running running and running running
record, that is. Personally, I enjoy running records. They are a pretty quick way to see where your kids are with their decoding skills, comprehension, etc. Although, I hear that once they move into first and second grade, it is a much more involved process to do a running record on a child. Apparently, you have to time their reading, and obviously, they read longer books. In my school last year, the first grade teachers spent a LOT of time doing running records. But no siree, not in my kindergarten. They were quick, and you can give them under the pretense that “Oh, Nicole, can you come read this story to me?” My kids loved reading to me, so this was pretty routine.
My only problem is this:
In many school systems, running records are administered using preprinted running record sheets that contain the exact text the student is reading in a matching leveled book. To allow a teacher to administer multiple assessments with a single student, two or three books at the same reading level may be provided in a kind of kit.
A concern with these kits is that the reliance on such materials can lead to an assumption that teachers need not (or are not permitted to) stray from the boxed kit in order to fully assess children’s reading skills. Authentic opportunities to assess students may then be lost due to the constraints of the testing kit.
from learnnc.org
I agree that it would be so wonderful to do assessments in informal places during centers. In the school system I was in, we had DRA kits, and a level 2 had to be mastered in order to pass from kindergarten to first grade. My principal, I’m sure, would have been pretty ticked off if I decided to use a book that was not in the DRA, because how could I POSSIBLY know if this child was ready for first grade if I didn’t use the standardized DRA books? In order to leave my classroom on the last day of teacher workdays in June, I HAD to have each child’s DRA level written and graphed to pass to their first grade teacher for the next year. It was important that all these children had been tested on the same book. Now don’t get me wrong, I see that these books are designed to target specific skills that build upon one another and progress throughout the DRA. But I think it would be nice to be trusted that I, as a college graduate in Elementary Education, have the competency to know if 2 books are comparable and able to assess a child’s reading ability.
I like running records, just not the bureaucracy that sometimes goes along with it.
krisco85 said,
March 19, 2009 @ 7:40 pm
I also like running records and really enjoyed doing this assessment with my kidwatching project kid the other day! I agree though, it is easier when they are younger! They definitely give useful information though, as long as they are administered correctly.
As far as using the same books and reporting DRA levels, I think that teachers should be able to use the books that are in the classroom. You are right, you have an elementary education degree and know how to determine what books are appropriate for which students. After all, the books in the classroom are what they are exposed to on a daily basis, not necessarily the books that come in the kit. Basically you aren’t assessing the child using actual classroom curriculum, but some standardized curriculum that someone who is probably not a teacher thought would be a good idea to use. Don’t get me wrong, as a school psychologist, I obviously support the use of standardized assessments, but I think they should be used in conjunction with classroom materials. Both are important, not just the standardized measures.