Miscue analysis is a reading assessment technique that examines the errors, or "miscues", that students make when reading aloud. It focuses on understanding the reading strategies and thought processes behind a student's miscues rather than just counting errors. The teacher records each miscue made and analyzes it for graphic similarity to the written word as well as syntactic and semantic correctness. This provides insights into how the student integrates language cues to construct meaning from text. A comprehension check through retelling further informs the teacher about the student's understanding of the passage. Analyzing patterns in a student's miscues can help identify their strengths and needs in reading.

1. MISCUE ANALYSIS

2. WHAT IS A MISCUE?
A miscue is any unexpected calling of a word
or section of text. A miscue “says” something
other than the exact printed text.

3. Miscue analysis is an assessment that
helps a teacher identify the cueing
systems used by a reader — the strategies
a reader uses to make sense of a text.
Instead of focusing on errors, miscue
analysis focuses on what the student is
doing right, so that he or she can learn to
build on existing reading strategies.

4. The study of readers' miscues provides insights
into how they integrate the language cueing
systems during the reading process in order to
construct meaning.
It is an analytical procedure for assessing
student’s reading comprehension based on
samples of oral reading.

6. To whom should teachers use
miscue analysis?

7. Students eligible for this procedure are
independent readers.
Most studies conducted using miscue analysis
use readers in third grade or higher.
But there is no formula to tell exactly when a
student is ready to engage in this assessment or
intervention.

8. Some Experts suggests that a student is ready
to participate when he or she can read
unfamiliar material without teacher support.
Certainly miscues may happen at an earlier
stage, but without the foundational knowledge
of reading, miscue analysis does not provide
window into the choices a student is making
while reading.

9. Preparing for miscue analysis

10. Selecting the text
Select a complete text that the student has not
previously read. Choose a text that is
approximately one level above what
the independent reading level has been
determined to be.
 A complete selection should be used and should
contain at least 500 words.

11. It could either be a text that has been downloaded
from a reputable site from the internet
Passages or written accounts from a textbook
Any valid reading material so long as the teacher
evaluated and is knowledgeable with the reading
material’s contents

12. Preparing the typescript

13. The teacher needs a copy of what the
student is reading. However, the copy the
teacher has will also be used for recording
miscues, so the format will look a little
different from the authentic piece held by
the student.

14. number the sentences
add double or triple spacing
It is also helpful if the side margins are large

15. Recording the session

16. The miscue analysis session is recorded in
two ways. First, the teacher marks miscues
onto the typescript as a written record.

17. Second, an audio recorder is used to document
the student’s reading. The recording can be
listened to after the session with the reader has
ended. The teacher should attempt, though, to
record as many miscues as possible during the live
reading to capture authenticity. Certain nuances of
reading such as brief pausing or even
pronunciations may not be as clear on tape as
they would be in person.

18. Once the typescript is prepared and the tape
recorder is rolling, you are ready to begin the
miscue analysis. once the typescript has been
prepared and the tape recorder is rolling.

19. It is important to note that if a student reads the
texts as he or she would speak, this is not a
miscue. In other words, if what the student has
read aloud is parallel to his or her dialect, this does
not mean the child is not comprehending the text.
If a student normally pronounces the word
“breakfast” as “breaksfist,” you would not record
this pronunciation as a miscue for the child’s
reading.

20. Let’s Begin!

21. Substitution
When a substitution is made, the miscue is written
directly over the text that has produced an
unexpected response.
Text:
“Good morning, class,” said Mr. Simpson.
Child read aloud:
“Good morning, class,” sighed Mr. Simpson.

22. SUBSTITUTION OF A NON-WORD
Sometimes a reader may substitute a non-word for
the expected text. In this case, a dollar sign is
written above the text as well as the response of
the reader.

23. Text:
“I hope you are all feeling energetic today,” he
added.
Child read aloud:
“I hope you are all feeling endrinate today,” he
added.

24. SUBSTITUTION FOR MULTIPLE WORDS
A substitution of one word in place of several
words may occur. This is denoted with a bracket
over the words omitted, with the substitution
written over the bracket.

25. Text:
The students appeared to be prepared for their
journey.
Child read aloud:
The students appeared ready for their journey.

