How Do We Measure Rate and Accuracy?

Reading fluency is frequently assessed through oral reading fluency (ORF) tasks. In such tasks, students are asked to read a passage aloud, usually for one minute. A teacher or evaluator takes notes on errors that students make (e.g., substituting, omitting, or misreading words) and then calculates the student’s accuracy–percentage of words read correctly–and rate–number of words read correctly in one minute, or words-correct-per-minute (WCPM). In order to calculate a specific WCPM score, educators should subtract the number of errors from the total number of words read. If the student has read for a timed minute, this will yield a WCPM calculation. If the student has read for more than a minute, convert the time to seconds, divide the number of words read correctly by the time in seconds, and then multiply by 60. The result will be a WCPM score. Hasbrouck & Tindal (2017) have created a chart that educators can use to compare a student’s reading rate to national averages

In order to calculate WCPM, educators should first count the number of errors a student makes while reading. Typically errors include omitting a word, substituting one word for another, mispronouncing a word, or reversing word order (e.g., reading “The green box…” as “The box green…”). Self-correcting, repeating a word, and inserting extra words are not usually counted as errors. However, what is considered an error can differ across assessments, and it is important to carefully read any instructions that are provided with the assessment tool prior to administering. Once the number of errors has been calculated, subtract this from the total number of words read. If the student has read for a timed minute, this will yield a WCPM calculation. If the student has read for more than a minute, convert the time to seconds, divide the number of words read correctly by the time in seconds, and then multiply by 60. The result will be a WCPM score. Hasbrouck & Tindal (2017) have created a chart that educators can use to compare a student’s reading rate to national averages.

For ORF tasks, it is essential that students be provided with passages to read at a level appropriate to their individual abilities, either at their grade-level or at their instructional-level (Hudson et al., 2022, p. 99). Note that instructional level passages are those that students can read with approximately 90-95% accuracy with some guidance from the educator). In order to identify passages appropriate for an ORF assessment, educators can copy a passage from a novel or textbook that students are reading or choose from a variety of programs or websites that offer leveled passages, including Reading A-Z, ReadWorks, k12reader and Read Naturally. 

Additionally, it is important to remember that supporting students’ reading fluency does not simply mean trying to get them to read as fast as possible. In fact, Jan Hasbrouck cites a 2021 study by White et al. that identified the benefits of attaining a WCPM score between the 50th and 75th percentile, with no evidence of a benefit beyond the 75th percentile (Loftus & Sappington, 2024). In other words, faster does not always equal better, and at some point, an increased rate will sacrifice comprehension.

How Do We Measure Prosody?

Fluency is about more than just rate and accuracy. Jan Hasbrouck explains that in order to assess fluency more comprehensively, it is important to also listen for prosody and to check comprehension (Loftus & Sappington, 2024). Rasinki’s Multidimensional Fluency Scale is a useful tool for assessing prosody. This scale provides a method of quantifying fluency skills and progress. Ideally, fluent readers will score within the “4” category in all four of the fluency elements listed and defined below:

• Expression (Intonation) and Volume should be varied and conversational. Students should be able to match their expression and volume to the tone and mood of the reading material. Additionally, punctuation can provide cues for how students should flex their voices.
• Phrasing, or the ability to chunk words into phrases, is an important aspect of fluent reading. Students should be able to apply expression and volume based on punctuation cues and recognizable clauses in order to read with appropriate and smooth phrasing.
• Smoothness also combines elements of chunking in that students should be able to read material smoothly, pausing only when appropriate.
• Pace refers to the rate at which the student reads. While there are several markers and norms, a student’s reading should sound conversational, which means that the appropriate pace for each student may differ.

Checking for Comprehension

As mentioned above, oral reading fluency should never be measured without an accompanying measure of comprehension. This is essential because students change their approach to reading when they know that they will be asked questions about the text. Because comprehension is the end goal of oral reading, it is vital that educators measure these skills together. Bloom’s Taxonomy provides explicit and implicit question stems for educators to intentionally use as a means of measuring students’ comprehension of a text. Furthermore, students could be asked to apply skills such as identifying the main idea and details, taking margin notes, and paraphrasing the material. Educators can track students’ progress by asking them to apply these skills independently to similar passages.

References

Hudson, R.F., Anderson, E.M., McGraw, M., Ray, R. & Wilhelm, A. (2022). Structured literacy interventions for reading fluency. In L. Spear-Swerling (Ed.), Structure literacy interventions: Teaching students with reading difficulties, grades K-6. Guilford Press.

Loftus, M. & Sappington, L. (Hosts). (2024, May 10). Science of Reading beyond phonics: Fluency instruction and assessment with Jan Hasbrouck (No. 153) [Audio podcast episode]. In Melissa & Lori Love Literacy. Great Minds. https://literacypodcast.com/podcast?podcast=Buzzsprout-15157927

Rasinski, T. (2016). Multi-Dimensional Fluency Rubric. http://www.timrasinski.com/presentations/multidimensional_fluency_rubric_4_factors.pdf