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Oral Reading Assessment and Reading Fluency

Directions for Administration of Reading Passages
Materials: Unnumbered copy of passage (student copy) Numbered copy of passage (examiner copy) Stopwatch Tape recorder Directions: 1. Place the unnumbered copy in front of the student. 2. Place the numbered copy in front of you, but shielded so the student cannot see what you record. 3. For each passage, say these specific directions to the student: When I say begin, start reading aloud at the top of this page. Read across the page (demonstrate by pointing). Try to read each word. If you come to a word you dont know, Ill tell it to you. Be sure to do your best reading. Are there any questions? (pause). 4. Say Begin and start your stopwatch when the student says the first word. If the student fails to say the first word of the passage after three seconds, tell her or him the word and mark it as incorrect. 5. As the student reads, follow along on your copy. Put a slash ( / ) through words read incorrectly. 6. If a student stops or struggles with a word for three seconds, tell the student the word and mark it as incorrect. 7. At the end of one minute, place a bracket ( ] ) after the last word and say Stop. On rare occasions the student may speed read (i.e., read the passage very fast and without expression). If this occurs, tell the student, This is not a speed reading test. Begin again, and be sure to do your best reading.

1.

Administer the Oral Reading Fluency (accuracy) Test

I recommend that you start the assessment by gathering information about the students reading level using a graded word list, such as the SLOSSON Oral Reading Test (SORT). That will give you some preliminary information about where to begin your assessment using the graded passages.
1. After you have selected the grade-level passages, print two copies of eachone

for your student and one for yourself to record errors as he or she reads.
2. Say: Today you are going to take an Oral Fluency Assessment while you read some

passages. You may not know all the words in the passage, but try your best to read them. Each time, I will time you for one minute.
3.

Hand a copy of the passage to your student. Tell your student, I will tell when to start riding. I will begin timing as soon as you begin reading. After one minute, I will saystop so you will know to stop reading. When you are finished, I will ask you to tell me what you remember from the passage. As your student reads, follow along in your copy of the text, marking words that are read incorrectly (miscues) using the guidelines, and pronouncing words out loud that the student does not pronounce in 5 seconds. Most fluency assessments provide this guideline: Put a slash ( / ) through words that are read incorrectly. In addition to this procedure, however, you should try to record the exact miscues or word substitutions (e.g., phonetic pronunciations or word parts) that are produced by the student during the oral reading. This will be important in the miscue analysis, and to gather information for instructional purposes.

4.

5. At the end of 1 minute, tell the student to stop. Record the last word read by putting a vertical line after that word. Count the number of words read correctly by subtracting the number of errors from the total words attempted.
6. Use the scoring guidelines on the following page to record oral reading miscues

when marking your copy of the passage as the student reads.

7. Calculate the students oral reading accuracy and fluency on each passage based

on the recommended norms, which are provided later in this document. Based on the oral reading accuracy, continue testing until you establish both a students independent level (e.g., independent level is where the student can read the

passage easily: 96-100% accuracy), as well as the frustration level (e.g., frustration level is the hard passage where the student reads with less than 90% accuracy). Record miscues to study where the processes are breaking down and to gain information on the students use of the meaning, structure and visual cues. Calculate the students reading fluency (words correct per minute).

2.Record Oral Reading Miscues.

Use the following scoring criteria and notations to record each error (miscue). Write what the child says above each text word of line of print so that you can conduct a further analysis of the students reading skills and difficulties. It is important when carrying out a miscue that you tape-record it. The ability to rewind the tape and hear things again is essential for accurate marking and carrying out a running analysis. Type of Error Definition Example Substitu tion The child says a word that is different from the word in the text. Notation: Draw a slash or line is drawn through the missed word and write the substituted word above the original text word. If the child pronounces a nonword, record the phonetic spelling of the nonword above the text. A word, words or line of text is left out during the reading.

dig

houp

The dog ran fast all the way home. Child says: The dig ran fast all the way houp.

