What is Fluency?

Fluency (automaticity) is reading words with no noticeable cognitive or mental effort. It is having mastered word recognition skills to the point of overlearning. Fundamental skills are so "automatic" that they do not require conscious attention.

Examples of automaticity:

• shifting gears on a car
• playing a musical instrument
• playing a sport (serving a tennis ball)

Point to Remember:

Fluency is not an end in itself but a critical gateway to comprehension. Fluent reading frees resources to process meaning.

For students to develop fluency, they must:

• perform the task or demonstrate the skill accurately, and
• perform the preskills of the task quickly and effortlessly.

Once accurate, fluency develops through plentiful opportunities for practice in which the task can be performed with a high rate of success.

Definitions

• Automaticity: The ability to translate letters-to-sounds-to-words fluently, effortlessly. LaBerge and Samuels (1974; see References) described the fluent reader as "one whose decoding processes are automatic, requiring no conscious attention" (e.g., Juel, 1991; see References). Such capacity then enables readers to allocate their attention to the comprehension and meaning of the text.
• Fluency: The combination of accuracy and fluency. Fluency in oral reading includes additional dimensions involving the "quality" of oral reading including intonation and expression.
• Passage Reading: Structured activity in which students can read stories or connected text designed to provide practice and application of decoding and comprehension skills. Passage reading provides students the practice to become accurate and fluent.