

9–10 = excellent

In LLI at levels L–Z, assess three areas of thinking—within, beyond, and about a text using a10-point scoring scale. All three areas are essential to acomplete understanding of the text. An extra pointmay be awarded to a student who expresses an addi-tional understanding beyond the key understandingsprovided. Take the accuracy rate and the comprehen-sion score into account to determine if the passageread was at the student’s independent or instructionalreading levels (see Figure 6.7).

Using the F&P Calculator/StopwatchThe following are steps to administer the reading

record using the F&P Calculator/Stopwatch. Althoughwe don’t recommend taking a reading rate on everystudent every time, occasionally you will want to meas-ure the rate on individual students whose progress youare monitoring in that particular area of fluency.Remember that faster is not necessarily better. Manyfactors should be considered.

We recommend administering a reading record onone student every standard (even-numbered) lesson,which would give you a reading record every two weeksfor a group of four. If you want to obtain a readingrate, you will need the F&P Calculator/Stopwatch.Follow steps 1–7 below.

1. Use yesterday’s new book (the instructionallevel book from the odd-numbered lesson).Read the title and the introduction statementto the student and ask her to begin readingthe excerpt orally.

2. Press RW and enter the number of runningwords (RW) in the text on the F&P Calculator/Stopwatch.

3. Press Start Time on the calculator as the childbegins oral reading.

4. Code the reading behavior on the RecordingForm. Mark the typed text (see the OnlineResources site), making a check for each wordread accurately and using the coding

FIGURE 6.6 Comprehension Rubric

Red_System Guide_6_Appendix_REVISE_Layout 1 3/11/14 11:47 AM Page 104

Accuracy Comprehension

Excellent Satisfactory Limited Unsatisfactory9–10 7–8 5–6 0–4

98–100% Independent Independent Instructional Hard

95–97% Instructional Instructional Hard Hard

Below 95% Hard Hard Hard Hard

Assessm

ent and Record K

eepingsection

6

105

conventions to record errors, self-corrections,and other behaviors. Make notes about how thereading sounded.

5. Press End Time when the reading is complete.

6. Press #Errors and enter the number of errors onthe calculator.

7. Press Time to get Elapsed Minutes or Seconds.

8. Press WPM to see Words per Minute.

9. Press Accur.% for the Percentage of Accuracy.

After the reading, assign a score for fluency. Havea comprehension conversation with the student aboutthe text. Make notes about the student’s understand-ing. Alternatively, check off items the student talksabout. Use prompts, as needed, to stimulate discus-sion. Score each area and decide on the additionalpoint immediately after the conversation for a moresystematized assessment. Circle the accuracy on theform. Select one or two teaching points to help thereader learn how to process more effectively.

►Analyzing Oral ReadingBehaviorsThe following explains how to analyze the reading

record following the scoring process. You can also learnhow to analyze the student’s reading on the ProfessionalDevelopment and Tutorial DVDs. The DVDs allow youseveral opportunities to practice this analysis withthoughtful guidance. You will learn how to move fromthe coding and scoring of the reading record, to analyz-ing the information and using it to guide your teaching.

Sources of Information Used and Neglected

For each error, write MSV in the E column (whetherself-corrected or not). For each self-correction, writeMSV (all three letters) in the SC column. It is importantto think about what lead the reader to make the errorand what the reader might have neglected. Circle one,two, or three letters for each error or self-correction,without reading beyond the error or self-correction.Don’t bother to analyze omissions and substitutions forit is usually the reader’s use of language structure thatled to those errors. Think about the following as theyapply to each error and self-correction:

q Meaning. Readers often make substitutions thatindicate they are thinking about the meaning ofthe text. For example, a reader might say dancefor ballet. Ask yourself the question: Did themeaning of the text influence the error? (CircleM in the column Sources of Information.)

q Structure. A powerful source of information fora reader is the structure or syntax of language.From our knowledge of oral language, we haveimplicit knowledge of the way words are puttogether to form phrases and sentences. It“sounds right” to us. Readers often substitutenouns for nouns or verbs for verbs, indicatingan awareness of the syntactic rules of language.For example, a reader might say “We couldprobably come” for “We could possibly come.”Ask yourself the questions: Does the error fit anacceptable English language structure? Didstructure influence the error? (Circle S in thecolumn.)

Finding the Levels, L–Z

FIGURE 6.7 Finding Independent, Instructional, and Hard Levels

Red_System Guide_6_Appendix_REVISE_Layout 1 3/11/14 11:47 AM Page 105