ABSTRACT

The construct of reading fl uency has run a rather schizophrenic and tumultuous course (Rasinski, 2003). Early American reading instruction placed oral reading fl uency (elocution) at the zenith of instructional goals. With the recognition in the late 19th century that silent reading was the most pervasive form of reading for most adults, oral reading fl uency took a decidedly backseat in instruction. It remained at best a secondary reading goal, and gained further disrepute through the common practice of round robin reading. There fl uency remained until the late 1970s and early 1980s when literacy scholars (e.g., Chomsky, 1976, 1978; LaBerge & Samuels, 1974) began to write theoretically and practically about the importance of reading fl uency. Richard Allington (1983) consolidated the various emerging points of view related to fl uency when he identifi ed it as the “neglected reading goal.” Rasinski and Zutell (1996) pointed out that instructional and professional development materials in reading of the time rarely, if at all, gave mention to reading fl uency.