26. Omission
Omissions are recorded by circling neglected
words.
Text:
All of the students replied, “Good morning, Mr. Simpson.”
Child read aloud:
All the students replied, “Good morning, Mr. Simpson.”

27. PARTIAL OMISSION
At times, readers make a partial omission. The
part of the word that has been omitted is then
circled. You may decide instead to mark this
behavior as a substitution, writing the part of the
word supplied over the printed text.

28. Text:
“Should we get our hiking shoes on?” one student
asked excitedly.
Child read aloud:
“Should we get our hike shoes on?” one student
asked excited.

29. Transposition
When words are reversed in order during a
reading, the miscue is recorded by making what
looks like a sideways S to lasso the transposed
words.
Text:
“Let’s race up the mountain!” shouted Daniela.
Child read aloud:
“Let’s race up the mountain!” Daniela shouted.

31. Repetition or regression
Repetitions are referred to as regressions in miscue
analysis. Phrases or words which are repeated by
the student are noted by underlining the repeated
portion. A circled R denotes the point of regression
origin. One underline is used for each regression. If
a student rereads a section of text twice more than
expected, that section would be marked by
underlining twice on the typescript.

32. SINGLE REGRESSION
Text:
It was the day of the big field trip to Ripley Park.
Child read aloud:
It was the day, it was the day of the big field trip to
Ripley Park.

33. MULTIPLE REGRESSION
Text:
It was the day of the big field trip to Ripley Park.
Child read aloud:
It was the day, it was the day…it was the day of the
big field trip to Ripley Park.

34. Insertion
When a student adds one or more words to the
text, an insertion is denoted with a caret.
Text:
All fifth graders were invited to participate.
Child read aloud:
All of the fifth graders were invited to participate.

35. Correction
A miscue followed by a correction is marked by
circling the letter C for correction and underlining text
that was re-read correctly.

36. Text:
A school bus would transport the hiking equipment
as well as the students.
Child read aloud:
A school bus would transportation, transport the
hiking equipment as well as the students.

37. UNSUCCESSFUL CORRECTION
A student may make one or more attempts at
reading a word or group of words. This is marked
with the letters UC in a circle for “unsuccessful
correction.” Underlining is used to show which words
were attempted. It is easiest to show how many
attempts were made and exactly what the reader has
said, by making an arrow extending above the
attempted text, pointing to the margin. In the space
of the margin, you can then list the attempts.

38. Text:
The plan was to hike to the summit of Mount Gray.
Child read aloud:
The plan was to hike to the sum, summons,
something of Mount Gray.

39. Pausing and intonation
Miscue analysis also offers the opportunity to capture
the reading behaviors of pausing and of unexpected
intonation.

40. PAUSING
If a student pauses mid-reading, the typescript
should be marked with the letter P above the place
in the text where the hesitation occurred. The tail of
the P should extent into the typed sentence.

41. Text:
Next, we would inflate our rafts.
Child read aloud:
Next, we would [pause for about 10 seconds before
continuing to read] inflate our rafts.

42. INTONATION
When a student reads the text as printed but
employs an intonation that is unexpected, the
typescript is marked by circling the punctuation that
was neglected. In this example, the student reads
two sentences as a single run-on.

43. Text:
The whole class will navigate the river. On each raft is
a compass.
Child read aloud:
The whole class will navigate the river on each raft is
a compass.

44. Checking comprehension

45. Many assessments for students’ comprehension
contain questions to be answered by the student.
Miscue analysis makes retelling the performance of
comprehension.

46. When a student completes a reading, the teacher
should facilitate both an unaided and aided retelling
of the story.
Just as miscue analysis is a window to the student’s
conceptions about reading as a process, retelling is
a window to what meaning the student has made of
the text.

47. Unaided retelling
The teacher praises the reader and asks the
student to tell the story in his/her own words.

48. Aided retelling
The teacher asks questions of the student by
building on the events supplied in the unaided
retelling.
For example, a student, unaided, mentioned Jack
trading his cow for some beans, but did not tell the
reaction of his mother to this transaction while
retelling “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

49.  In an aided retelling, the teacher might say,
“You mentioned Jack trading his cow for some beans.
What did his mother think of that?”
The teacher would not, however, ask, “What
happened after Jack’s mother scolded him for
trading the cow for beans?”

