CERI prep Exam 2023 Complete
Fluency
Basic definition: rate and accuracy of oral reading or proficiency in word recognition.
Other components often included in the definition: smoothness and automaticity of oral
reading; rapid, accurate decoding; correct prosody; anticipatory ability (P, intro section
4)
Fluency is reading at an appropriate rate, with accuracy and prosody. It is the ability to
read accurately yet quickly, with expression and comprehension. (L, ch 8)
Fluency is the rapid, prosodic flow with which a skilled later. When a fluent reader reads
aloud, it sounds as though he or she is speaking. The reading is fluid and accurate, with
adequate speed, appropriate phrasing, and correct intonation. (M, ch 6)
Why should students be told to "do their best reading" instead of to "read as fast
as they can"?
Readers may be reading inaccurately or they may read too quickly to think about what
they are reading. Reading fast is not the same as reading fluently. (L, ch 8)
What is the general consensus about the level of accuracy required for
comprehension?
Comprehension is impaired when text is read with less than 95% accuracy. (L, ch 8)
What can we learn about a reader by the way they use expression while reading?
The extent to which a student uses correct expression while reading orally can indicate
how well they comprehend the text. (L, ch 8)
What is the relationship between working memory and reading fluency?
A rate of reading that is appropriate to the task, neither fast nor too slow, in order for
comprehension to be facilitated because working memory overloads if too much
information comes into the brain at once, and working memory cannot devote sufficient
attention to information coming into the brain too slowly. (L, ch 8)
Why does appropriate reading rate change with different types of reading
material?
Interesting novels are typically read quickly and accurately, without thinking about
decoding individual words. A physics textbook, by contrast, would likely be read much
slower, taking time to decode difficult words and to contemplate the meaning. (L, ch 8)
What is considered "independent level text"?
What is considered "instructional level text"?
What is considered "frustration level text"?
How does the role of fluency change across the developmental stages of
reading?
For emergent readers, accuracy of reading, rather than the rate, should be the focus.
Accuracy plays the most important role in comprehending in kindergarten and early first
grade. Once students are reading connected text with reasonable accuracy, typically by
the middle of first grade, the rate and accuracy of their reading is strongly tied to their
overall reading skill, including comprehension. Some researchers have found that once
a student's reading level is around the sixth grade level, factors other than fluency
,become more important in the overall reading process, including vocabulary and
background knowledge. (L, ch 8)
What is the connection between Reading Fluency and motivation?
Assisting students to become fluent readers plays a role in helping them become
motivated readers who enjoy the process of reading and who can understand and learn
from what they read. (L, ch 8)
What is a good initial and informal assessment for evaluating reading fluency?
Listening to the student read; do they sound like they're speaking? (L, ch 8)
What tool can be used to qualitatively note a student's reading expression or
prosody? Name & describe the levels of prosody in this tool.
Rubric from National Assessment of Educational Progress. Level 4: reads with
expressive interpretation. Level 3: reads primarily in three- or four-word phrase groups.
Level 2: reads primarily in two-word phrases that are awkward and haphazardly
grouped. Level 1: reads primarily word-by-word
How far below the 50th percentile score does a student's CBM ORF score need to
be in order for the student to be flagged for possible additional support?
More than 10 words below the 50th percentile (L, ch 8)
+/- ....: (P, 4.?)
Why is it inappropriate for oral reading fluency standards to be set at the 75th
percentile or a similarly high range?
There is no research to support the idea that pushing student's to read above the 50th
percentile has any benefit. This can be frustrating for students and teachers to achieve
this level of reading. Students who read in the average range are on target to become
effective readers. (L, ch 8)
What are expected Reading fluency gains for students in grades one through six?
PER WEEK Grade 1: 2 to 3 more words correct per minute; Grade 2: 1.5 to 2 more
words correct per minute; Grade 3: 1 to 1.5 more words correct per minute; Grade 4:
0.85 to 1.1 more words correct per minute; Grade 5: 0.5 to 0.8 more words correct per
minute; Grade 6: 0.3 to 0.65 more words correct per minute. Students reading at the
first grade level make more gains per week then older student. As students reach their
optimal fluency rate, the number of words gained levels off. (L, ch 8)
What are some false assumptions about reading fluency?
1. Students who read fast are good readers. 2. Students who read slowly will become
better readers overall if they are simply taught how to read faster.
How should CBM be used to monitor progress of students receiving Tier 1
instruction?
Systematic progress monitoring involves simply repeating the CBM screening
assessment that were conducted in the beginning of the school year. These should be
done 3 to 4 times a year for all students, at least in primarily & intermediate levels of
elementary schools. Additional checks of prosody should be included periodically. For
students above a 6th grade reading level, using assessments other than ORF including
multiple choice cloze or maze may be more appropriate. (L, ch 8)
How should CBM be used to monitor the progress of students receiving Tier 2 or
3 instruction?
