Accurate reading is recorded as a checkmark above the word from the text (or, if you are using a non-pre-printed text, by just a checkmark.  

Errors are always recorded as a fraction, with the child's words above the words from the text. Teacher responses are recorded below the line. There are four kinds of errors that occur during a running record.  

1. Omission - the child leaves out a word from the text while reading.  This is marked by a dash above the word.

2. Insertion - the child says a word that is not in the printed text. This is marked by recording the word the child said above a dash to indicate that the word was not in the text.

3. Substitution - The child says an incorrect word for a word in the text, such as "cat" instead of "can".  This is recorded by writing the words said by the child above the word from the text.

4. Balk/Appeal/Told - This is a situation where the child either is unable to make an attempt at the word, or appeals to the teacher for help.  This is usually recorded as a dash above the line to indicate the child said nothing, and a "T" below the line, to indicate that the teacher Told the child the word.

Please note: There are several instances  the teacher should record, which are not errors.

1. Self-Correct - This is where the child says an incorrect word (a Substitution), but corrects the mistake with no prompting from the teacher. It is recorded as the incorrect word and an "SC" above the line.

2. Repeat - if the child repeats a word, put an R beside the word, but do not count it as an error.  If the child repeats a phrase, sentence, line or page, draw an arrow from the R back as far as the child went back to repeat. This, also, is not an error, as re-reading is a valid comprehension and decoding strategy.

Your objective in taking a running record is to find the book where the child's reading accuracy and comprehension are both adequate.  Let's talk first about accuracy.

You can score a running record by calculating a simple percentage of words read correctly. Just subtract the number of errors from the total number of words read and divide that by the total number of words read. Then multiply by 100 to find the percent accuracy.

For example: if the child read 50 words and made 5 mistakes, you would subtract 5 from 50, leaving 45 words read correctly, and divide 45 by 50, resulting in an answer of 0.90.  Multiplied by 100, this tells us the child's percent accuracy on the text was 90%. 

As noted in the table above, we are looking for the child's Instructional level.  This is the book where the child read with 90-94% accuracy.  Anything below 90% is too difficult, the book is considered Frustrational.  Anything above 94%, and the book is considered the child's Independent level.

The Independent level is where we want the child reading at home, where they can be practicing automaticity, fluency and comprehension. But books at this level do not provide enough "reading work" for the child during a guided reading group. These books will not offer the teacher the opportunity to help the child move to the next level.

90-94% accuracy is the child's Zone of Proximal Development; the level at which the child can master the text with some help from a more skilled other.

If the child's score is above 94% with good comprehension, the teacher should read a more difficult book with the student, as we have not yet reached that child's ZPD, or Instructional level.