50. This is an acceptable aided prompt if the student
answered the first phrasing of the question by
saying that Jack’s mother was mad about the trade
and scolded him.

51. Analyzing the miscues

52. Miscue analysis is more concerned with the types
or levels of miscues made rather than the actual
quantity of miscues. After the reading session has
ended and the student has completed a retelling
of the story, the miscues that have been recorded
on the typescript need to be analyzed or
categorized.

53. Graphic similarity
When analyzing graphic similarity, the teacher is
gaining insight on a student’s use of the
graphophonic system. The teacher may see high,
some, or no graphic similarity between the word as
spoken and as printed.

54. HIGH GRAPHIC SIMILARITY
If a student’s response “looks like” at least two of
those three parts, then the word is considered to
be of high graphic similarity.
For example, if the word printed in the text read,
“imagination,” looking at the word in three parts
might look like “imag-in-ation.” If the student
response was “inauguration,” the response could be
broken into thirds as “inaug-ur-ation.”

55. Text:
The project encouraged the use of imagination.
Child read aloud:
The project encouraged the use of inauguration.

56. SOME GRAPHIC SIMILARITY
A miscue would be considered
having some graphic similarity if one of the three
parts a word is broken into is visually similar to the
text printed word when broken into thirds.

57. The typescript would be marked with an encircled
letter “s” near the teacher-written substitution. If
the text read “descriptor,” the word could possibly
be broken into the three parts of “de-scrip-tor.” If a
student response to that word was “inscription,” the
response could be divided into these three parts,
“in-scrip-tion.”

58. Text:
All academic records for the school were listed under
the descriptor, “confidential.”
Child read aloud:
All academic records for the school were listed under
the inscription, “confidential.”

59. NO GRAPHIC SIMILARITY
A miscue is of no graphic similarity when the text-
printed word and the reader’s pronunciation of the
word do not have any common letters or number
of letters.2For example, if the text read, “parachute”
and the student response was “film,” the miscue
would be marked with an encircled “N” for “no
graphic similarity.”

60. Text:
The parachute did not seem to be working.
Child read aloud:
The film did not seem to be working.

61. Syntactic and semantic cues

62. Does this sound syntactically correct?
(Does it sound like a sentence the reader might
produce in his/her dialect of the language in which
the text appears?) If the answer to this question is
yes, a “Y” is coded for the sentence in either the left
or right margin. If the answer is no, an “N” is coded
in the margin.

63. Is the sentence semantically correct?
(Does what the student has read make sense?) If
the answer is yes, code a “Y” in the margin. If the
answer is no, code an “N” in the margin. (If the
sentence as read was not syntactically correct, than
it cannot be semantically correct — if the answer to
the first question was no, the answer to the second
question must be no, as well.)

64. Did the student’s reading of this
sentence change its meaning?
Code a “Y” for “yes, a major change occurred in
meaning,” a “P” for “partial change in meaning,” and
“N” for “no change in meaning.”
(This question is only asked if the answer to the first
two questions was yes. If you answered “no” to
either of those questions, skip the third.)

65. Text:
The project encouraged the use of imagination.
Child read aloud:

66. Now, the three questions concerning cuing systems
are asked and coded.
Was the sentence syntactically correct as the
student read it? Yes. “Inauguration” can be used as
a noun in place of “imagination.” This is
syntactically correct.
Was the sentence semantically correct? No. This
does not make much sense.
Since the answer to question 2 was “no,” I will
simply record a dash for the third question.

68. Here are the examples of miscues with some and
no graphic similarity, marked with answers to the
three questions about cuing systems.

70. Summarizing the session

71. After the reading, comprehension check, and
miscue analysis, all of the information gathered
should be recorded. This single-page report will
help identify patterns in use by the reader. The
totals for graphic similarity, semantic and syntactic
usage should be recorded and converted to
percentages to be the most telling of student
reading behavior. General comments about the
reading session should also be listed on this form.

72. Sources:
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/readassess/1103
Wilde, Sandra, Miscue analysis made easy: Building
on student strengths (Portsmouth, N.H.:
Heinemann, 2000), 25