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About Running Records

Digital
Running Records
on Raz-Plus

With our online running record tool, Raz-Plus or Raz-Kids members can:
  • Assign a Benchmark Book from Levels aa-J
  • Assign a Benchmark Passage from Levels aa-Z2
  • Listen to students' recordings from reading aloud a book or passage.
  • Score all student recordings using an online running-record tool.
  • Listen to students' recordings of retellings.
  • Score retellings using an online rubric.
  • See quiz questions missed and a report on which comprehension skills to support or re-teach with each student.
  • Reward students' progress through awarding stars to spend in the RAZ Rocket.
  • Track your students' progress over time.
Running Records are one part of a three-part process to identify appropriate texts for students and support progress-monitoring as students improve their reading.

Part 1: Students read Benchmark Passages or Benchmark Books (Levels aa-J), and you capture their reading behavior on Running Records.

Part 2: Students retell the text, and you use Retelling Rubrics to score their comprehension.

Part 3: Students take an oral or written Comprehension Quick Check Quiz, and each question's answer tells what skill it assessed to help you identify comprehension skills for additional practice.

Part 1: Listen to & Record Reading Behavior

Running Records allow you to assess reading behavior as students read. They are used most often at the earlier stages of reading to monitor reading behavior and progress.

How to Use Running Records
Use the three-part assessment process at the beginning of the school year to determine where to place students, and use the process throughout the year to monitor students' progress according to the schedule below.

Assessment Schedule
Developmental Level Reading Level Schedule
Beginning Readers Levels aa-C every 2 to 4 weeks
Developing Readers Levels D-J every 4 to 6 weeks
Effective Readers Levels K-P every 6 to 8 weeks
Automatic Readers Levels Q-Z every 8 to 10 weeks

Students who are not progressing at the expected rate should be assessed even more frequently than the Assessment Schedule suggests.

Taking a running record takes practice. Before attempting a running record, read the procedural steps on taking, marking, and scoring a running record.

Taking a Running Record Marking a Running Record Scoring and Analyzing a Running Record
How to Choose an Assessment Text
Views differ as to whether students should be assessed using text they have never read or familiar text. We believe using a previously unread text will give a more accurate measure of a student's ability to read and comprehend text at the assessed level.

You can always have students read a Benchmark Passage or Benchmark Book (Levels aa-J) before doing a running record if you prefer using previously read text.

You can also use the fiction-nonfiction passage pair on the same topic at each level. Use one passage from the pair to support a student's understanding of the topic before assessing with the other passage.

Parts 2 & 3: How to Assess Comprehension

Parts two and three of the three-part assessment process provide details about a student's understanding and comprehension using retellings and Comprehension Quick Check Quizzes.


Placing and Moving Up Students
Use the chart below along with the other information you learn from the three-part assessment process to determine if students are ready to move up a level.

Scores

Running Record Quick Check Comprehension Quiz Action
95% + 100% Advance Student a Level
95% + 80% Instruct at this Level
95% + <80% Lower a Level, Assess Again
90-94% 80-100% Instruct at this Level
90-94% <80% Lower a Level, Assess Again
<90% N/A Lower a Level, Assess Again

How Do I Reward Students' Reading Progress?

Reward students' progress with Benchmark WOWzers.