Omissio n

I love to eat dark Notation. Draw a circle around the omitted words. If an entire line is omitted, circle the line and count it as one error. Insertion The child adds a word that is not in the text. Notation. A caret is used to mark the point where the word was inserted, and the added word is written above the line. Repetiti on The child repeats a word or phrase. Repetitions are not scored as errors, but are recorded. Notation. A wavy line is drawn under the repeated words. Each repetition is recorded with an additional line. Pronoun ced (Teacher The student pauses on a word for five seconds or more, so the teacher may tell him/her the word. The child may

chocolate.

Child says: I love to eat chocolate.

blackw

The dog jigged merrily with the cat while the mouse played the flute. Child says: The dog jigged merrily with the black cat while the mouse played the flute. The snake cried and cried. Child says: The snake cried and cried and cried.

Assistan ce)

also request the teachers assistance in identifying a word. [If this happens often, encourage the child to do his/her best to attempt the words].

The greedy son schemed how he might get money from his parents to buy a new sports car.

SelfCorrecti on

Notation. Write a T (Tell) or P (Pronounced) above the word that you pronounce for the child. The child makes a miscue, and then SC taughttw self-corrects. The original mistake is not counted as an error. Keep track of the number of self-corrections The teacher was very angry with the class. since this indicates that the child is The taught..teacher was very angry with monitoring his/her performance. the class. Notation. SC is the notation used to indicate self-corrections.

EXAMPLE: PASSAGE FOR ORAL READING WITH RECORDED MISCUES

Figure 48: Saschas CBM PRF

3.

Interpret the Miscue Data

A reason for recording the oral reading miscues is that it yields valuable information about what types of phonic patterns or words are known by the child,
and what patterns and words are not known. The table below provides an example of what type of information can be recorded in the analysis chart, including the text word, miscue (substitution), and the types of word elements that were missed by the student. If the missed word is an irregular sight word, then simply record sight word in the Visual Analysis column. Inspecting the elements of the words that were missed by the student can provide information about the possible problem areas and areas of concern. These can be confirmed in further testing. In addition, teachers can examine the miscues to determine what types of cueing systems that students are relying on when they read, such as:

Semantics - Meaning (M)--Meaning is part of the cueing system in which the child takes her or his cue to make sense of text by thinking about the story background, information from pictures, or the meaning of a sentence. These cues assist in the reading of a word or phrase. The miscues that students make are meaningful in the context of the sentence or story. They preserve the meaning. Syntax or Structure (S)--Structure refers to the structure of language and is often referred to as syntax. Implicit knowledge of structure helps the reader know if what she or he reads sounds correct. The miscues that the student makes maintain the syntax of the original text. In other words, the miscues are from the same parts of speech and language structure as the original word. Graphics or Visual (V)--Visual information is related to the look of the letters in a word and the word itself. A reader uses visual information when she or he studies the beginning sound, word length, familiar word chunks, and so forth. The substitutions that the student makes are visually similar to the original text word.

An example of a miscue analysis is provided below, and a table (Table 1) is provided for your assessment purposes on the examiners pages that follow in Appendix A. Record all the miscues substitutions from the passages in the same table. Below is the miscue analysis for Sascha, the Grade 2 student, in the example above: Miscue Analysis Text Word Miscue Substitution/ Mispronunciatio n doggie Log Flies month Visual Analysis (Beginning, Medial Vowels, Ending letter patterns)? 2-syllable, VC/V, -on pattern Sight word , -ong pattern VCe, a_e -ou dipthong Yes (syntax) Semantics -YES Yes (syntax) Semantics -NO Cueing Systems: Miscues that Retain Meaning?
(syntax - YES) Semantics- NO

1. 2. 3. 4.

dragon long flames mouth

5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

around scorch ed dragon village to

round scratched doggie villain at

a-prefix -or (r-controlled vowel) 2-syllable; -on pattern 2nd syllable; -age pattern (e.g., cabbage, village, millage; pillage); Sight Word

Yes (syntax) Semantics -YES Yes (syntax) Semantics -NO Syntax Yes Syntax NO Syntax Yes Syntax NO Yes

Here is a second example of another miscue analysis from another student.

