Testing & Improving Reading Fluency

In my previous post, I discussed the importance of reading fluency and the impact it has on reading comprehension.  Now I will discuss how to measure and improve reading fluency.

Testing Reading Fluency

You can easily test a child’s (or your own) reading fluency by selecting a passage of appropriate grade level text.  With a timer set, have the child read the text at a normal rate for 1 minute and mark where the child stops.  Also mark any reading errors such as words that were omitted (skipped), mispronounced, substituted (read another word in its place), or pronounced by you if the child paused for a couple seconds.  It may be easiest to tape record the child and mark the errors made afterwards.  Now count up the total number of words read correctly per minute (WCPM).  You can do this process 2 more times with different passages in order to get a WCPM average, and more realistic reading fluency rate.  Jan Hasbrouck and Gerald Tindal are two researchers who did a study titled “Oral Reading Fluency: 90 Years of Measurement” in 2004.  The data from their study provided them with oral reading fluency rates for children in grades 1-8, which is useful in determining where a child places in relation to average for a particular grade.

Improving Reading Fluency

As a speech-language pathologist I often work with students to improve their reading fluency since it so greatly affects reading comprehension.  I select an appropriate passage for the student, which may be below grade level if the student is struggling with reading fluency.  Note: It is important to select a passage that will be a bit of a challenge, but not so difficult that it will cause frustration.  Once the passage is selected I have the student read from it for 1 minute and note any reading errors that were made.  I then count the number of words he read correctly during the 60 second reading, which gives me the number of words read per minute (wpm).  Next I go over the reading errors with the student, having him sound out any words he struggled with, mispronounced, or skipped.  After the review, I have the student read the same passage a second time and stop at the same spot where he did after the first 60 second reading.  I document the amount of time it took him to read it the second time, and the number of errors he made.  Again I review any reading errors that were made (if any). I repeat this process a third time, having the student stop in the same place and then document the amount of time it took to read and number of errors he made.  Usually the student will improve his reading rate (by reading the passage in less than 60 seconds) and/or his reading accuracy (by making fewer errors) with each successive second and third reading of the passage.  After working on reading fluency, I usually have the student continue reading the paragraph or passage and then ask him a few reading comprehension questions.  Below is how I document reading fluency.

Date

Time 1: 60 seconds/ # errors/ # words per minute (wpm)

Time 2: # seconds/ # errors

Time 3: # seconds/ # errors

It is important to note that just because a student has a fast reading rate and reads accurately, it does not mean he necessarily comprehends the text being read.  Likewise it would be unwise to focus just on reading rate at the expense of having incorrect prosody or not comprehending what was read.  Notice where a child’s reading errors occur.  Are they due to rate (trying to read too fast and skipping words or maybe taking too long to decode words)?  Are they due to accuracy (reading the words incorrectly or pronouncing the words incorrectly)?  Does the child understand what was just read (if asked who, what, when, where, why type questions about the text)?  Was incorrect prosody (phrasing and expression) a factor in poor comprehension?  Or was poor comprehension due to weak vocabulary skills?  By examining the errors a child makes, I am able to determine what areas need work.  Then I can target specific skills to develop those areas and improve overall reading fluency and comprehension.

I believe the best ways to improve a child’s reading fluency and comprehension is by being read aloud to, and through practice reading aloud.  By reading aloud to a child, you are providing a model of reading rate, fluency, and expression.  You can also ask questions about what you have just read, which demonstrates the importance of comprehending what was read.  And by having the child read aloud to you, he has the opportunity to practice and get feedback on his reading fluency (i.e. rate, accuracy, and prosody).

Let me know if you have any questions about testing or improving reading fluency in the comment section below.

The Importance of Reading Fluency

What is reading fluency and why is it important?  Reading fluency is comprised of the rate, accuracy, and prosody you use while reading.  Reading fluency is important because the ability to read efficiently, accurately, and with appropriate expression and meaning allow for what is read to be comprehended.

Reading rate just means the speed, or how quickly, you are able to read text.  The rate you are able to read at depends upon your ability to automatically decode words on the page.  If you are a good reader you are able to look at the letters and sounds that form a word and quickly put them together to read the word.  If you struggle with reading you take more time to sound out each letter in a word and then to blend the sounds together in order to read the word.  And when you have to do this for every word in a sentence, it is very easy to forget the words you sounded out at the beginning of a sentence.  For example, let’s say this is the sentence you are reading from a book: “The cat sat on a large mat.”  It makes a big difference if you are able to read this sentence in 5 seconds as compared to taking 2 minutes to read it.  This is why reading rate can greatly affect reading comprehension, and why reading needs to become automatic in order to become a good reader.

