The Next Step Forward in Running Records: Getting to the Heart of Effective Instruction Through Deeper Qualitative Analysis

A running record is a powerful tool that provides a window into students' orchestration of skills and strategies across multiple dimensions of reading.

Richardson, Bates, and McBride take teachers beyond calculating a simple accuracy rate to observing their students’ reading behaviors with classroom tested ideas for individual, small-group, and whole-group instruction, as well as for independent practice. They offer the “why” behind instructional decision making to help teachers take next steps to plan targeted lessons.

Jan Richardson, Ph.D., is an educational consultant who has trained thousands of teachers and provided classroom demonstrations on guided reading. Dr. Richardson is the best-selling author of The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading (Scholastic) and coauthor of Next Step Guided Reading Assessment (Scholastic). A former teacher, she has taught in every grade, K–12. She has been a reading specialist, a Reading Recovery teacher leader, and a staff developer.

Maryann McBride, M.A. joined the Reading Recovery team at Clemson University after serving as a Reading Recovery teacher leader in Prince George's County Public Schools, Maryland, for more than 10 years. She was trained as a teacher leader at The Ohio State University.

Celeste Bates, Ph.D. is an associate professor of literacy education and director of the Clemson University Reading Recovery® and Early Literacy Training Center. Her work has been published in journals such as the Reading Teacher, Young Children, and the Journal of Reading Recovery.