The relationship between fluency and comprehension: Evidence from 5 countries

• In Event: The inter-relationship between component skills and reading comprehension: How fast is “fast enough?”

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between passage reading fluency and reading comprehension, drawing on data from reading assessments conducted by Room-to-Read with over 5,000 second graders in five countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, India and Nepal. The paper first makes the case for a cross-national comparison, despite linguistic and other differences between countries. It then models the relationship between fluency rate and reading comprehension among students with non-zero fluency rates in each country, and across all five countries, using linear, quadratic, logarithmic and piecewise regression analysis. Fitting various models, it finds that piecewise regression offers the best technique for modeling the relationship between fluency and comprehension at different points along the fluency spectrum. It argues that while a precise fluency rate at which we can define students as reading with 80% comprehension does range between 45-60 words per minute in most countries, in fact, the largest gains and fastest rate of improvement in comprehension actually come well before 40 words per minute – suggesting an equally important need to focus on helping students move from reading 0 to 40 words per minute.

Authors

• Elizabeth Buckner, FHI 360

• Matthew Jukes, Room to Read