Fluency
Once your child masters all of their sight words, we want to continue to work on their fluency in the higher grades
Ask your child's teacher what reading level they are on
Choose a passage on their reading level
Conduct a timed reading to determine their fluency accuracy
Grade 3 Goal: Read 80-140 words per minute with a level P text at 95% accuracy
Grade 4 Goal: Read 90-140 words per minute with a level S text at 95% accuracy
Grade 5 Goal: Read 100-150 words per minute with a level V text at 95% accuracy
Timed Reading Procedures
You will need:
Two copies of the assessment passage—one for the student and one for the instructor
Stopwatch or clock
Pencil
Administer a one-minute reading, starting the stopwatch when the student begins the first word of the passage (the student will not read titles). Tell the student that if she or he has trouble (struggling for more than 3 to 5 seconds), you will say the word so she or he can keep reading. After one minute, say "Stop," stop the stopwatch, and circle the last word read.
During the reading, resist the urge to correct mistakes. Mistakes and self-correction will be accounted for in the score. If the student has extreme difficulty, stop the test. Reassure the student that she or he will redo the assessment after further reading practice. You should select a lower level passage for the next assessment.
Follow along on your copy word by word with your pencil. Make a slash ( / ) through any words the student misses or cannot read without help. Mark a dash above words skipped. Errors include:
Skipped words
Mispronounced words
Word substitutions, including incorrect forms of the word
Words in the wrong order; both or all words are counted as wrong
Struggling that lasts for 3 to 5 seconds, or more
The following are not considered misses:
Added words
Varying pronunciation due to accent, dialect, or speech impediment
Repetitions in which the wording is correct
Self-correcting a mistake; the word is scored as correct.