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Skilfulness
in reading requires an ability to recognise or decode written words together
with an ability to understand and interpret what is said or intended
by the writer. The Reading Record tasks assessed the performance of students
on both of these interrelated dimensions. They also investigated the
levels of text difficulty which individual students could manage with
some confidence and accuracy.
The Reading
Record was administered as three parallel oral reading tasks which followed
similar assessment procedures. One third of all year 4 and year 8 students
were administered each task. The first task used fiction passages drawn
from a range of children's literature. The second task used passages
from non-fiction books and included a variety of topics such as disasters,
scientific phenomena, cooking and cultural events. The third task used
text from a range of non-book sources including food packets, brochures,
newspaper articles and posters.
Description
of passages
 The
length of the passages at the lower two bands averaged 126 words, while
those at the upper two bands averaged 245 words. All of the passages were
drawn from authentic published materials. Each of the fiction, non-fiction
and non-book tasks had a collection of 18 passages which were chosen to
represent a wide range of text complexity and readability.
One of
the three passages from each band on each of the three tasks (fiction,
non-fiction, non-book) is released with this report to illustrate the
range of texts that were used.
National
Monitoring reading bands
Each set of 18 passages was arranged into six National Monitoring reading
bands, each band containing three passages of similar readability in terms
of vocabulary and content.
Description
The six reading bands, coded by number and colour, were incrementally
spaced according to complexity of words and ideas. The zero band
contained passages with very basic vocabulary and ideas supported
by picture clues. Band five provided the most challenging vocabulary
and textual composition. Bands one to four represented intermediate
steps of vocabulary and content complexity. The material was selected
in the expectation that year 4 students of average capability would
be able to handle band two readings, and that year 8 students of
average capability would be able to handle band 4 material.
Placement
Students were assigned to reading bands according to word reading accuracy
in running text. Placement on a band was decided on the basis of
one error (including self-corrections) in 10 to 20 running words
on passages within the band. It is important to note, therefore,
that the reading proficiency of students on any given band is predominantly
at an instructional rather than fluency level, although at band five
proficiency ranged from instructional to fluency. At band zero some
students made more errors than would be appropriate for instructional
level text.
Reading Band Indicator
chart
An initial approximation of the most suitable reading band for each student
was obtained from an indicator measure of word reading accuracy in running
text. An attractively presented indicator chart containing 15 colour
coded text patches was used to quickly scan the student's word reading
capabilities. The 15 text patches were organised into five sets of three
equivalent patches, matching the five reading bands. Starting from the
lowest band, the students were asked to read one patch from each until
errors occurred. When the student made one or more word reading errors
on equivalent colour patches, the initial decision was taken to use reading
passages from that band for reading assessment. At no stage was information
or discussion initiated with students on the matter of "bands"
or the graduated complexity of the written text, and students in turn
tended not to enquire about the organisation of the material.
Presentation
of the reading passages
Once the band had been selected, three reading passages within that band
were made available to the student so that they could choose the first
passage to be read out loud to the teacher. After reading the first passage
they were asked to choose and read a second one, normally from the same
band. During the oral reading, the teacher monitored word reading errors
to check that they were within the ratio of 1: 10Ð20 words. If the number
of errors was higher, the passage was appropriately discontinued, and passages
at the preceding band were introduced. Conversely, if the number of errors
was below the expected ratio, the student was introduced to passages from
the next higher band. Overall, few such adjustments were necessary following
the initial indicator measure.
oral reading
A standard set of procedures was followed with every passage. The teacher
introduced the passage by giving a brief account of context, followed
by instructions on the oral reading.
recall
At the conclusion of the oral reading of each passage, students were
asked to tell the teacher in their own words what the passage was
all about. Standard probe questions were available for the teacher
to ask when the student needed some encouragement to elaborate.
comprehension
Three comprehension questions were asked after the student had attempted
the retelling of the passage. The first was a literal question, requiring
the student to show the location of the answer in the text. The next
two questions required the student to draw inferences from what had
been read.
Results
The oral reading part of the task served two functions. It gave a measure
of word reading capability, and it provided information about strategies
used to decode words not immediately recognised or known at sight.
The number of self-corrections of word reading errors was also recorded
as an indicator of reading for meaning.
The recall exercise
provided a measure of the extent to which the student understood the
main ideas or events of the passage.
The Reading
Record has provided a wealth of information about students' reading
skills and abilities. Key information that focuses particularly on
word reading in context is emphasized in this chapter of the report.
Results in subsequent chapters provide detailed information from tasks
which were designed specifically to assess students' abilities to comprehend
what they read. The extensive data available from the Reading Record
tasks will provide a rich source for further analyses and reporting.
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