Miscue Analysis Text Word Miscue Substitution/ Mispronunciatio n Temple Biscotti Corn Bake Visit Bit Where Visual Analysis (Beginning, Medial Vowels, Ending letter patterns)? 2-syllable, VC/CV, - rcontrolled vowel, er Sight word (has first syllable correct with CVC) -ee vowel team, multisyllabic word -ar r-controlled vowel; -ed suffix -ion ending VCe (i_e) Sight Word Miscues that Retain Meaning?

Temper Biscuit Careened Barked Vision Bite Want

4. Calculate the Students Oral Reading Accuracy

Teachers need to calculate the students oral reading accuracy, and use that information to identify an appropriate instructional level, and toplace the student in appropriate reading materials. Generally, the guidelines recommend:

Independent Reading Level/Easy: (96-100% oral reading accuracy)

Instructional: 90-95% accuracy Frustration Level: < 90%

Continue testing until you establish the level that is the best fit for the childs reading instruction (highest read passage that is at instructional level), and record that level. Further, continue testing until you establish the frustration level (below instructional level, or < 89%).
1) Accuracy Formula: The formula for the oral reading accuracy is the number of

words correctly read by the total number of words attempted (in the passage): # of words read correctly total words. For example, if the student read 85 words correctly in a 92 word passage, the oral reading accuracy = 92.4% (85/92 = 92%). Another example: student reads 145 words correctly in a total passage with 154 words (145/154)= 92.9% or 93%. Total words errors = Total words read correctly (or simply count the number of words read correctly) oral reading accuracy percent = Number of words read correctly total words Teachers need to determine the students instructional reading level (the student is able to read a selected passage with 90 percent to 95 percent accuracy) in order to plan appropriate instruction using appropriate materials. It is also helpful for teachers to know the students independent reading level (the student is able to read a selected passage with 96 percent to 100 percent accuracy) for each student. This will help teachers provide students with appropriate books that can be read independently. Continue testing up by presenting more difficult passages until you reach the students frustration level, which is less than 90% accuracy (0-89%). Realize that the topic familiarity may affect oral reading accuracy, so use more than one passage to confirm the students frustration level.

5.

Analyze the Students Oral Reading Prosody

Prosody, which is a part of oral reading fluency, includes three features: expression (phrasing), accuracy, and fluency. The rubric below helps teachers evaluate the tonal, phrasing or the expressive qualities of the childs oral reading.

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Hasbrouck and Tindal Fluency Norms

Oral fluency norms can also help you determine where your students are performing against fluency standards and goals for their grade level and the time of year. These are provided on the next page (and the angel website). To use the norms to determine whether your student is reading above, below, or on grade level: 1. Take 2-3 measures of the students fluency at a particular grade level to calculate the median fluency level. 2. Find the grade level of your student on the chart. Then look at the time of year during which the testing took place. 2. Compare the students WCPM (the median score from the three passages read for baseline) with the three numbers given for that grade level and time of year. Heres a breakdown of the numbers: The top number shows the fluency measure of students who are reading above grade-level expectations. They are reading at or above the 90th percentile. For example, a fourth-grade student who reads 170 WCPM during the middle of the year reads approximately at the 90th percentile. The 90th percentile is significantly above average. Students who are reading at or above the 50th percentile in reading fluency have good comprehension of grade-level text. The 50th percentile is the average, or on grade level. The bottom number shows the fluency measure of students who are reading at or above the 10th percentile in reading fluency. The 10th percentile is significantly below the average, and students who read at this level are in immediate need of intervention. 3. If you have conducted a 1-minute timing, then the correct rate is represented by the following formula (e.g., difference between the total words read minus the number of errors): 1- minute sample Total words read errors = words correct per minute. (EX: 62 words read 5 errors = 57 wcpm) 3. If you timed the student while they read an entire passage rather than stopped the student at 1 minute, then the formula below can be applied to calculate the students oral reading fluency: Passage reading that is not a 1-minute sample, but that is timed to a later point in the passage: Total words read errors = 58 words 4 errors Number of total seconds 60 (to convert to minutes) 64

