Oral Reading Fluency Assessment: Issues of Construct, Criterion, and Consequential Validity

This study investigated multiple models for assessing oral reading fluency, including 1-minute oral reading measures that produce scores reported as words correct per minute (wcpm). The authors compared a measure of wcpm with measures of the individual and combined indicators of oral reading fluency (rate, accuracy, prosody, and comprehension) to examine construct, criterion, and consequential validity. Oral reading data and standardized comprehension test scores were analyzed for students in grades 2, 4, and 6. The results indicate that assessments designed to include multiple indicators of oral reading fluency provided a finer-grained understanding of oral reading fluency and fluency assessment and a stronger predictor of general comprehension. Comparisons across grade levels also revealed developmental differences in the relation between oral reading fluency and comprehension, and in the relative contributions of oral fluency indicators to comprehension. When commonly used benchmarks were applied to wcpm scores to identify students at risk of reading difficulty, both false positives and false negatives were found. This study raises issues regarding the alignment of oral reading fluency definitions and assessment. It also raises concerns about the widespread use of wcpm measures and benchmarks to identify students at risk of reading difficulty and to plan instruction.