Reading accuracy means how accurately, or correctly, you are able to read text.  It is important that you are reading the words on a page correctly.  Otherwise it makes no difference how quickly you are able to read because the meaning of what you have read is wrong.  For example, let’s say this is the sentence you are reading from a book: “The frog jumped over the log.”  And then let’s say you did not read it accurately, and this is what you read instead: “The frig jumped over the dog.”  As you can see, the meaning of what you just read was completely different than the sentence in the book and does not make any sense.  Reading accuracy is just as important as reading rate in becoming a good reader and being able to obtain meaning from what you have read.

Reading prosody means the ability to read with expression and proper phrasing while reading text.  Prosody is what makes you sound natural while reading, and helps the words you are reading convey meaning.  For example, let’s say this is the sentence you are reading from a book: “Mom, look over there!  It’s a snake!” And this is how you read it aloud instead: “Mom look over there it’s a snake.”  As you can see, the excitement or fear that the original sentence should convey was lost in the reading.  It not only sounds boring, but comprehension of what has just occurred may be missed because it was not read with correct prosody.

Stay tuned for my next post, which will discuss how to test and then improve reading fluency.

Better Speech & Hearing Month (BSHM)

The month of May is Better Speech and Hearing Month (BSHM), which was started by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) to raise awareness about communication disorders and to promote treatment that can improve quality of life for people experiencing difficulty hearing, understanding, or speaking.

Hearing loss can be caused by genetic factors, illness, and even ototoxic drugs (drugs that damage hearing).  But now one of the biggest concerns is the rapid increase in Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) in children, mainly due to headphones from portable music players and other similar devices.  NIHL is painless and caused by exposure to loud sounds, usually over a period of time.  Occasionally NIHL can occur from only one exposure to an extremely loud noise.  Some examples of noise producers are personal headphones attached to games and portable music devices (the volume is too loud if you can hear music coming from the device), household appliances, musical instruments, toys, power tools, lawn equipment, and concerts.

You Know An Environment Is Too Loud When:

• You have to raise your voice to be heard.
• You have a hard time hearing someone only 2-3 feet away.
• You have ringing or buzzing in your ears, or another person’s speech sounds muffled to you.

What You Can Do To Prevent NIHL:

• Avoid or limit exposure to loud noises.
• Protect your hearing. (Ear plugs and ear muffs can reduce noise by 15-30 dB if worn properly.)
• Teach your children good hearing habits such as keeping the volume down (aim for half the volume of the device), limiting listening time, giving ears some quiet time, and knowing when an environment is too loud and may be causing hearing loss.

Hearing loss can cause problems in school, not only academically but socially.  The good news is that NIHL is preventable, so talk to your children and educate them about how to protect their hearing.  For more information about NIHL for parents and educators, and interactive games for kids, go to ASHA’s Listen To Your Buds!

Why I Love Being a Speech Therapist

Simply put, I love being a Speech-Language Pathologist because it is such a gratifying career.  In high school I thought I wanted to be a physical therapist (PT), and even observed PT’s at the local hospital several times so I would know what I was getting myself into.  I should have known after watching a wound debridement (clearing away dead skin tissue) from a man who had severely burned his hand from hot roofing tar, that it was not my thing.  The thought of someone else’s pain and I don’t get along too well.  (So how I was able to give birth without meds is a different post!)   I started college on the PT track since it sounded good that I had direction and knew what I wanted to do with my life.  It only took until my second semester Chemistry 2 class that I realized it wouldn’t happen.  I struggled and made it through Chem 1, but after only a couple classes of Chem 2 I knew I would never be able to wrap my mind around the material.  I think I am a smart person, but chemistry and I don’t mix.  I ended up taking a Linguistics course instead and really enjoyed it.  So I took a Phonetics course, which led me to all the other courses in the Communication Sciences & Disorders field.

Unfortunately you have to get into a Master’s program before you are really allowed to start working with people which is pretty crazy since a big part of the SLP gig is being able to work well with people.  Fortunately for me I found I could quickly establish rapport with others, so combined with my interest in the field it was a good career choice.  It was only until after I graduated and started working in the real world did I appreciate how much I enjoyed being a SLP.  I have worked with young children in schools and adults in rehab/nursing facilities and love both, which is unusual in this field because most SLPs find they either enjoy working with children or adults…not both.  I  have found with children my job is to teach them how to do something new that has likely been a struggle and source of frustration, so they gain confidence and hopefully are more successful down the road.  With adults I have found my job is to help them relearn how to do something which is a new frustration for them, so they can successfully gain independence once again.  With children I get to play and with adults I get to listen to their life stories.  The common thread for me between children and adults is that every person just needs someone who cares about them and is genuinely invested in their future.  How easy is that?!  So you tell me that I have to wake up every day, help make another person’s life better, and you will pay me to do it?  Okay… I’m there!!

Have questions about being a SLP?  I’d love to answer them.