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seconds 60

= 54 words 64 60

= 54 X 60 = 64

50.625 wcpm (words correct per minute)

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6. Administer an Oral Comprehension Assessment or Retelling of the Text Just Read

Continue the assessment by asking the student to answer story structure questions, or ask them to retell the text portion that was just read orally. Say to the student: If you choose to ask questions, ask the questions in the story column and score in the third column. In you administer the story retelling, say to the student: Please tell me what you understand happened in the story that you just read to me. Pretend that I did not hear you read the text and that you want me to know what happened. Tell me everything that you remember. Score 2 points for each story part that they include in the retelling; if the item is only partly recalled, score 1 point. Score 0 points if no information is recalled. Students Story Structure Name Element
Story Questions Date:

Source/Book: Story Questions Students Free Retelling: (left) or Prompted Record what student says Retelling for each story element Points (1 point named at left each)

Points 2 pts

(2, 1, 0)

1. Setting: Where 2. When 3. Main Character:

1st 2nd character

Where did the story take place? When did the story happen? Who were the character(s) in the story Anyone else? What was the main characters problem or challenge in the story? What does ____ (main character) want to do? How did _____ feel? (internal response) What happened in the story? What happened 1st? 2nd? 3rd? anything else? How was the problem/challenge solved? What did _______ do to solve the problem? Total points above /10 = %

4. Problem/ Challenge? (facing

MC)

5. Goal/Motive 6. Events Event 1 7. Event 2 8. Event 3 Event 4 12.Solution

1) 2) 3) 4)

Total Parts Named Above ____ /10 = _____ %

13. (Optional) What was the author trying to tell us? What Theme does ____ learn at the end of the story? Column 3: Story Parts Recalled 1. ____ % of Story Parts in Free Recall = [ # of parts named above in column 2 _______ /10 = ______ % of total story parts recalled [make adjustments based on total possible parts] 2. ____ % of points in free recall = # of points in column 3 = ____/20 [increase points if there are more story events, or if you

14 with to evaluate theme] % Points or Parts answered correctly given Story Questions or Prompted Retelling __________

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Section 2. Analysis and Instruction

The analysis of an oral reading record begins by identifying which cueing system the child uses most often. If the child is making substitutions in text that are based totally on one cueing system, then additional instructions to develop awareness and use of other cueing systems would be the next step. A good reader will use visual, meaning, and structure cues flexibly and strategically when trying to determine an unknown word during reading. Consideration should be given to the accuracy and self-correction rates of the child as she/he reads. If a child makes multiple errors and shows little effort to self-correct, the teacher may wonder if the child has a view of reading as word calling, rather than making meaning or as a process of communicating ideas. Another possible scenario is the child who stops to work on every word for accuracy, using only visual cues to determine the word, rather than flexibly using meaning and structure cues. A third way to analyze the approximations that the child made while reading is to categorize the types of words that created difficulty for the child. Are the words names or technical terms that are connected to the content and may reflect a lack of background knowledge about the text. 1. Overall Analysis a. Teach the phonic and multi-syllabic elements that the student lacks to improve oral reading accuracy. b. Design a program to develop and support the students oral reading fluency c. Develop the students reading comprehension for story elements

Diagnosing
If a student scores poorly on the oral reading screening, or if the teacher has some other cause for concern such as poor performance in class or on another assessment, the teacher should take a more careful look at the student's strengths and needs. The student could be deficient in a variety of reading skills or in related areas like phonics skills, multi-syllabic words, vocabulary and background knowledge, so administering some informal diagnostic assessments would be helpful for designing effective instruction, providing evidence of the need for a reading specialist, or referring the student for further evaluation.