, These students should participate in the repeated benchmark assessments along with
their peers, & they will be evaluated closely in their instructional programs and through
observations of their daily reading and class work. But assessment data needs to be
collected on a more frequent basis than three times a year. Gains can be small and
difficult to detect in academically challenged students.
Using CBM assessments for progress monitoring in Tier 2 and 3 students has 4 main
differences:
1. Students' performances are compared with individually set goals & previous
performance rather than a set of norms & benchmarks.
2. Prog monitoring occurs at more frequent intervals. Current suggestions: as often as
once a week, but more infrequent testing (as few as 2 passages every 3 weeks) may be
more appropriate.
3. Students' results are graphed.
4. Level of difficulty of the passage should be individualized; the level could be easier,
harder, whatever. Could be at "instructional level" or "goal level." (L, ch 8)
Why is it not safe to assume that if students read more, they will achieve
adequate levels of fluency?
Some students will require systematic instruction & teacher guidance in order to be
skillful & motivated fluent readers. (L, ch 8)
What is an important qualification to the understanding of RR as the gold
standard of fluency interventions?
Providing feedback or having the student reading along with a model as part of RR is
more effective than independent repeated reading. (L, ch 8)
Besides RR, what can improve reading fluency?
1. "Structured partner reading"; 2. Cueing students to attend to their accuracy and rate
while reading; 3. The same amount of time spent engaged in "wide reading" (sustained
reading of a variety of texts) has as much positive impact on fluency, but some
researchers warn this must be monitored & accountability must be built into wide
reading approach.
Can students improve their fluency with very challenging texts?
Yes, even at frustration level of 85% accuracy, but only if teachers monitor the process
closely & provide sufficient support including feedback. (L, ch 8)
Instructional strategies that combine what three components can improve
students' Fluency & Comprehension & have a positive impact on motivation to
read?
1. Reading with a model of skillful reading, 2. Repeated reading of a single text, and 3.
Providing progress monitoring feedback before and after practice (L, ch 8)
What are two common but not very effective ways that teachers try to encourage
reading?
Round robin reading & silent sustained reading. Neither is effective for increasing
comprehension. Some students might benefit from these activities, but neither provides
the amount of practice that at-risk or struggling readers will need to develop their
fluency. Both activities limit amount of modeling & opportunities for specific feedback
that are also critical. (L, ch 8)
What is round robin reading, and what are some problems with it?
Fluency
Basic definition: rate and accuracy of oral reading or proficiency in word recognition.
Other components often included in the definition: smoothness and automaticity of oral
reading; rapid, accurate decoding; correct prosody; anticipatory ability (P, intro section
4)
Fluency is reading at an appropriate rate, with accuracy and prosody. It is the ability to
read accurately yet quickly, with expression and comprehension. (L, ch 8)
Fluency is the rapid, prosodic flow with which a skilled later. When a fluent reader reads
aloud, it sounds as though he or she is speaking. The reading is fluid and accurate, with
adequate speed, appropriate phrasing, and correct intonation. (M, ch 6)
Why should students be told to "do their best reading" instead of to "read as fast
as they can"?
Readers may be reading inaccurately or they may read too quickly to think about what
they are reading. Reading fast is not the same as reading fluently. (L, ch 8)
What is the general consensus about the level of accuracy required for
comprehension?
Comprehension is impaired when text is read with less than 95% accuracy. (L, ch 8)
What can we learn about a reader by the way they use expression while reading?
The extent to which a student uses correct expression while reading orally can indicate
how well they comprehend the text. (L, ch 8)
What is the relationship between working memory and reading fluency?
A rate of reading that is appropriate to the task, neither fast nor too slow, in order for
comprehension to be facilitated because working memory overloads if too much
information comes into the brain at once, and working memory cannot devote sufficient
attention to information coming into the brain too slowly. (L, ch 8)
Why does appropriate reading rate change with different types of reading
material?
Interesting novels are typically read quickly and accurately, without thinking about
decoding individual words. A physics textbook, by contrast, would likely be read much
slower, taking time to decode difficult words and to contemplate the meaning. (L, ch 8)
What is considered "independent level text"?
What is considered "instructional level text"?
What is considered "frustration level text"?
How does the role of fluency change across the developmental stages of
reading?
For emergent readers, accuracy of reading, rather than the rate, should be the focus.
Accuracy plays the most important role in comprehending in kindergarten and early first
grade. Once students are reading connected text with reasonable accuracy, typically by
the middle of first grade, the rate and accuracy of their reading is strongly tied to their
overall reading skill, including comprehension. Some researchers have found that once
a student's reading level is around the sixth grade level, factors other than fluency
,become more important in the overall reading process, including vocabulary and
background knowledge. (L, ch 8)
What is the connection between Reading Fluency and motivation?
