The Efficacy of Repeated Reading for Building Reading Fluency of Fourth-Grade Students at a Rural Elementary School in South Carolina

The Efficacy of Repeated Reading for Building Reading Fluency of Fourth-Grade Students at a Rural Elementary School in South Carolina. Clarice B. Norman, 2010: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Fischler School of Education and Human Services. ERIC Descriptors: Reading Fluency, Reading Comprehension, Reading Instruction, Curriculum Based Measurement, Rural Schools. This applied dissertation study was designed to examine the effects of a repeated reading strategy on the oral reading fluency and reading comprehension of fourth-grade students in a rural South Carolina school. In addition, it examined the hypothesis that repeated reading of connected text would build reading fluency and increase comprehension. The participants were a class of fourth-grade students at the research site as well as their parents. These students exhibited the most challenging behaviors in regard to reading fluency and comprehension or read well orally but struggled with comprehension. Twenty-four regular and special needs students participated. The researcher sought to determine (a) whether repeated oral reading practice would build oral reading fluency and (b) whether this practice would increase reading comprehension. The students received reading fluency instruction and curriculum-based measurement of their reading ability. The study was conducted over a 12-week period. Upon completion of the study, the researcher analyzed the data collected during the intervention using an informal reading inventory, curriculum-based measures, and matched-pair t tests to determine if the intervention built reading fluency and increased comprehension. Results indicated that the use of the repeated reading instructional strategy significantly increased the students’ reading levels and oral reading fluency but not their reading comprehension. Overall, the intervention had a positive effect on the students’ reading ability