The Relationship Between Oral Reading Fluency and Comprehension

Oral reading fluency and reading comprehension are identified as components in effectively gaining meaning from text. A reciprocal relationship exists between the two that allows one to comprehend more thoroughly as one reads more fluently. Additionally, as one reads more fluently, one’s ability to comprehend also improves. This is due to the fact that one’s brain is more capable in processing text meaning when one is able to read fluently. Therefore, when one automatically identifies words one is able to comprehend text more completely. The oral reading fluency and comprehension relationship was tested for a second and third grade population at a private, Catholic elementary school in Elmira, New York. These students were issued the oral reading fluency subtest of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills and the TerraNova Basic Multiple Assessment issued by McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. Overall, a reciprocal relationship existed among the students that took this assessment