Purpose of the Study

There is an extensive body of research establishing measures of oral reading fluency as valid and reliable predictors of important reading outcomes and performance on high stakes tests (Good, Simmons, & Kame’enui, 2001). The present study was conducted to determine whether these findings also apply to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test as a measure of reading outcomes and achievement of Florida’s reading standards for third graders. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether performance on brief, one-minute measures of oral reading fluency are predictive of achievement in reading as measured by the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test-Sunshine State Standards (FCAT-SSS). If these measures reliably predict performance on the FCAT-SSS, then teachers might use them as “early warning signs ” that students may, or may not, succeed on the FCAT-SSS. Method Thirteen schools from one Florida school district provided data, which included curriculum-based measures of oral reading fluency (ORF) and FCAT scores for third grade students (N=1102). ORF scores were obtained in May 2002, and the FCAT wa