A Comparison of Oral Reading Fluency Interventions: Group-based Fluency Trials Versus Individualized Repeated Readings

Reading is a critical skill needed to achieve success in nearly every aspect of life. Students who have difficulty reading in the early grades have a greater chance of high school dropout, a negative attitude toward reading, and even a decreased likelihood of adequate employment. Unfortunately, well over half of all elementary school students read at or below a basic level. Although many factors are involved in becoming a proficient reader, research shows that fluency is one of the most important factors for reading at a mastery level. Oral reading fluency, the speed and accuracy with which a student reads aloud, has also been related to gains in comprehension. This study compared the effects of an already established intervention, repeated reading, to a newly designed intervention, fluency trial, on students’ oral reading fluency and comprehension. Four third-grade students reading below grade level participated. Using an alternating treatments design, students were assessed on four first grade passages at baseline and then read these same passages during each of the two intervention conditions. Results showed that all students’ oral reading fluency and comprehension on the four passages improved during both intervention conditions, with three of the students benefiting slightly more from the fluency trial than from the repeated reading intervention. Implications of these results for the management of classroom reading interventions are discussed