The Role of Automaticity in Reading and Test Taking

The discussion of fluency instruction is nothing new in the elementary world, but lately middle and high school teachers are beginning to see the benefit of a fluency awareness at this level as well!

In a webinar by Dr. Timothy Rasinski, a well-known expert in this field, he begins to lay out the importance of focusing not just on the idea of fluent reading, but more importantly on automaticity.  He stated that:

• ·      67% of students who perform poorly on state mandated high stakes reading comprehension test exhibit difficulty in reading fluency (specifically word recognition which equals automaticity).
• ·      25% of the variance in silent reading comprehension on a state assessment given through sixth grade attributed to fluency (word recognition/automaticity).
• ·      25% of young adults lack basic literacy skills required to get a job.

Could a lot of this be prevented from a more focused instruction in word recognition and automaticity? Dr. Rasinski suggests providing students with “guided wide reading” as well as “guided deep reading”. To best develop automaticity a student must experience “intensive, wide and deep, guided and targeted instruction and practice.” Students at all levels must be able to read text in a reasonable amount of time and fully understand what they have read. This impacts a student’s development as a reader as well as their ability to complete high stakes assessments in the mandated time frame. To learn more about this follow the link to the free webinar and article.

Free webinar at http://www.scilearn.com/blog/tim-rasinski-reading-fluency

Wiesen, N. (2013, April 23). Why Dr. Timothy Rasinski Thinks Reading Fluency Should Be "HOT!" Retrieved March 27, 2015, from http://www.scilearn.com/blog/tim-rasinski-reading-fluency

Review: Concepts & Tools to Develop a Collegial, Credible, Student-Centered Coaching Cycle

 Reviewed by Janet Kaylor

Professional reading has always been the investment I make in myself to stay on top of my practice as a reading specialist, instructional coach, team member, and leader. Fortunately, my spouse merely smiles when I hand him my personal work expenditures (the professional book bill) at tax season. And since it is an investment in my work with districts, leaders, teachers and students, I want to get the most out of any book I read professionally.

Student-Centered Coaching: A Guide to K-8 Coaches and Principals (2011) by Diane Sweeney was an impulse purchase. The draw for me was strictly the title, “student-centered.” (Read Sweeney's introduction.) As always, I made sure to read this informational text with these three questions foremost:

1. What will I learn and be able to do after reading this book?

2. What logistical considerations in this book will help me apply new learning to my practice?

3. What potential does this book have for impacting the longevity of my work?

With these questions in mind, I want to share some highlights from my learning.

Do you want to read more?  The full review can be found on the Alabama Best Practices Center Blog.
http://www.bestpracticescenter.org/blog/review-concepts-tools-to-develop-a-collegial-credible-student-centered-coaching-cycle/