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The ability to read is essential in all aspects of our interactions in society. It serves as a fundamental building block for learning, yet reading continues to challenge numerous students in our nation (U.S. Department of Education, 2022). Students who have successfully progressed through the continuum of reading behaviors (i.e., phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension; Hendrickson, 2023), will potentially experience fewer problems when they read than students who have not mastered basic reading skills (Kostewicz & Kubina, 2010). According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) of 2022, across the United States and jurisdictions, approximately 39% of students read below a basic skill level for public schools. The NAEP (U.S. Department of Education, 2022) defined a “basic reading level” as an achievement level that signifies partial mastery of prerequisite skills necessary for proficient work at each grade. In addition, the average 4th-grade reading score on the NAEP-Reading evaluation in 2019 was 220 out of 500. The minimum a student must score for a basic reading level is 208, a score of 238 for proficient reading level, and a score of 268 for an advanced reading level. Furthermore, the average score in 2022 has decreased by 3 points, to an average score of 217, when compared to results of reading assessments conducted in 2019 (U.S. Department of Education, 2022). Moreover, the NAEP (U.S. Department of Education, 2022) has expressed concern due to a high percentage of students reading below basic grade level and a consistent decrease in average scores. Therefore, students must receive appropriate reading instruction through effective practices to improve fluency in reading and related reading abilities.
Oral reading fluency, or reading a text accurately with speed and expression, is one of the main components of successful reading comprehension (Boutot, 2017; Steinle et al., 2022). Students who can read with appropriate accuracy and speed are more likely to comprehend what they read (Aldhanhani & Abu-Ayyash, 2020). Clark (1995) states, “Fluency is a crucial aspect of learning to read. It helps students understand the function of automaticity in learning to read, the integration of comprehension and word identification, and the role and value of reading and writing as communication and entertainment” (p. 253). Conversely, a student that must pause to decode...