Fluency and Comprehension Gains as a Result of Repeated Reading
Title
Fluency and Comprehension Gains as a Result of Repeated Reading
Author
Therrien, W.J.
Source
Remedial and Special Education, 25(4), 252-261.
Year Published
2004
Background
Repeated reading is a strategic approach designed to increase reading fluency and comprehension. During repeated reading, students read and re-read a selected short passage until they reach a satisfactory level of fluency. This simple fluency exercise is one of the most studied. The author selected the repeated reading technique for this meta-analysis to determine the essential instructional components of repeated reading and the effect of repeated reading on reading fluency and comprehension.
Research Questions
What are the essential instructional components of repeated reading? What effect does repeated reading have on reading fluency and comprehension?
Findings
Findings from this analysis indicated that repeated reading improved the reading fluency and comprehension of students with and without learning disabilities. Essential components of effective repeated reading instruction included (a) having students read aloud to adults; (b) having students read the passage 3 to 4 times; (c) cuing students before reading to focus on either reading for speed or reading for comprehension, or both; and (d) corrective feedback provided during or after the repeated reading.
Conclusion/Recommendations
Repeated reading improves the reading fluency and comprehension of students with and without learning disabilities, not only on the passages with which students previously used the strategy, but also with new passages. Several instructional components are found to be essential to the success of repeated reading. First, adult-led repeated reading leads to significantly greater gains than do interventions led by peers. This finding indicates that adults, rather than peers, should implement repeated reading. Corrective feedback and opportunities for the student to reread the passage until a set criterion is reached also have a significant positive impact on students’ progress during repeated reading. When students are cued to focus on either speed or comprehension, before they begin reading, their rates in both areas increase. The greatest improvements are seen when students are cued to focus on comprehension alone or on both fluency and comprehension together.