The fourth-grade 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading assessment shows that 34% of the nation's students perform below the "NAEP Basic" level. However, because there is no achievement-level description for below Basic, educators and policymakers lack information on the nature of the reading difficulties that…

This publication highlights the key concepts and findings of the 2018 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) study. Oral reading fluency is defined as the ability to read text aloud with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. The NAEP ORF study was administered to a nationally representative sample of over…

According to interpretations of results from the latest oral reading fluency (ORF) study conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (White et al., 2020), fourth-grade students who score below the basic standard require interventions that focus on word recognition, phonological decoding, and fluency. Before such mandates for…

The 2018 NAEP Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) study is conducted by NCES to examine fourth-grade students' ability to read passages out loud with sufficient speed, accuracy, and expression, as well as foundational skills to gauge underlying sources of poor fluency. Oral reading fluency and foundational skills are important components of reading that…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page PDF sheets, by topic, with graphics, plus key contacts. The topics for this report on English Learners (ELs) and NAEP include: (1) 2013 Reading Scores for Grades 4, 8, and 12: ELs vs. Non-ELs; (2) 2013 Mathematics Scores for Grades 4,…

How does literacy develop in children's early years, and what programs or practices promote adequate literacy for all children? These are the questions Catherine Snow and Timothy Matthews tackle in this article. Fundamental literacy skills can be grouped into two categories, Snow and Matthews write. The first category is "constrained"…

In Study 1 we evaluated whether each of three kinds of reading fluency (oral, silent-sentences, silent-passages) contributed uniquely to reading comprehension when children were in second grade (when oral reading is emphasized) and again when they were in fourth grade (when silent reading is emphasized). In Study 2 we evaluated the relationship of…

This study investigated multiple models for assessing oral reading fluency, including 1-minute oral reading measures that produce scores reported as words correct per minute (wcpm). We compared a measure of wcpm with measures of the individual and combined indicators of oral reading fluency (rate, accuracy, prosody, and comprehension) to examine…

Poor reading ability is associated with numerous negative consequences. School psychologists should provide teachers with resources and support to improve student reading ability and prevent these negative outcomes. This paper offers a guide for school psychologists to use in the consultation process when working with teachers to address students'…

This edition of "NAEPFacts" highlights findings from the first attempt by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to measure elementary students' oral reading on a large scale. This article presents data on 1,136 fourth graders' oral fluency and its relationship to 3 other aspects of reading ability: comprehension,…

Conducted as part of the 1992 Integrated Reading Performance Record (IRPR), a study investigated the oral reading proficiency of a subgroup of students participating in the 1992 reading assessment conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Subjects, 1,136 fourth graders, read aloud one passage and were audiotaped as they…

This concise report presents excerpts from the two full reports of the 1992 Integrated Reading Performance Record (IRPR), which examined the reading habits and oral reading of a subgroup of fourth graders who participated in the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) study. The report presents major findings of the two full…