What differentiates a fluent reader from a non-fluent reader and how should we assess it: implications for the classroom.
2011-12
Loading...
View/Download File
Persistent link to this item
Statistics
View StatisticsJournal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Title
What differentiates a fluent reader from a non-fluent reader and how should we assess it: implications for the classroom.
Authors
Published Date
2011-12
Publisher
Type
Thesis or Dissertation
Abstract
Assessing Reading Fluency
There were three questions being asked: 1) Does an adjusted words per minute score measure reading fluency, 2) Is an adjusted words per minute score predictive of reading fluency, and 3) What characteristics distinguish a fluent reader from a non-fluent reader? There were two studies conducted to address these concerns. Study 1 consisted of sixty college students and Study 2 consisted of twenty-three second graders, twenty-five fourth graders, and twenty-one sixth graders. It was found that an adjusted word per minute score on the oral reading assessment was neither correlated with nor predictive of reading fluency, for either study. With regard to distinguishing characteristics, there were no consistently significant findings other than accuracy between fluent and non-fluent second graders on the open-maze sentence and paragraph delivered sentence-by-sentence assessments. The fact that the results were mixed with regard to reading speed and accuracy being distinguishing factors between fluent and non-fluent readers on the oral reading assessment, and the fact that, the results were also mixed with regard to the Lexical Decision Task should make one wonder if perhaps reading speed and accuracy are actually natural by-products of maturation and not necessarily secondary characteristics of reading fluency.
Assessing Reading Fluency
These findings lend credence to the theory that current intervention practices in the schools may be teaching our students to ―bark‖ at text. They also lend credence to the idea that there may be a third pathway for processing words/text, a pathway that contains a semantic module that isn‘t quite fully developed and is in fact in the learning process. Finally, the findings also support the idea that development of gist in the phonological store may depend on a student‘s ability to metacognitively monitor their reading to the point of being able to retain more appropriate gist of sentences rather than trying to rehearse a complete replication of the whole sentence. To this end, it was proposed that a longitudinal (mixed methods) study be performed to assess these qualities.
Description
University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. December 2011. Major: Educational Psychology. Advisors:Dr. S. Jay Samuels, Dr. Mark L. Davison. 1 computer file (PDF); xviii, 270 pages, appendices A-N.
Related to
Replaces
License
Collections
Series/Report Number
Funding information
Isbn identifier
Doi identifier
Previously Published Citation
Suggested citation
Alt, Shirley Jean. (2011). What differentiates a fluent reader from a non-fluent reader and how should we assess it: implications for the classroom.. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/119678.
Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.