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Graph Performance
Graph three days of baseline to establish the students median level of reading fluency. Based on the desired fluency criteria for the students reading level, establish an aim goal for the student at a particular point in time (e.g., 3 month retesting, end-of-year). Designate the aim goal on the graph with a star. Draw a trend line from the median level of performance during baseline to the aimgoal. This is the Typically, if a student's fluency level is low, but word reading accuracy in grade-level texts is adequate, a teacher can place the student in an intervention focused just on improving fluency. But if diagnostic assessments indicate other areas of weakness, a more comprehensive intervention may need to be developed. (8)
Figure 47: Saschas CBM PRF Graph

Saschas trend-line

X X
Saschas goal-line

Monitor student progress Test Weekly or Biweekly

If a student's diagnostic assessment reveals concerns about one or more areas of reading, additional, targeted instruction should begin right away. WCPM procedures can be used to monitor the student's progress. Many

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educators have found WCPM to be a better tool for monitoring students' progress than traditional standardized measures that typically are timeconsuming, expensive, only administered infrequently, and of limited instructional utility (Good, Simmons, and Kame'enui, 2001; Tindal and Marston, 1990). For students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 programs, progress monitoring should be done frequently, perhaps once per week or twice monthly for as long as students require supplemental instruction. Progress monitoring should be done as often as once per week for students who are reading more than one year below level and receiving intensive intervention services, including special education (Tier 3 students). This regular monitoring assures that if the intervention is not working well, it can be modified. When monitoring the progress of these struggling readers, the standard procedures are expanded by graphing the student's WCPM scores. A progress monitoring graph, for perhaps a grading period or a trimester, is created for each student. Teachers can use the average weekly improvement (AWI) data in the norms table to select an ambitious, yet reasonable, instructional goal; for example, a fourth-grader's goal could be to improve by 15 WCPM over 10 weeks of intensive instruction. An aim line is placed on the graph to represent the progress a student must make to achieve a preset fluency goal. Each time the student is assessed, that score is added to the graph.

Use Decision Rules

If three or more consecutive scores fall below the aim line, the teacher must consider adjusting the instructional program (Hasbrouck et al., 1999). Teachers should also consider having the students record their own WCPM scores on their graphs it increases their motivation and investment in their reading progress (Shinn, 1998). These procedures for screening, diagnosing, and progress monitoring have been available for many years, but have not been widely used in schools (Hasbrouck, et al., 1999). This situation will likely change as educators become more aware of the importance of preventing reading difficulties and providing intensive intervention as soon as a concern is noted. Using fluency norms to set appropriate goals for student improvement and to measure progress toward those goals can be a powerful and efficient tool to help educators make well-informed and timely decisions about the instructional needs of their students, particularly the lowest performing, struggling readers.

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APPENDIX 1
Examiner Name Student Name Age

Running Record Summary Sheet

____________________________________________________________ ___________ Level _________________________________ Date ____ / ____ / ____

Reading Accuracy Data

Name of Test Used ____________________ Percent Oral Accuracy
Hasbrouck& Tindal Fluency Norms GL & %

Reading Level(s) Tested

Circle Accuracy Level

Fluency (cwpm)

Error Rate

Indep Inst Hard

Fluency Rating (see NAEP scale)

Comprehension %

cwpm = correct words per minute Observable Reading Behaviors (check off/ notes) Self-Corrects: Sounds out words: Rereads Fingerpoints:

Reading Accuracy
(column) 1 Based on accuracy the passage was Indep/Easy: (96100%) Instructional: (90 - 95%) Frust: (less than 90%)

Reading Fluency (column)

Fluency Rate = _____________ correct words per minute Based on Tindal and Hasbrouck, this rate was Grade Level_________ % _____________

Notes and Comments:

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