Reading Miscue Analysis:

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Reading Miscue Analysis

• Purposes and Procedures

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A Brief Historical Perspective

• Developed by Kenneth Goodman in the 1960s
• Sought to enhance our understanding of the
  reading process
• This knowledge can help us to improve reading
  instruction

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Miscue

• What does it mean?
• A miscue, which we define as an actual observed
  response in oral reading which does not match the
  expected response, is like a window on the
  reading process. (Goodman, 1969)
• Why do we need a new term?

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Readers make use of 3 cueing systems

• Grapho-phonic
• She was not a type-i-cal/typical baby.
• Syntactic
• None of us never/ever figured out why.
• Semantic
• She was a small yellow bird/canary.

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A bit more history . . .

• Yetta Goodman and Carolyn Burke (1970s and
  1980s)
• Miscue analysis as a tool to help teachers to
  learn about the reading process
• Diagnostic tool for reading assessment and
  instruction in the classroom

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Three Basic Questions

• How does the learner construct meaning through
  printed texts?
• What cueing systems in the reader using?
• What is the quality of the miscues?

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Key findings of the miscue analysis research

• 1. All readers make miscues when they read aloud
• 2. The miscues of effective and ineffective
  readers are qualitatively different
• Their miscues tend to preserve meaning
• 3. The correction behaviors of effective and
  ineffective readers is different
• They mostly correct when meaning is lost

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Key findings of the miscue analysis research,
continued

• 4. Effective readers engage in a great deal of
  prediction when they read
• 5. Effective and ineffective readers use
  grapho-phonic knowledge differently
• 6. Effective readers use a wider range of
  strategies in the attempt to understand text.

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Three Stages of the RMA

• 1. Collecting and recording data
• Session 1 Reading Interview
• Session 2 Oral Reading and Retelling
• 2. Analyzing miscue data on the coding form
• 3. Interpreting the data ? Reader Profile

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 1. Select a student subject
• Able to read at least 500 words
• Perhaps a child with some struggles in reading
• Gather whatever information you can about how
  this child is perceived as a reader

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 2. Conduct the first session
• Be prepared tape recorder, interview form, and
  several possible texts
• Let the child speak into the tape recorder
• Ask the interview questions, but also following
  the childs lead as appropriate
• Have the child read aloud from one or more of the
  texts youve provided

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 3. Recording the interview data
• Transcribe the tape of your interview, using the
  format of a play, showing both your questions and
  comments and the childs
• You may make side comments in square brackets on
  things you should or should not have done,
  explanations, etc.

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 4. Preparing for the second session, I
• Selecting appropriate texts
• Unfamiliar text, but of interest to the child
• Natural language
• Challenging, but not too difficult
• Around 500 words
• A cohesive chunk of text
• Preparing the selection copy for your markings

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 4. Preparing for the second session, II
• Preparing the Retelling Guide
• Literary elements
• Avoid simple yes/no questions and leading
  questions
• Ask probing follow-up questions

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 5. Conducting Session II - Oral Reading and
  Retelling/Discussion
• Materials needed
• original text and selection copy of the text
• tape recorder
• Retelling notes for yourself

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 6. Conducting the oral reading
• Test tape recorder
• Provide a brief explanation and directions (see
  Weaver, p. 195)
• As the child reads, take only those notes that
  are necessary
• If the child appeals for help . . .
• If the child is really stuck . . .
• Only stop if . . .

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 7. Conducting the retelling/discussion
• Guide child into unaided retelling (p. 196)
• Ask follow-up questions, as needed
• If needed, the child can silently look over the
  text again and then again attempt to retell and
  discuss the story

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 8. Transcribing the Retelling
• As a dialogue, like the interview
• 9. Recording the Miscues on the Selection Copy
• Learn and use the miscue markings shown in Weaver
• Practicing listening for and marking miscues with
  Betsy and The Man Who Kept House

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 10. Coding the Miscues and Analyzing Patterns
• What is coded as a miscue?
• Insertions, omissions, substitutions and
  reversals
• In repeated attempts, the first attempt is coded
• What is not coded as a miscue?
• Identical word repetitions, etc. (see handout)

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 11. Numbering the miscues on the selection copy
• Number the miscues starting from the beginning of
  the passage
• If you can, discard the miscues in the first 200
  words of text

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 12. Recording Miscues on the Coding Form
• Fill in the information in the upper left corner
• Transfer the miscues to the Coding Form in the
  columns labeled Text says and Reader says
• Leave a blank in the appropriate column for an
  insertion and an omission
• If the reader tries unsuccessfully to correct a
  miscue, the last attempt is written in the
  Reader says column

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 13. What questions do we ask of each of the
  miscues?
• 1. Does it reflect the childs ordinary speech
  patterns?
• 2. Did it go with the preceding grammar and
  meaning?
• 3. Did it go with the following grammar and
  meaning?
• 4. Did the miscue leave the essential meaning of
  the sentence intact?
• 5. Was the miscue corrected?
• 6. Was the miscue graphically similar?
• 7. Was the sentence, as the reader left it,
  semantically acceptable within the whole original
  selection?
• 14. Figuring percentages for each column

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 15. Drawing conclusions about the readers use
  of cueing systems and reading strategies (see
  Weaver, p. 201)
• Using prior knowledge and context to predict
• Using following context to correct miscues that
  didnt fit
• Using graphic cues along with context and schemas
• Almost never / seldom / about half the time /
  frequently / almost always

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Steps in conducting the RMA

• 16. Drawing together data from various sources
• Comprehending score
• Number of Yes sentences (column 7) divided by
  total number of sentences read
• Notes from reading interview
• Notes on miscue patterns
• Notes on retelling and discussion
• Summary of strengths and needs

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Three Basic Questions

• How does the learner construct meaning through
  printed texts?
• What cueing systems in the reader using?
• What is the quality of the miscues?

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Four Possibilities for Miscue Quality Reading
Comprehension

• 1. High quality miscue Good comprehension
• 2. Low quality miscue Poor comprehension
• 3. High quality miscue Poor comprehension
• 4. Low quality miscue Good comprehension

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Developing an Instructional Plan

• What are this childs strengths in terms of
  cueing systems, reading strategies, and
  correction behaviors? (comprehending)
• Based on the retelling/discussion, what can you
  say about the childs comprehension?
• What needs do you see in the childs reading?
• What kinds of experiences would be helpful?