Assisting students to become fluent readers plays a role in helping them become
motivated readers who enjoy the process of reading and who can understand and learn
from what they read. (L, ch 8)
What is a good initial and informal assessment for evaluating reading fluency?
Listening to the student read; do they sound like they're speaking? (L, ch 8)
What tool can be used to qualitatively note a student's reading expression or
prosody? Name & describe the levels of prosody in this tool.
Rubric from National Assessment of Educational Progress. Level 4: reads with
expressive interpretation. Level 3: reads primarily in three- or four-word phrase groups.
Level 2: reads primarily in two-word phrases that are awkward and haphazardly
grouped. Level 1: reads primarily word-by-word
How far below the 50th percentile score does a student's CBM ORF score need to
be in order for the student to be flagged for possible additional support?
More than 10 words below the 50th percentile (L, ch 8)
+/- ....: (P, 4.?)
Why is it inappropriate for oral reading fluency standards to be set at the 75th
percentile or a similarly high range?
There is no research to support the idea that pushing student's to read above the 50th
percentile has any benefit. This can be frustrating for students and teachers to achieve
this level of reading. Students who read in the average range are on target to become
effective readers. (L, ch 8)
What are expected Reading fluency gains for students in grades one through six?
PER WEEK Grade 1: 2 to 3 more words correct per minute; Grade 2: 1.5 to 2 more
words correct per minute; Grade 3: 1 to 1.5 more words correct per minute; Grade 4:
0.85 to 1.1 more words correct per minute; Grade 5: 0.5 to 0.8 more words correct per
minute; Grade 6: 0.3 to 0.65 more words correct per minute. Students reading at the
first grade level make more gains per week then older student. As students reach their
optimal fluency rate, the number of words gained levels off. (L, ch 8)
What are some false assumptions about reading fluency?
1. Students who read fast are good readers. 2. Students who read slowly will become
better readers overall if they are simply taught how to read faster.
How should CBM be used to monitor progress of students receiving Tier 1
instruction?
Systematic progress monitoring involves simply repeating the CBM screening
assessment that were conducted in the beginning of the school year. These should be
done 3 to 4 times a year for all students, at least in primarily & intermediate levels of
elementary schools. Additional checks of prosody should be included periodically. For
students above a 6th grade reading level, using assessments other than ORF including
multiple choice cloze or maze may be more appropriate. (L, ch 8)
How should CBM be used to monitor the progress of students receiving Tier 2 or
3 instruction?
, These students should participate in the repeated benchmark assessments along with
their peers, & they will be evaluated closely in their instructional programs and through
observations of their daily reading and class work. But assessment data needs to be
collected on a more frequent basis than three times a year. Gains can be small and
difficult to detect in academically challenged students.
Using CBM assessments for progress monitoring in Tier 2 and 3 students has 4 main
differences:
1. Students' performances are compared with individually set goals & previous
performance rather than a set of norms & benchmarks.
2. Prog monitoring occurs at more frequent intervals. Current suggestions: as often as
once a week, but more infrequent testing (as few as 2 passages every 3 weeks) may be
more appropriate.
3. Students' results are graphed.
4. Level of difficulty of the passage should be individualized; the level could be easier,
harder, whatever. Could be at "instructional level" or "goal level." (L, ch 8)
Why is it not safe to assume that if students read more, they will achieve
adequate levels of fluency?
Some students will require systematic instruction & teacher guidance in order to be
skillful & motivated fluent readers. (L, ch 8)
What is an important qualification to the understanding of RR as the gold
standard of fluency interventions?
Providing feedback or having the student reading along with a model as part of RR is
more effective than independent repeated reading. (L, ch 8)
Besides RR, what can improve reading fluency?
1. "Structured partner reading"; 2. Cueing students to attend to their accuracy and rate
while reading; 3. The same amount of time spent engaged in "wide reading" (sustained
reading of a variety of texts) has as much positive impact on fluency, but some
researchers warn this must be monitored & accountability must be built into wide
reading approach.
Can students improve their fluency with very challenging texts?
Yes, even at frustration level of 85% accuracy, but only if teachers monitor the process
closely & provide sufficient support including feedback. (L, ch 8)
Instructional strategies that combine what three components can improve
students' Fluency & Comprehension & have a positive impact on motivation to
read?
1. Reading with a model of skillful reading, 2. Repeated reading of a single text, and 3.
Providing progress monitoring feedback before and after practice (L, ch 8)
What are two common but not very effective ways that teachers try to encourage
reading?
Round robin reading & silent sustained reading. Neither is effective for increasing
comprehension. Some students might benefit from these activities, but neither provides
the amount of practice that at-risk or struggling readers will need to develop their
fluency. Both activities limit amount of modeling & opportunities for specific feedback
that are also critical. (L, ch 8)
What is round robin reading, and what are some problems with it?
