Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

Don’t leave fluency behind — it matters more than you think

Congrats, literacy leaders! You’ve officially made it halfway through the Latest in Literacy blog’s series on high-impact influences that accelerate reading.

You’re just in time, no doubt, to tweak your schools’ trajectories before spring benchmarking and EOY assessments.

In our previous article, you zoomed in on comprehension using the online Global Research Database. (How handy is that tool?!)

Today, you’ll read about another heavy-hitter in literacy acquisition and instruction: fluency.

Comprehension v. Fluency: A centuries-long battle for space in the classroom

Let’s face it. Fluency is the black sheep of reading skills.

Even in today’s age of information and mass communication, definitions and opinions vary widely.

Is fluency controversial by nature? Or has it just gotten a bad rap?

Believe it or not, there was a time when fluency was king.

Early American schools actually embraced fluency. In a society with widespread illiteracy, listening to recitation — or reading aloud — was the only way non-readers could access the written word. At that time, fluent reading was more than a mere component of literacy; it was practically a means of survival.

As such, expressive oral reading was the main goal of literacy instruction in schools. Fluency was thought only to apply to reading aloud, and both students and teachers were assessed based on how their reading sounded.

But get this. The proverbial pendulum of education had already begun to swing, even hundreds of years ago.

Eventually, scholars asserted that focusing on the performative nature of oral reading hindered learners’ ability to make meaning. So, silent reading comprehension usurped fluency as the focus of literacy in schools.

According to renowned educational researchers Dr. Timothy Rasinski and Dr. Chase Young:

Comprehension reigned until the National Reading Panel presented evidence that fluency instruction improved reading overall, including comprehension.

The year? 2000.

Let’s see what fluency is up to 24 years later…

Fluency takes a seat at the back of the class

Decades of research have given us the Science of Reading, an approach to literacy that’s firmly grounded in cognitive psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience.

Unlike comprehension, fluency doesn’t get its own strand in Scarborough’s Reading Rope. It doesn’t represent one entire factor or product in Gough and Tunmer’s multiplication formula for the Simple View of Reading.

Considering its relegation to the “back of the class” in the not-so-distant past, it begs the question:

Does fluency even matter?

We think you know the answer…

Therefore…

Successful reading requires both fluent word recognition skills and fluent language comprehension strategies.

Turns out, fluency is embedded in just about every aspect of learning to read.

Fluency through the lens of Visible Learning — Your new tool in action!

We’d ask if you remember how to use the searchable Global Research Database from the previous article, but there’s no way you’ve forgotten!

(Pause to bookmark if you haven’t already.)

Let’s check back in with Dr. John Hattie and explore what his meta-analyses of over 3,100 studies have to say about the effectiveness of fluency.

Effect Size Barometer | Source: https://www.visiblelearning.com/content/visible-learning-research

You’ll likely notice plenty of influences happening in your schools that contribute positively to fluency — self-monitoring, commitment to goals and clear goal intentions, phonological awareness, exposure to reading, and more (👇 see table below).

Each of these carry an effect size greater than the hinge point of 0.40, meaning they fall in the Zone of Desired Effects.

In other words, you’ve got your foot on the gas pedal, accelerating fluency in your schools!

Based on data from the Visible Learning Meta-x Global Research Database: https://www.visiblelearningmetax.com/Influences

There’s a key to unlocking fluency — Do you have enough of it?

The case for fluency is overwhelming in research.

In their article Fluency Matters, Dr. Rasinski and Dr. Young explain that changing just one factor can improve fluency and other measures of reading for most students.

That factor? Time.

It’s really that simple! Research shows that increasing the time students spend on independent and instructional-level reading works.

Unfortunately, time is a finite resource in the classroom.

Plus, the students who require fluency intervention to supplement their practice have even less independent time during the school day. Indeed, these are arguably the students who need practice time the most.

So, how do you get your struggling students to read more outside of school time?

Schools have been wrestling with this for decades, and if you’re reading this article, chances are you are as well.

Book bags haven’t worked. They end up in a pile in the house unread.

Library books work for some, but not reliably, because they require access and opportunities that many students don’t have. Even if there is a library nearby, getting parents to make the trips is inconsistent and there’s no accountability.

Some schools operate Book Buses. While these are useful for those on the bus route who have someone to accompany them at the correct time and day, they can be unreliable and inconsistent.

Despite good intentions, each of these efforts lack consistency, accountability, equitable access and opportunity, and the crucial element of instilling a “desire to open a book.”

But there is a viable solution.

Kids Read Now has devoted the last decade to perfecting their recipe for actively getting students to read books outside of school.

Building a bridge over roadblocks on the road to fluency at school

Check out the table below to see how Kids Read Now makes the most of every minute of outside-of-school time, providing independent reading and fluency practice, practice, practice. Every. Day.

INFLUENCE & Effect Size from Visible Learning	PROBLEM Roadblocks to Fluency Success at School	SOLUTION Kids Read Now’s Simple Solutions	OUTCOME Impact on Achievement
Repeated reading programs (0.8)	Logistically challenging. Teachers may struggle to find time to revisit the same text multiple times with the constraints of a packed curriculum and the need to move on to new material might limit opportunities for repetition.	The Kids Read Now program provides students with a steady stream of books to read week after week, encouraging regular and repeated reading practice. Students get to keep the books forever to reread as many times as they want! Bonus: younger siblings now have books in the house to read as well.	Potential to Considerably Accelerate!
Self-Regulation Strategies (0.51) & Self-guided learning (0.67)	Self-regulation skills require a gradual release of responsibility at different rates for different students. Monitoring students’ independent time can be resource-intensive, and school is full of distractions and… other people.	Independent reading at home through Kids Read Now enables students to choose books that match their interests and reading abilities, empowering them to set reading goals and take ownership of their learning. Their independent reading time is encouraged by parents and caregivers who themselves are encouraged regularly and repeatedly by Kids Read Now.	Potential to Considerably Accelerate!
Exposure to Reading (0.5)	Although schools provide a wide variety of reading materials, time is always limited. The result can be confusion or mere surface-level understandings.	With Kids Read Now, students choose books that interest them from a list that include SEL, multi-ethnic, and bilingual titles from a myriad of genres. Students receive a consistent supply of books in the mail, ensuring ample exposure over an extended time period.	Potential to Accelerate!
Appropriately Challenging Goals (0.6)	Assessment overload! Finding the right balance between setting goals and conducting frequent assessments to track progress can be challenging without detracting from instructional time. Individualized goals might vary widely based on diverse student needs.	Students choose books from a curated selection that matches their current reading abilities, allowing them to experience success. Kids Read Now honors students’ choice and voice, empowering them to set reading goals and take ownership of their learning.	Potential to Considerably Accelerate!

So much to practice, so little time!

Feeling like there’s not enough time in the day to fit in all this comprehension and fluency?

You’re not alone.

In Part 4 of our blog series, you’ll get practical tips on how to leverage time inside and outside of school — while still keeping the focus on student learning.