Glossary · Fluency and assessment
What is oral reading fluency?
Definition
Oral reading fluency is a student's reading of a passage aloud, measured for speed and accuracy, and usually reported as words correct per minute.
An oral reading fluency check takes about a minute per passage. Many schools give three passages and use the middle score, which smooths out a passage that happens to be easy or hard.
It is one of the most studied measures in reading. In the early grades, oral reading fluency correlates strongly with overall reading comprehension, which is why schools use it for screening and progress monitoring.
It measures reading aloud, not silent reading, and it doesn't measure comprehension directly. A student can read quickly and understand little. So pair the score with a quick retell or a couple of questions, and look at the errors themselves. They often point straight to the pattern that needs teaching.
In a lesson
A teacher gives three one-minute passages and gets 58, 64 and 71 WCPM. She records 64, the median, then looks at the errors and sees most are vowel teams.
Why does this matter for the record?
Record the median of three passages and keep the error words. The errors are the teaching plan; the score is the trend line.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.