**About the Editors**

**Timothy Rasinski** is a professor of literacy education at Kent State University and director of its award-winning reading clinic. He also holds the Rebecca Tolle and Burton W. Gorman Endowed Chair in Educational Leadership. Tim has written over 200 articles and has authored, co-authored or edited over 50 books or curriculum programs on reading education. He is author of best-selling books on reading fluency, *The Fluent Reader* and *The Megabook of Fluency*. Tim's scholarly interests include reading fluency and word study, reading in the elementary and middle grades, and readers who struggle. His research on reading has been cited by the National Reading Panel and has been published in journals such as *Reading Research Quarterly*, *The Reading Teacher*, *Reading Psychology*, and *The Journal of Educational Research*. Tim is the first author of the fluency chapter for the *Handbook of Reading Research, Volume IV*.

Tim served a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association and was co-editor of *The Reading Teacher*, the world's most widely read journal of literacy education. He has also served as co-editor of the *Journal of Literacy Research*. Rasinski is former president of the College Reading Association and he has won the A. B. Herr and Laureate Awards from the College Reading Association for his scholarly contributions to literacy education. In 2010 Tim was elected to the International Reading Hall of Fame. Prior to coming to Kent State, Tim taught literacy education at the University of Georgia. He taught for several years as an elementary and middle school classroom and Title I teacher in Omaha, Nebraska.

Professional development areas of expertise:


**William Rupley** is a professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University. Dr. Rupley is also the Editor-in-Chief of *Reading Psychology: An International Journal* and has authored or coauthored/coedited more than 15 books. He has published more than 150 articles and columns in research journals that include *Reading Research and Instruction, Peabody Journal of Education, Journal of Research in Education, Scientific Studies in Reading, Reading and Writing, The Reading Teacher, Journal of Literacy Research and Instruction, and Reading and Writing Quarterly*. Dr. Rupley's primary areas of expertise are reading acquisition, reading comprehension, reading in science and mathematics, and teacher effectiveness. He has been either the PI or Co-PI for over USD 3 million in federal and state funded grants.

**David Paige** is an Associate Professor of Literacy and Director of the Jerry L. Johns Literacy Clinic at Northern Illinois University. After a 20-year business career, Dr. Paige became a middle school special education teacher. After receiving his doctorate at the University of Memphis, Dr. Paige accepted a tenure-track position at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. During his 12 years at Bellarmine, Dr. Paige was a principle in the Bellarmine Literacy Project (BLP), a USD 3.2 million project begun by the Jefferson County Public School District that trained 800 teachers in the knowledge and strategies necessary to improve K-3 reading instruction.

Dr. Paige is also founder of the Thinking Schools Academy, an initiative in India that has trained 1200 teachers across nine states from Kerala to Assam in instructional strategies to encourage collaboration, problem-solving, and higher-order thinking in students. This work occurred over 9 years and involved 14 trips to India.

Dr. Paige has consulted with school districts, states, and non-profit organizations across the country on efforts to improve literacy instruction. These organizations include the states of Tennessee, Hawaii, and Louisiana, Student Achievement Partners, and the Northwest Educational Association (makers of the MAP assessment). Dr. Paige has also spoken at numerous state and national conferences. During the period 2016–2017, Dr. Paige was President of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER), a national professional organization for university researchers and educators. As a literacy researcher, Dr. Paige has published some 50 studies and articles in many of the top literacy journals including the *Journal of Educational Research, Journal of Literacy Research, Reading Psychology, Reading and Writing, Journal of Research in Reading* (UK), *Reading Teacher, Journal of Adult and Adolescent Literacy, Literacy Research and Instruction, Education Science*, and the *Journal of Educational Research Online* (Germany).

**Chase Young** is an Associate Professor and director of the doctorate in Literacy in the School of Teaching and Learning at Sam Houston State University. He earned his PhD in Reading Education from the University of North Texas in 2012. Previously, he was the Silverman Endowed Chair of Literacy at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christi where he was also selected as one of Corpus Christi's 40 Under 40 for his work with young readers in the community. His research primarily aims to develop reading fluency and support struggling readers in elementary school. In 2014, the ALER selected him as their Jerry Johns Promising Researcher. His research has appeared in *The Journal of Educational Research, Journal of Research in Reading, Reading Psychology, Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, and Literacy Research and Instruction*. Along with Timothy Rasinski, he recently coauthored Tiered Fluency Instruction: Supporting Diverse Learners in Grades 2–5. He is currently an editor of *Literacy Research and Instruction* and previously served as editor of the *Journal of Teacher Action Research* and the *Texas Journal of Literacy Education*. Before entering higher education, he taught elementary school and served as a reading specialist.

