Relationship of oral reading fluency probes on students' reading achievement test scores

Current emphasis on adequate academic progress monitored by standardized assessments has increased focus on student acquisition of required skills. Reading ability can be assessed through student achievement on Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) measures. This study investigated the effectiveness of using ORF measures to predict achievement on high stakes tests. Study participants included 312 students across four Title 1 elementary schools in a Southwestern United States school district utilizing the Response to Intervention (RTI) model. Participants' ORF scores from first through third grade years and their third grade standardized achievement test scores were collected. In addition, information regarding reading interventions was obtained. Pearson product-moment correlations were used to determine how ORF scores and specific reading skills were related. Correlations were also used to assess whether the ORF scores from the fall, winter, or spring were most related to high stakes test scores. Additionally, the difference between computer-based versus instructor-led interventions on predicting high stakes test scores was assessed. Results indicated that correlation coefficients were larger between ORF and reading comprehension scores than between ORF and basic reading skills. ORF scores from spring were more highly related to high stakes tests than other times of the year. Students' ORF scores were more strongly related to high stakes tests when in computer-based interventions compared to instructor-led interventions. In predicting third grade high stakes test scores, first grade ORF scores had the most variance for the non-intervention sample, while third grade ORF scores had the most variance for the intervention sample.