Teaching and Assessing Fluency

Reading Fluency is an important part of learning to read well. "It includes three key skills: accuracy, reading words correctly. Speed, reading at a good pace. Expression, reading with feeling and proper pauses" (Paige, 2020, Pg. 1). According to Paige (2020, pg. 6), "fluency helps readers move from just recognizing words to understanding what they read. When students read fluently, they don't have to stop and think about each word, so they can focus on the meaning of the text". 

Rasinski (2004, pg. 5) explains that "fluency is made up of three main parts: accuracy, rate, and prosody. Accuracy means reading words correctly, rate is speed of reading, and prosody is how a reader uses expression and phrasing. When these parts work together, reading sounds natural and is easier to understand". If a reader struggles with fluency, they might read too slowly or in a choppy way, making it harder to understand the text. 

"Teachers check fluency to see how well students are progressing in their reading skills. Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) is a tool that helps measure fluency, especially in younger students" (Good, 2006, pg. 2). It looks at skills like recognizing letter sounds and reading aloud smoothly. These tests help teachers know which students need extra help to improve their fluency and comprehension. 

Another way to measure fluency is by using a rubric. The fluency rubric, "looks at how well a student reads with expression, smoothness, and at the right pace. A student who reads in a natural, conversational way is more likely to understand and enjoy what they read". This is why fluency is so important; it connects word recognition to comprehension.