What is a cueing system in reading and how is it used in running records?

• A. A cueing system is used to identify a reader's overall language proficiency during assessment.
• B. Phonemic awareness is the sole cue in running records.
• C. Cueing systems are not used in running records.
• D. Semantics, syntax, and graphophonics comprise the cueing system and are analyzed to identify miscue sources for instruction.

Answer: (D)

Reading uses multiple clues to figure out unfamiliar words while you’re decoding text. A cueing system groups these clues into three areas: meaning (semantics), sentence structure (syntax), and letter-sound relationships (graphophonics). In running records, the teacher listens to a child read aloud and notes every miscue. Those misreads are then classified by which cueing system they most likely used—did the reader rely on sense and context, on grammar, or on letter-sound information? This analysis reveals where a reader’s strengths and gaps live, so instruction can target decoding, vocabulary/grammar, or comprehension strategies.