What do running records primarily assess in a student?

Running records primarily assess a student's reading fluency, which includes their ability to read connected text smoothly and with appropriate expression. This assessment method captures how a student interacts with text in real-time, focusing not only on their ability to decode words but also on how fluidly they read those words in context.

Through running records, educators gain insights into several aspects of a student's reading. For instance, it allows teachers to observe the student's pacing, their use of intonation, and how well they group words together—critical components of fluency. Furthermore, running records enable an assessment of reading accuracy by tracking errors made during reading, but the ultimate aim is to understand the overall fluency with which a student processes the text.

While comprehension is a vital aspect of reading, running records focus more on the mechanics and fluidity of reading rather than the deeper understanding of the text itself. Therefore, the emphasis is on how effectively and efficiently a student can read aloud, which is a key indicator of their overall reading skills.