This study investigated the efficacy of the Fluency Development Lesson (FDL) in improving reading achievement in primary grade struggling readers. 30 readers, enrolled in a summer reading clinic, participated in daily 40-min mini-reading lessons across 5 weeks. During the fluency lessons, readers practiced and developed their literacy skills…

A study examined the relative effectiveness of repeated readings and listening-while-reading in promoting reading fluency. Subjects, 20 third grade students in a community in the southeastern United States, of high, average, and low reading levels, had their reading fluency measured in two cycles: subjects who repeatedly read a passage in the…

Findings from a study which compared methods for improving students' (N=20) reading fluency indicate: (1) both repeated readings and listening-while-reading treatments were effective in improving reading fluency and, (2) neither treatment was superior to the other in improving reading fluency. (IAH)

Determines grade-level reading rates for third- and fifth-grade students as well as reading rates that correspond to independent, instructional, and frustration reading levels as determined through informal reading-inventory procedures. Suggests that availability of reading-level-rate norms can assist reading diagnosticians in evaluating the…

With the publication of the report of the National Reading Panel (National Institute for Child Health and Human Development [NICHD], 2000), reading fluency has become more recognized as a key element in successful reading programs in the primary grades. This article describes a study that assessed the decoding accuracy and fluency levels of a…

A study examined adult readers' phrasing ability to determine (1) if passage difficulty was a salient variable in readers' sensitivity to phrase boundaries in reading; (2) if phrase sensitivity was an issue of concern for young adult readers; and (3) if difficulties in phrasing were due to an overabundant or an inadequate sensitivity to phrase…

Examines how elementary students referred for compensatory remedial reading services performed on several key reading process variables: word recognition errors, meaning-changing errors, comprehension, and reading rate. Finds word recognition and comprehension variables approached instructional levels, and reading rate alone was significantly…

Methods shown to be effective in helping less fluent readers develop fluency suggest a set of principles that teachers may find helpful in designing regular classroom activities for fluency development. These principles include: (1) repeated reading of one text or meeting target words repeatedly in a variety of texts; (2) teacher modeling of…

Argues that reading rate should not be ignored, but rather seen as evidence of excessively slow processing of text, and thus as a diagnostic indicator. Describes how excessively slow, disfluent reading leads to less overall reading, to reading frustration, and is associated with poor comprehension. Describes authentic and engaging instructional…

A study tested the effects of an approach for improving reading fluency on the general reading and fluency development of second-grade students in regular classrooms. Subjects were from two elementary schools in a large, urban, ethnically diverse school district. There were 30 students in 2 classrooms in a school located in a working class…

A study sought to create and pilot a reasonable method for estimating reading rate by grade level and level of reading proficiency within grade level, and to identify reasonable estimates of reading rate at independent, instructional, and frustration levels of reading. Data were elicited from 66 third grade and 64 fifth grade students attending…