In this article, I systematically review evidence on the relations between oral reading fluency (ORF) and reading comprehension (RC) for adolescents with limited reading proficiency (ALRP) in Grades 6 to12. I organized findings from 23 studies into five themes: (a) unclear role of ORF in the simple view of reading model for ALRP, (b) ALRP have…

Oral reading fluency (ORF) deficits are a hallmark of reading difficulties. The impact of fluency struggles extends beyond word-level difficulties to include deficits in reading comprehension. Sixteen empirical studies conducted in 2000-2019 that examined ORF interventions among elementary students identified as having reading difficulties were…

The article reviews research on the use of multiple oral rereading (MOR) with reading disabled students. MOR uses daily practice on a selection of little difficulty. Its effectiveness in increasing fluency (accuracy and speed) is examined, and the role of redundancy in three types of reading models is analyzed. (CL)

Legibility refers to the physical appearance of printed materials: line lengths, type size, style of type face, space between lines and between letters, margins, and physical format are some of the factors that are involved. After the turn of the century, especially after 1925, research became fairly common in this area, but has been meager since…

Acknowledges that symbol naming speed is an important correlate of reading skill. Proposes an informal model and reviews evidence for several of its links. Concludes that use of such a model may focus research questions more finely and lead to a more precise conceptualization of the basis for naming speed-reading relationships. (SG)

Investigates how well kindergarten phonological awareness (PA) and naming speed (NS) account for reading development to Grade 5. PA was most strongly related to reading in the first two years of school, and NS's initially weaker relationship increased with grade level. Children with weak PA and slow NS were most likely to develop reading…

This article discusses the need to teach decoding to secondary students with reading difficulties using one of three approaches: reading segmented words part by part; decoding different syllable types; or using a flexible strategy for reading long words. It also stresses the need for reading practice and research-validated programs. (Contains…

Review of the research on the reading fluency training using repeated reading training procedures offers theoretical explanations for nonfluent reading, descriptions of repeated reading methods, outcome data organized as answers to practical questions, efficacy data on single word and phrase fluency training, general principles of fluency training…

Reviews research on antecedent demonstration, modeling, and prompting interventions designed to increase reading accuracy, rates of accurate reading, and generalized reading performance in students with disabilities. Suggests modeling or prompting may not be effective intervention to increase general reading fluency. Rejects myth that neurological…

Three instructional approaches have worked well in increasing reading fluency of students with reading difficulties: previewing; hypothesis/test training; and repeated readings. However, it is crucial that students also receive instruction in reading comprehension. (CB)

Two views of the sources of poor reading comprehension are currently distinguishable in the research literature: a decoding sufficiency view and a comprehension skills view. The decoding sufficiency view argues that decoding is the only skill that must be acquired for general language comprehension. The broader, comprehension skills hypothesis…

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…

This paper discusses various approaches educators can use to evaluate the reading skills of students who are deaf and hard of hearing, with special emphasis on reading fluency. Various assessment measures are described and examples of how mature users of American Sign Language read English are given. It highlights the use of a literacy portfolio,…

This executive summary discusses our current understanding of the difficulties that children with reading/learning disabilities encounter as they start down the road to reading and summarizes research on early identification and intervention. The focus is on children in kindergarten through second grade. Findings from the analysis indicate: (1)…

Research on children's oral reading errors provides evidence that both top down and bottom up processes interactively contribute to reading. Syntactic and semantic expectations are sources of information for top down processing, while knowledge of letter-sound relations provides information for bottom up processing. As children learn to read,…