Date of Award:

5-2017

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

School of Teacher Education and Leadership

Department name when degree awarded

Teacher Education and Leadership

Committee Chair(s)

Cindy D. Jones

Committee

Cindy D. Jones

Committee

Susan Turner

Committee

Nicole Pyle

Committee

Margaret M. Lubke

Committee

Sarah K. Clark

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how measures of oral reading fluency and silent reading fluency compare as predictors of reading comprehension and how these vary as a function of proficiency level for fourth- and fifth-grade students. Additionally, the study sought to examine the relationship between measures of ORF, SRF, reading comprehension, and the TCAP with these students. As silent reading fluency is utilized more in the classroom as grade level increases, a silent reading fluency measure might be a better predictor for maturing readers to determine reading proficiency, monitor student progress, and guide instructional practices.

A correlational prediction design with measures for the variables of ORF, SRF, reading comprehension, and TCAP were used in this study that included 175 fourth- and fifth-grade students from two randomly selected schools in Colorado. Linear regression models were used to analyze the relationship of measures of oral reading fluency and silent reading fluency with reading comprehension. The results indicated that measures of ORF and SRF were predictors of reading comprehension, but the relationship changed as students matured from fourth to fifth grade. Thus, as students progress in grade level, measures of SRF might be potentially a better indicator of students' reading comprehension. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to analyze the relationship of silent reading fluency measures with reading comprehension as moderated by reading proficiency level. Reading proficiency level is a significant moderator of the relationship between reading comprehension and the SRF measure. A SEM mediation model was used to analyze the relationship of measures of ORF, SRF, reading comprehension, and TCAP. The direct effects of the ORF and SRF measures on TCAP were predictive with 66.0% of the variance accounted for with the SRF measure and 65.5% of the variance accounted for with the ORF measure.

Results of this study indicated that as grade level increases, the relationship between measures of ORF, SRF, and reading comprehension changes. As students progress from fourth to fifth grade, the ORF measure has a higher correlation with reading comprehension for fourth-grade students, while the SRF measure has a higher correlation than the ORF measure with reading comprehension for fifth-grade students. Measures of SRF can be a viable alternative to ORF measures for upper elementary students as predictors of reading comprehension and high-stakes assessment.

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