## **Preface to "Reading Fluency"**

In 1983, an influential article appeared in the journal *The Reading Teacher*, by Richard Allington, entitled "Fluency: The Neglected Reading Goal." In this piece, Allington argued that reading fluency was a critical variable for reading success, ye<sup>t</sup> it is often ignored in reading curricula. He wrote, "A lack of fluency in oral reading is often noted as a characteristic of poor readers, but it is seldom treated" (Allington, 1983, p. 556). This article raised awareness of the importance of reading fluency to the reading research and instructional communities. Indeed, the Report of the National Reading Panel (2000) verified that fluency was one of the essential competencies for proficiency in reading. Research since then and until now continues to demonstrate the importance of fluency in competent reading.

However, despite the growing recognition of reading fluency, it continues to be misunderstood, and in some cases, a neglected component of the reading curricula. Some interpretations of fluency are that it is only concerns oral reading, or that it should focus on making students read quickly, that is only about word recognition, or that it is only a competency that is important for beginner readers. As a result of these as well as other misconceptions about fluency, it remains an enigma for models of reading and reading instruction. One study found that in elementary schools that were committed to make reading fluency an essential component of reading instruction, less than 5 minutes per day was devoted to fluency instruction and nurturance.

Clearly, the need for fluency to be a topic of serious thought and discussion in the literacy community continues. With this volume, we hope to advance this important discussion. The chapters in this volume, written by authors who have extensive experience in the study of reading fluency, examine reading fluency from a variety of perspectives. The initial chapter sketches the history of fluency as a literacy instruction component. The following chapters examine recent studies and approaches to reading fluency, followed by chapters that explore actual fluency instruction models and the impact of fluency instruction. The assessment of reading fluency is critical for monitoring progress and identifying students in need of intervention. Two articles focus on assessment, one on word recognition and the other on prosody, expanding our understanding of fluency measurement. Finally, a study from Turkey explores the relationship of various reading competencies, including fluency, in an integrated model of reading. Our desire for this volume is that it sparks a continuing interest in research into reading fluency and fluency instruction. The best outcome is that we move forward in making fluency instruction an integral part of all literacy instruction.

Given that reading achievement in the United States and other countries has been stagnant for over two decades, and that during the same time period fluency instruction has been, at best, a tangential component of reading curricula in general, it seems prudent that fluency be neglected no longer. With this volume, we hope that your understanding, valuing of, and commitment to reading fluency for effective literacy instruction will be renewed.

Allington, R.L. (1983). Fluency: The neglected reading goal. *The Reading Teacher* 36: 556–61. National Reading Panel. (2000). *Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read. Report of the Subgroups*. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.

#### **Timothy Rasinski, William Rupley, David Paige, Chase Young** *Editors*

## *Article* **Fluency: Deep Roots in Reading Instruction**

#### **William H. Rupley 1, William Dee Nichols 2, Timothy V. Rasinski 3,\* and David Paige 4**


Received: 14 May 2020; Accepted: 29 May 2020; Published: 3 June 2020

**Abstract:** Over the past two decades, reading fluency has been increasingly recognized as an important instructional variable for success in reading. Yet, this has not always been the case. This article presents a historical review of the nature and role of fluency instruction in the United States. The roots of oral reading fluency began in an age when texts and other forms of entertainment and information were limited. Historically, in America, oral reading was the predominant means for conveying ideas and passing the time at home with the family. In the 1800s, American education's primary method of instruction emphasized the need for being able to read aloud with expression and fluency, in order to hold the listeners' attention and convey information. As texts and other forms of information became more available, oral reading became deemphasized, and silent reading was viewed as a better approach to developing readers' comprehension at the cost of fluency development. With continued research and national reports that indicate the significant contributions of oral reading fluency to reading comprehension and academic proficiency, it is clear that the roots of oral reading run deep, and that fluent reading development is important to learners' academic achievement and reading comprehension.

**Keywords:** reading fluency; oral reading; academic achievement; comprehension
