Increasing Reading Fluency and Accuracy Valerie Gortmaker

Topics American Reading Statistics The Importance of Reading Fluency and Accuracy Interventions Functional Assessment/Interventions Intervention Role Plays Parent Involvement/Home-based strategies Using Reading Interventions in CBC

American Reading Statistics NEAP evaluation: only 37% of high school seniors were “proficient” at reading—only 3% were advanced NICHHD: “40% of the U.S. population have reading problems severe enough to hinder their enjoyment of reading”

The Importance of Reading Success Reading failure has been linked to the development/exacerbation of many negative outcomes including: Dropping out of school Behavioral and/or emotional problems Poor self-concept Substance abuse.88 = The probability a poor reader at the end of 1 st grade would remain a poor reader at the end of 4 th grade.

The Importance of Early Reading Interventions Comprehension is highly dependent upon word recognition and fluency skills The “Matthew Effect” Juel study: by the end of first grade…. Good readers saw an average of 18, 681 words Poor readers had been exposed to 9,975 words

Curriculum-Based Measurement Readings taken from the curriculum Oral Reading Probes can be used to: Assess student progress in fluency, accuracy, and comprehension Derive baseline and post-intervention skills Graph reading improvement

Standards for Reading Fluency and Accuracy (adapted from Howell, Fox, Morehead, 1993) GradeInstructional Level Fluency: words/minute (wpm) Early Late Early Late and above Accuracy: % of words read correctly % 4 and above95-100%

Placement Criteria for Direct Reading Assessment (L. S. Fuchs and S. L. Deno, 1982 from Shapiro, 1996) Grade LevelCWPMErrors/min or less or less

Realistic Standards for Weekly Growth (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Hamlett, 1996) GradeWords/week growth 2 nd 1.5 – rd 1.0 – th.85 – th.5 –.8 6 th.3 –.65

The Importance of Functional Reading Assessment Effective academic interventions are built upon the linkage of assessment and intervention Hypotheses for academic deficits They do not want to do it They have not spent enough time doing it They have not had enough help to do it They have not had to do it that way before It is too hard

Reading Fluency Assessment/Interventions Repeated Readings Listening Previewing Corrective Feedback Motivation

Assessing: Prior to intervention, find a baseline… 1. Give the student 3 baseline probes from each grade level, until s/he reaches an instructional level. 2. Pick a grade level to focus the intervention on (usually a level in which the child can reach the instructional level with 20-40% improvement).

#1 Repeated Readings Administer 1 timed baseline probe Have the child read one probe 3 times Time the reading on a 4 th reading of the probe. Replicate with a different probe.

#2 Listening Previewing Administer 1 timed baseline probe The teacher/psychologist reads the probe aloud while the student follows along silently Have the child read the same probe while the administrator times the child for 1 minute. Replicate with a different probe.

#3 Corrective Feedback Administer 1 timed baseline probe Ask the child to read a different probe Stop her whenever a word is omitted, substituted, mispronounced, or if she cannot read a word. Tell her the missed word. Ask her to say the missed word correctly 4 times. Praise her by saying, “That’s Right! The word is ________” if she says the word correctly. Tell her to continue reading starting with the sentence containing the missing word. Time her on the same passage from the beginning. Replicate with a different probe.

#4 Motivation Administer 1 timed baseline probe Tell the child you will reward him/her if she reads a certain number of correct words (approximately cwpm more than baseline) Possible rewards: a dollar, favorite candy bar, baseball cards, etc. Replicate with a different probe.

Graphing Assessment Data

Parent Skills Training General Discussion Modeling Role-Playing Performance Feedback Teach simple behavior-modification principles (positive reinforcement, sticker charts, etc.) Discussion of potential problems Frequent follow-up

Successful Parent Involvement Programs Include: Real reading (books) Enjoyable, efficient, and easy to implement activities A connection between home and school Consistency and commitment over a long term rather than short-term or single activities

Paired Reading Parents set timer for 10 minutes Parent and child simultaneously read the text If child makes an error or pauses for more than 3 seconds, the parent says the word correctly while pointing to it The child repeats the word and the pair continues to read simultaneously When the child desires to read independently s/he gives a predetermined non-verbal signal Child is praised with quiet approval and continues independent reading If the child makes an error, the parent points to the word while saying it, and the child repeats the word. Fiala & Sheridan

Interactive Book Reading (Taverne and Sheridan, 1995) Use books relevant to child’s interest Place books in several rooms in the house Interactive Book Reading (p. 46): Parent: examines a storybook w/ child and points out its main parts labels and discusses picture content Reads the story aloud to the child Pauses to question the child about his/her understanding

Other Practical Reading Strategies Parents reading to their child as they follow along Prompting (adult says the initial part of a word) Children listening to other children read/peer tutoring Use of High Content Overlap Passages (HCO)

Practical Use in CBC After the best intervention(s) is determined, parents, teachers, and/or peers can be trained to utilize the most effective reading strategies in a variety of settings. (15 minutes/day is recommended) Sticker charts can be used to monitor number of tutoring session and to provide reinforcement. Probes can be given periodically by teachers, psychologists, or parents to monitor student progress.

References Daly, E. J., III, Lentz, F. E., Jr., & Boyer, J. (1996). The instructional Hierarchy: A conceptual model for understanding the effective components of reading interventions. School Psychology Quarterly, 11(4), Daly, E.J., III, Witt, J. C., Martens, B. K., & Dool, E. J. (1997). A model for conducting a functional analysis of academic performance problems. School Psychology Review. 26(4), Daly, E. J., III, Martens, B. K., Hamler, K. R., Dool, E. J., & Eckert, T. L. (1999). A brief experimental analysis for identifying instructional components needed to improve oral reading fluency. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 32(1), Fiala, C. L., & Sheridan, S. M. (2001). Parent involvement and reading: Using curriculum based measurement to assess the effects of paired reading. Manuscript submitted for publication. Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., & Hamlett, C. L. (1993). Formative evaluation of academic progress: How much growth can we expect? School Psychology Review, 22(1),

Good, R. H., III, Simmons, D. C., & Smith, S. B. (1998). Effective academic interventions in the United States: evaluating and enhancing the acquisition of early reading skills. School Psychology Review, 27(1), Hook, C. L., & DuPaul, G. J. (1999). Parent tutoring with students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Effects on reading performance at home and school. School Psychology Review, 23(1), Howell, K. Wl, Fox, S. L., & Morehead, M. K. (1993). Curriculum- Based Evaluation: Teaching and decision making (2 nd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Shapiro, E. S. (1996). Academic skills problems: Direct assessment and intervention (2 nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press. Taverne, A., & Sheridan, S. M. (1995). Parent training in interactive book reading: An investigation of its effects with families at risk. School Psychology Quarterly, 10(1),