Considers oral reading fluency as an indicator of overall reading competence. Summarizes several studies substantiating that oral reading fluency may reflect overall reading competence. Provides an historical analysis of the extent to which oral reading fluency has been incorporated into measurement approaches during the past century. Concludes…

This study of 335 students in grades 2-6 found that correlations between oral reading fluency and 2 reading achievement tests declined as grade level increased. Coefficients between performance on maze tasks and achievement tests did not show a similar decline from lower to upper grade levels. (Author/JDD)

The effectiveness and efficiency of two commonly used teaching strategies in reading (contextualized practice alone, and decontextualized coupled with contextualized) were compared with six learning disabled first-grade boys. Journal availability: see EC 112 927. (Author/DLS)

Daily measures of reading comprehension were obtained for three learning disabled fourth and fifth grade boys in two settings--their regular classrooms and a special remedial setting. (Author)

The effects of three instructional procedures on reading comprehension and word recognition were compared with 21 learning disabled elementary school students. No differences were found among treatment effects on comprehension and oral reading. (Author/SW)

Six learning disabled boys served as subjects in a study designed to examine the effects of two instructional conditions on word recognition. In one instructional condition, students practiced reading exclusively in connected text (contextualized practice). In a second condition, reading in connected text was supplemented with drill on isolated…

Results of the study involving five learning disabled junior high students indicated that some form of error correction tended to be significantly superior to no correction at all, but that many correction procedures appeared to produce rather small effects on word recognition. (DLS)

Twenty-four students with reading difficulties (grade 4) and 85 skilled readers completed a reading comprehension test, read aloud a folktale, and read aloud a list of the folktale's words. Skilled readers read three times more correct words per minute in context and showed higher accuracy and rates on all measures. (Contains references.)…

Two procedures for correcting oral reading errors, word supply and word drill, were examined to determine their effects on measures of word recognition and comprehension with 17 learning disabled elementary school students. (Author/SW)