Increasing Reading Fluency and

Accuracy

Valerie Gortmaker

Topics

American Reading Statistics

The Importance of Reading Fluency and Accuracy Interventions

Functional Assessment/Interventions

Intervention Role Plays

Parent Involvement/Home-based strategies

Using Reading Interventions in CBC

American Reading Statistics

NEAP evaluation: only 37% of high school seniors were “proficient” at reading—only 3% were advancedNICHHD: “40% of the U.S. population have reading problems severe enough to hinder their enjoyment of reading”

The Importance of Reading Success

Reading failure has been linked to the development/exacerbation of many negative outcomes including: Dropping out of school Behavioral and/or emotional problems Poor self-concept Substance abuse

.88 = The probability a poor reader at the end of 1st grade would remain a poor reader at the end of 4th grade.

The Importance of Early Reading Interventions

Comprehension is highly dependent upon word recognition and fluency skills

The “Matthew Effect”

Juel study: by the end of first grade…. Good readers saw an average

of 18, 681 words Poor readers had been exposed

to 9,975 words

Curriculum-Based Measurement

Readings taken from the curriculum

Oral Reading Probes can be used to:Assess student progress in fluency,

accuracy, and comprehensionDerive baseline and post-intervention skillsGraph reading improvement

Standards for Reading Fluency and Accuracy (adapted from Howell,

Fox, Morehead, 1993)

Grade Instructional Level

Fluency: words/minute (wpm)

Early 1 30-40

Late 1 40-50

Early 2 50-80

Late 2 60-90

3 90-120

4 and above 100-140

Accuracy: % of words read correctly

1-3 90-95%

4 and above 95-100%

 Placement Criteria for Direct

Reading Assessment (L. S. Fuchs and S. L. Deno, 1982 from Shapiro,

1996)

Grade Level CWPM Errors/min.

1-2 40-60 4 or less

3-6 70-100 6 or less

Realistic Standards for Weekly Growth (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Hamlett,

1996)

Grade Words/week growth

2nd 1.5 – 2.0

3rd 1.0 – 1.5

4th .85 – 1.1

5th .5 – .8

6th .3 – .65

The Importance of Functional Reading

Assessment

Effective academic interventions are built upon the linkage of assessment and interventionHypotheses for academic deficits They do not want to do it They have not spent enough time doing it They have not had enough help to do it They have not had to do it that way before It is too hard

Reading Fluency Assessment/Interventions

Repeated ReadingsListening PreviewingCorrective FeedbackMotivation

Assessing: Prior to intervention, find a

baseline…1. Give the student 3 baseline probes from

each grade level, until s/he reaches an instructional level.

2. Pick a grade level to focus the intervention on (usually a level in which the child can reach the instructional level with 20-40% improvement).

#1 Repeated Readings

Administer 1 timed baseline probeHave the child read one probe 3 timesTime the reading on a 4th reading of the probe.Replicate with a different probe.

#2 Listening Previewing

Administer 1 timed baseline probe

The teacher/psychologist reads the probe aloud while the student follows along silently

Have the child read the same probe while the administrator times the child for 1 minute.

Replicate with a different probe.

#3 Corrective FeedbackAdminister 1 timed baseline probeAsk the child to read a different probeStop her whenever a word is omitted, substituted, mispronounced, or if she cannot read a word.Tell her the missed word. Ask her to say the missed word correctly 4 times.Praise her by saying, “That’s Right! The word is ________” if she says the word correctly.Tell her to continue reading starting with the sentence containing the missing word.Time her on the same passage from the beginning. Replicate with a different probe.

#4 MotivationAdminister 1 timed baseline probeTell the child you will reward him/her if she reads a certain number of correct words (approximately 10-20 cwpm more than baseline) Possible rewards: a dollar,

favorite candy bar, baseball cards, etc.

Replicate with a different probe.

Graphing Assessment Data

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Reading Strategy

wor

ds/m

inut

e

Parent Skills TrainingGeneral Discussion

Modeling

Role-Playing

Performance Feedback

Teach simple behavior-modification principles (positive reinforcement, sticker charts, etc.)

Discussion of potential problems

Frequent follow-up

Successful Parent Involvement Programs

Include:Real reading (books)

Enjoyable, efficient, and easy to implement activities

A connection between home and school

Consistency and commitment over a long term rather than short-term or single activities

Paired ReadingParents set timer for 10 minutesParent and child simultaneously read the textIf child makes an error or pauses for more than 3 seconds, the parent says the word correctly while pointing to itThe child repeats the word and the pair continues to read simultaneouslyWhen the child desires to read independently s/he gives a predetermined non-verbal signalChild is praised with quiet approval and continues independent reading If the child makes an error, the parent points to the word while saying it, and the child repeats the word. Fiala & Sheridan

Interactive Book Reading (Taverne and Sheridan,

1995)Use books relevant to child’s interest

Place books in several rooms in the house

Interactive Book Reading (p. 46): Parent:

examines a storybook w/ child and points out its main parts

labels and discusses picture content Reads the story aloud to the child Pauses to question the child about his/her understanding

Other Practical Reading Strategies

Parents reading to their child as they follow alongPrompting (adult says the initial part of a word)Children listening to other children read/peer tutoringUse of High Content Overlap Passages (HCO)

Practical Use in CBCAfter the best intervention(s) is determined, parents, teachers, and/or peers can be trained to utilize the most effective reading strategies in a variety of settings. (15 minutes/day is recommended)Sticker charts can be used to monitor number of tutoring session and to provide reinforcement. Probes can be given periodically by teachers, psychologists, or parents to monitor student progress.

ReferencesDaly, E. J., III, Lentz, F. E., Jr., & Boyer, J. (1996). The instructional Hierarchy: A conceptual model for understanding the effective components of reading interventions. School Psychology Quarterly, 11(4), 369-386. Daly, E.J., III, Witt, J. C., Martens, B. K., & Dool, E. J. (1997). A model for conducting a functional analysis of academic performance problems. School Psychology Review. 26(4), 554-574.Daly, E. J., III, Martens, B. K., Hamler, K. R., Dool, E. J., & Eckert, T. L. (1999). A brief experimental analysis for identifying instructional components needed to improve oral reading fluency. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 32(1), 83-94. Fiala, C. L., & Sheridan, S. M. (2001). Parent involvement and reading: Using curriculum based measurement to assess the effects of paired reading. Manuscript submitted for publication. Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., & Hamlett, C. L. (1993). Formative evaluation of academic progress: How much growth can we expect? School Psychology Review, 22(1), 27-48.

Good, R. H., III, Simmons, D. C., & Smith, S. B. (1998). Effective academic interventions in the United States: evaluating and enhancing the acquisition of early reading skills. School Psychology Review, 27(1), 45-56.

Hook, C. L., & DuPaul, G. J. (1999). Parent tutoring with students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Effects on reading performance at home and school. School Psychology Review, 23(1), 60-75.

Howell, K. Wl, Fox, S. L., & Morehead, M. K. (1993). Curriculum-Based Evaluation: Teaching and decision making (2nd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Shapiro, E. S. (1996). Academic skills problems: Direct assessment and intervention (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Taverne, A., & Sheridan, S. M. (1995). Parent training in interactive book reading: An investigation of its effects with families at risk. School Psychology Quarterly, 10(1), 41-64.