Molly Ross

LITC 524

Professional Resource Review

Professional Resource:

Clay, M.M. (2000). Running records: For classroom teachers. Auckland, New Zealand:

Heinemann.

Overview:

Clay provides an authoritative guide to Running Records. In this thirty page booklet, Clay defines the term Running Record, provides tips on how best to set up for such reading observations and explains in detail how to document results using a comprehensive key of scoring symbols. Her explanations of how to interpret reading test results are thorough and can be used by elementary teachers as well as those teaching adults. Further, Clay includes two examples of scored reading tests, a sample of their interpretations and a reproducible Running Record template.

Essential Beliefs:

Clay suggests that using Running Records can provide teachers with much needed information on how students process text material. Further, she contends that this systematic approach should provide teachers with information necessary when making curricular decisions. She suggests that a beginning assessor train with a teacher who is experienced at using this assessment tool, urging that practice in a relaxed setting with an “average” student, somewhat familiar with the reading material, will also help beginners. She argues for a holistic approach to reading assessment, discouraging the use of pre-printed texts for analysis, suggesting that such material forces the assessor to attend too much to “right” and “wrong” responses and not enough on how other behavioral factors effect reading. Similarly, Clay also discourages the use of tape-recorders, arguing that it limits the analysis, excluding visual clues necessary to accurate assessment.

Golden Lines:

“If Running Records are taken in a systematic way they provide evidence of how well children are directing their knowledge of letters, sounds and words to understanding the messages in text” (p.3).

“Having taken the record teachers can review what happened immediately, leading to a teaching decision on the spot, or at a later time as they plan for next lessons” (p.4).

“One use of a Running Record is as a check on whether students are working on material of appropriate difficulty, neither too difficult nor too easy, but offering a suitable level of challenge to the learner.” (p.4).

“If teachers take records of text reading with a wide sample of children they will quickly discover emphases and neglects in the class instruction” (p.29).