Effects Of Two Fluency Methods On The Reading Performance Of Secondary Students

Abstract

One predominant hallmark of older struggling readers is their failure to gain reading fluency on instructional and grade-level texts. Students who fail to achieve reading fluency experience multiple negative consequences that affect their academic and social growth, options, and success. Although considerable amounts of research on reading fluency interventions have been conducted with younger developing and struggling readers, little is known about the effects of such interventions on the reading skills of high school students. A single subject across participants design was employed to measure the effectiveness of two, easy-to-implement, reading fluency interventions on the reading fluency and comprehension of 18 high school students with learning disabilities (LD) who read between the first- and sixth-grade levels. A two-way ANOVA was also used to determine the impact of two interventions and initial reading level on the reading fluency and comprehension as measured by the Gray Oral Reading Test -4, the Test of Word Reading Efficiency, and the Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency. Results suggested that participants whose initial reading skills fell between the first- and third-grade levels made fewer gains in reading fluency and comprehension of connected text during intervention than participants who entered intervention reading between the fourth- through sixth-grade levels. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.