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Fluency Rubric
1 (NO) 2 3 4 (YES)
Expression and Reads in a quiet Reads in a quiet Reads with a Reads with
Volume voice. voice. talking volume. changes in
volume and
All words sound A few words are Most words are expression.
the same read with read with
=without excitement or feelings Sounds like
excitement or feelings (expression), but talking to a
feelings (expression). some are friend with
(expression). without expression.
expression.
Sounds like
talking.
Smoothness Many pauses Reads with very Reads with Reads smoothly
while trying to long pauses. some pauses. with few pauses.
figure out words.
Many word Self-corrects
Repeats words challenges. Few word errors.
or phrases. challenges.
Sounds choppy.
Pace Reads very Reads Reads both fast Reads at a good
slowly. somewhat and slow at pace=like talking
slowly. times. throughout the
text.
“National Reading Panel (2000) defined fluency as reading with accuracy, speed, and proper
expression without conscious attention to word identification on the reader’s part” (Caldwell &
Leslie, 2013 p.102). This rubric will help students and teachers pinpoint the reader’s strengths
and weaknesses so that they can practice, grow, and become better readers. “Instruction in
fluency can be particularly beneficial for English language learners because activities designed to
enhance fluency in reading can also contribute to oral language development in English. As
students practice reading English text accurately, automatically, and prosodically, they are
gaining valuable information about the sounds and cadences of spoken English, and they are also
developing vocabulary skills that can contribute to oral language fluency, as well as reading and
Fluency is a quick and easy measure that is also linked to comprehension or can suggest a
lack of comprehension. If a student is a fluent reader they are able to focus on the meaning of
the text. However, if a student struggles with fluency it is a sign that they are not understanding
because their focus is on decoding rather than meaning. “Studies...have shown high correlations
between reading rate and comprehension.... As a result, reading fluency instruction has become
in many classrooms a quest for speed” (Rasinski, 2012). With this being said it is important for
students to learn that fluency is not solely the rate/speed of reading. This rubric should be used
to evaluate and to learn from so students become more fluent and achieve the number one reason
for reading; comprehension. “As stated in Rasinski’s article, “Several reviews of research on
fluency have shown that word recognition accuracy, automaticity, comprehension, and attitude
toward reading have been shown to improve with repeated readings (Dowhower, 1994; Kuhn &
Stahl, 2003; Rasinski et al., 2011). With these findings it is important to note that students should
be reading independent level text while using this rubric. The teacher should decide if they will
be using cold reads or texts they have previously read or even practiced. Students could use
instructional leveled texts, such as guided reading books, if they have read them previously. This
rubric should also have a text purpose in mind including cold read, warm read, and should be a
familiar topic, therefore it is important to know your students. Perhaps allowing students to
choose their texts and then evaluating them prior would be best. I have intended it to be for
second graders because I want it to be useful and purposeful for my classroom. However, I am
certain many other grade levels can easily use it. I would pre-teach each box to clarify
understanding.
Although, I feel that the original rubric has some great qualities, I have made some
modifications to make it more user friendly for younger students and English Language
Learners. First of all, I have added some meaningful pictures to better help the reader understand
which trait of fluency is being evaluated. According to the WIDA website, at the early levels of
English Language, levels 1-4, pictures help them to understand and process the language. After
speaking with our ELL teacher I am more aware that she uses pictures in her teachings daily. I
have also made the wording more simplistic for the young reader or ELL to understand. For
example I got rid of words like monotone, laboriously, and intonation because although
important, they are not second grade friendly. I also added “yes”and “no” because young readers
and ELLs both have understanding of yes and no. I know it takes some time, but I feel that it is
important to explicitly model what each box represents. This is like front-loading to better
understand the task and what the best mark is for each box. Modeling should be taught and
thinking aloud should be modeled while evaluating. “Prosody allows the reader to infer
information that is not explicitly stated in the passage” (Rasinski, 2012). It is important to also
explain the purpose of fluent reading including prosody is so that we better understand what we
are reading. “Even though fluency instruction is important, teachers must remember that many
ELLs can be deceptively fast and accurate while reading in English without fully comprehending
the meaning of the text they are reading. That is because reading comprehension depends upon a
variety of complex skills that are not as important to word reading. These include deep
vocabulary knowledge, syntactical knowledge, and background knowledge of the subject
discussed in the text. For this reason, it is always important to pair fluency instruction with good
instruction in comprehension” (Ford, 2017). Therefore, in addition to assessing fluency it is
valuable to partake in some type of comprehension lesson or assessment. Students can easily
retell or reflect on their readings. I also changed the goal to be >12=good fluency progress rather
than 10 because I felt that a fluent reader should not be in the 1 or 2 boxes for any of the traits.
This doesn’t mean they are bad at reading, just that they need more practice to build fluency.
While modifying this rubric I made a lot of considerations for English Language learners and
younger students. As a second grade teacher I feel that it is necessary to ensure the rubrics I am
using are user friendly and appropriate for my students. I would likely focus on 1-2 traits at a
time for instructional and learning purposes. There are many rubrics to chose from, but since
taking this class I always ask myself the purpose of the assessment. That is how I make many of
my decisions such as which text the students will read. Other considerations while assessing
fluency are very individualized and it is a must that we get to know our students and their
interests and needs. While my ELL experiences are very limited, I now have a much better
Sources:
Caldwell, J. & Leslie, L. (2013). Intervention strategies to follow informal reading inventory
assessment: So what do I do now? (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Ford, K. (n.d.). ELLs and reading fluency in english | Colorín Colorado. Retrieved December
Rasinski, T. V. (2012). Why reading fluency should be hot! The reading teacher, 65(8), 516-522.
doi:10.1002/trtr.01077