Component 4 & 5 Rough Draft

University of South Florida

Amanda Enos
March 17, 2017
 Introduction
The Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and a running record were administered

to a class of 18 students in a first-grade classroom located in Tampa. Of the 18 students, two of

the students are the focus of this literacy portfolio. The purpose of collecting this data is to

measure their literacy and language ability, interpret the data from the DRA and running record

assessments, and suggest appropriate instructional strategies based on the data and

interpretations.

Jack and Ellen (pseudonyms) are students in Mrs. Sivers first grade class. Jack is a

below-level reader who transferred schools in the middle of the year. He was recently diagnosed

with astigmatism and now wears glasses, but continues to struggle with his vision in class. Jack

also has a difficult time staying on task during almost every subject. Ellen is a gifted student. She

was last texted as a level 20 reader but her teacher thinks she can read even higher than that. She

gets pulled from class to attend class with other gifted children as well. Ellens mother is a

teacher at the same school. There are 18 students in Ellen and Jacks class. The majority of the

class can read on-level or slightly below that of a first-grade average reading level (around 16).

Running Records

Running records are tools used to help identify patterns in students reading (learnnc.org).

They inform us of what strategies our students may or may not be using, thus helping educators

identify strengths to build on and weaknesses to improve on. Running records also provide

educators with information regarding fluency and comprehension. Using the total number of

words read and the time it took the student to read those words, words per minute (WPM) can be

calculated. In addition, running records inform us of whether students understand the words they
read through their miscues or lack of miscues. For example, if a student makes many visual

errors then one might conclude that they are not reading for meaning.

Ellens running record took place in the classroom during a guided reading lesson in

March. There were two other students in this group and they all read a level 18 book. The

running record was done on a warm read, before the students were introduced to a cold read in

the same lesson. Ellen read 100 words for the running record, made 3 errors, and self-corrected

once. This puts Ellen at an accuracy rate of 97%, an independent or easy reader level. Two of

Ellens errors were visual errors which may suggest Ellen would benefit from deeper vocabulary

instruction. An activity that would support this is called the Word Jeopardy Game from Words

Their Way (Bear, p.231). This game has students identify words within a category by providing

the definition. Students must then determine the appropriate word using the definition clue and

the category clue. In addition, one of Ellens errors was a meaning error; thus, she went back and

reread the word within the sentence to make meaning of it. This suggests Ellen understands

reading strategies she can use to help her comprehend text. Like Ellen, Jacks running record was

administered during a guided reading group. Jacks group had 3 other members in it who all read

at a level 3. Jack read a total of 37 words and made 4 errors. He scored an accuracy of 89%

which places him under the hard category. Nearly all of Jacks errors were visual related. He

either did not read the word from beginning to end or he guessed words based on their initial

sounds. Jack made one self-correction. Based on Jacks errors, I think he would benefit from

intensified vocabulary instruction as well as reading strategies. Many strategies are posted

around the classroom but in Jacks case, he needs verbal reinforcement before and while he

reads. One activity Jack would benefit from is the Beginning and End Dominoes game found in

Words Their Way (Bear, p.188). This activity uses pictures and has students sound out each
word, identify the beginning and ending sound, and then match that sound to a similar word

displayed as a picture.

While collecting this data, I learned a lot about the reading habits of my students. A

handful of my students, aside from just my focus students, guess words and make visual miscues

frequently. I also learned how to use a running record in a guided reading setting and how to

calculate errors, accuracy, and self-correct rate. There is more to a running record than tallying

correctness and errors. Prior to this assignment, I was unaware of the purpose of a running

record. However, this assignment taught me that running records allow educators to learn about

their students reading habits. This is important for us to know so that we may take instructional

steps to help our students advance.

Developmental Reading Assessment

While a running record helps educators detect habits in students reading behaviors, a

Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) is used to track changes in student reading

performance (pearsonschool.com). This tool measures reading engagement, fluency, and

comprehension within a single text and is typically done twice a school year. One would

typically see questions about reading engagement such as what kinds of books a student may like

followed by questions about a specific text. The questions vary depending on the reading level,

with lower levels having little to no comprehensive assessment at all. Similarly, fluency is

calculated like a running record. The DRA allows educators to see changes in student reading

over time.

Ellen was administered a DRA2 in January as a level 20 reader. This DRA included

reading engagement information such as Ellen liking graphic novels, a book titled Ghost, and
how she looks at pictures to determine what books she reads. Under the oral reading fluency

section, Ellen made 5 errors, two of which were the same word substituted for a similar word in

different paragraphs. Ellen read this 147 word passage in under 1 minutes and 32 seconds,

placing her in the advanced section of oral reading words per minute. Her percent of accuracy

was 97% and she made 5 miscues, which places her under the independent section of accuracy.

Under comprehension, Ellen retold the story including important details but left out descriptive

language. Overall, Ellen read with 111 WPM, never made a miscue that interfered with meaning,

and used blending and beginning sounds to problem-solve words. Under reading engagement

Ellen scored a 14 which is an independent level, as well as under comprehension. Her teacher

noted that Ellen would benefit from retelling strategies such as modeling how to identify

important details to include in a retelling. Based on this data, Ellen would benefit from the

activity called Retelling to Summarize Information in Strategies that Work (Harvey & Goudvis,

p. 181). In this activity, the teacher will read and model a retelling from several stories. After, the

student will try. Ellens teacher also noted that she should move up to a level 24, but the cap on

3rd quarter reading levels in first grade is a level 20. Ellen will most likely be tested again at the

end of the year at a higher level.

Jacks DRA was also administered in January. He was tested as a level 4 reader but his

teacher realized Jack was struggling so she retested at level 3. While reading the passage, Jack

self-corrected twice but did not make any other errors. Jack was then asked to point to sounds

within a word but had a hard time understanding the terms begin and end. Jack scored a

100% oral reading accuracy. As a level 3 reader, Jack fell under the developing placement for

reading engagement, oral reading, and print language concepts. His teacher noted that Jack

would benefit from supported print language concepts such as letter sounds and specific terms
such as letter, sound, begin, and end. Jack would benefit from the activity called Initial Sound

Bingo in Words Their Way (Bear, p. 186). In this activity, students will practice identifying initial

sounds of words from their counterpart. When the student has masters initial sounds, this game

can also be used for blends, digraphs, and word families.

From this assignment, I learned that DRAs help track student progress across a span of

time. Because of this factor, it is important to test students thoroughly and ensure accurate scores

are being recorded. I also learned that DRAs help educators narrow their focus on what skills

students should be developing based on their reading level. This tool is extremely useful for both

educational and management purposed because it provides direction and allows teachers to

physically see where each student has strengths and weaknesses in terms of reading. This can

also help teachers form guided reading groups in the beginning of the school year and serve as a

reading curriculum pre-assessment for the year. Overall, DRAs and running records serve as

tools of assessment for fluency and comprehension that give educators insights to their students

reading behaviors and performance.

 Works Cited
Bear, D. et. al. (2012) Words Their Way: word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction.
Pearson Education; New York, NY.

Developmental Reading Assessment, 2nd Edition PLUS (DRA2+). Pearson Education.

http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZw5u. Accessed March 15, 2017.

Gunther, J. Ongoing Assessment for Reading. Learn NC.

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/readassess/1.0. Accessed March 17, 2017.

Harvey, S., Goudvis, A. (2007) Strategies That Work: teaching comprehension for understanding and
engagement. Stenhouse Publishers; Maine.