Conceptual Definition of Reading Fluency

Dr. Beth M. Frye

            Reading rate (speed) and word reading accuracy in oral reading have been recognized as key components of fluent reading (Hasbrouck & Tindal, 1992; Nathan & Stanovich, 1991; Shinn, Good, Knutson, Tilly, & Collins, 1992). Meyer and Felton (1999) similarly define fluency as “the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding” (p. 284). Torgesen, Rashotte, and Alexander (2001) maintain that rate and accuracy are important aspects of reading fluency because they can be reliably measured. Rapid word identification directly impacts reading rate (Rayner & Pollatsek, 1989); therefore rapid, single word identification is critical to automaticity and by extension fluent reading.

Fluency Components: What are they?

Accuracy:  (Reading words correctly)     

Accurately decoding printed words refers to simply producing the sound correspondences that go with the printed letters of the word.

Automaticity: (Reading words with speed)

 Automaticity in word recognition refers to the ability to rapidly and effortlessly decode words with little conscious effort; thus saving cognitive resources for the demands of text comprehension.

Prosody:  (Reading words with appropriate phrasing and expression)

Prosody is a linguistic term that refers to the rhythmic and tonal characteristics of spoken language. Prosodic features include intonation or pitch, stress or loudness, and duration or timing.

Fluency Components: How do I measure them?

Accuracy: Score words either right or wrong

§          Graded Lists of Words (Word Recognition Inventory: WRI)

§          Graded Passages (Informal Reading Inventory: IRI)

Automaticity: Measure speed in reading by “flashing” graded lists of isolated words or by obtaining rate in reading connected text

·          Graded Isolated Word Lists Using Flash Presentation (WRI)

·          Graded Passages (IRI) to obtain reading rate

Prosody:  Listen to expression of student when reading

·       Multidimensional Fluency Scale (Rasinski and Zutell)