Beyond Accuracy: A Smarter Way to Assess Oral Reading and Strengthen Decoding Instruction

Summary for Educators

Based on Emily M. Rodgers & Jerome V. D'Agostino
The Reading Teacher • Introducing the Record of Decision-Making: A New Formative Assessment of Oral Reading • July/August 2026 (Vol. 80, No. 1, pp. 1–19)

🔵 THE BIG IDEA 

For decades, oral reading assessments have emphasized whether students read words correctly. Emily Rodgers and Jerome D'Agostino argue that equally important is understanding how students attempt to solve unfamiliar words while reading connected text. Their newly developed Record of Decision-Making (RODM) shifts formative assessment from simply recording errors to documenting the backup strategies students use when reading becomes difficult.

The RODM captures behaviors such as rereading, using initial, medial, or final letters, employing rimes, and self-correcting. These observable decisions reveal whether students are transferring phonics instruction into authentic reading situations. Rather than labeling readers as simply accurate or inaccurate, teachers gain insight into the sophistication and flexibility of students' decoding strategies. Developed and validated over eight years with classroom teachers, intervention specialists, and researchers, the RODM provides educators with actionable information that directly informs instructional next steps and supports more responsive literacy teaching.

🔵 KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR EDUCATORS

• Assess not only reading accuracy but also the decoding strategies students use.

• Observe how students apply phonics knowledge while reading connected text.

• Teach increasingly sophisticated backup strategies based on student needs.

• Monitor self-corrections as indicators of growing reading proficiency.

• Use formative assessment results to target the next instructional step.

• Focus coaching conversations on students' decision-making rather than simply their mistakes.

◻️ WHY IT MATTERS 

The Science of Reading has strengthened phonics instruction nationwide, yet educators still need effective tools for determining whether students transfer those skills into authentic reading. The RODM fills this gap by making students' decoding decisions visible during oral reading. This richer information enables teachers to deliver more precise instruction, differentiate interventions, and monitor growth over time. School leaders can use this approach to strengthen literacy coaching, MTSS implementation, and classroom observations while supporting evidence-based instructional practices.

🟢 LEADERSHIP ACTION STEPS

✔ Train teachers to observe decoding strategies instead of focusing solely on accuracy rates.

✔ Integrate the RODM into guided reading, intervention, and literacy coaching cycles.

✔ Support professional learning around interpreting backup strategies and self-corrections.

✔ Use formative assessment data to personalize phonics and decoding instruction.

✔ Monitor implementation through collaborative classroom observations and instructional coaching.

🟡 LEADER REFLECTION

When students struggle during oral reading, are we measuring what they got wrong—or learning how they are trying to solve the problem?

Original Article

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Prepared with the assistance of AI software

OpenAI. (2026). ChatGPT (5.2) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com