How to Assess Words per Minute Reading in First Grade

Learning to read fluently in the first grade can lead to a lifelong love of reading.

The written language is vital to both the enjoyment of life and success in life. The written word is especially important in the modern era of information and technology, and it plays an important role in politics, religion, and education. Assessing reading fluency is an important part of teaching and learning a language. Reading assessment should begin early, in the first grade, to ensure that students do not fall behind in reading proficiency.

Things You'll Need

• First-grade reading material
• Stop watch
• Tape recorder
• Sound-recording software

Instructions

Testing Students

1. Choose an assessment text. The text should be appropriate to the grade level. For first graders, look for texts appropriate for a 6- to 7-year-old student. Many book lists group books by grade, in which case you can simply pick texts according to the appropriate grade level. Book lists can be found anywhere you can find education and teacher resources.

2. Choose a passage from the book or text. The passage should be between 100 and 200 words, and should have a clear beginning, because starting an assessment mid-passage will confuse students and cause hesitation. It does not matter if they finish the passage during the assessment, but they should have a strong starting point.

3. Set up a tape recorder or a virtual recorder on a computer. Set it to record. Press or click on "record" to begin recording.

4. Instruct the student to read the passage. Start the stop watch when the student speaks the first word.

5. Allow the student to read for a full 60 seconds. Do not correct the student or pause the student's reading during the assessment.

6. Allow the student to continue reading after the 60 seconds have expired, but make sure to note the point in the text that the student has reached after 60 seconds. This will give the student extra practice as well as reduce the intimidation factor produced by timed tests.

7. Repeat steps 3 to 6 for each student.

Evaluating Testing

1. Play the recording of the student's reading. Play recordings away from students to avoid causing self-consciousness.

2. Take note of errors including mispronounced words, pauses longer than 2 to 3 seconds between words, substituting one word for another and omitting words altogether.

3. Calculate how many words a student reads. For example, if a student read 80 of the 100 work text, write 80 on a sheet of paper.

4. Calculate the errors in the student's reading. For example, if a student mispronounced 3 words, paused longer than 3 seconds 3 times, substituted one word for another 3 times, and omitted 3 words, the total number of errors would be 12. Write the number of errors below the number of works spoken. In the example given, you would write 12 beneath 80.

5. Subtract the number of errors from the total words read. In the case outlined in steps 3 and 4, you would subtract 12 from 80, for a result of 68. So 68 is the student's words per minute reading fluency. Typically, first graders can read between 0 and 10 words per minute during the first quarter, 10 and 30 words per minute during the second quarter, and 30 and 60 words per minute during the third quarter of the first grade. The first grade is the time when students really begin to understand phonetics, so reading ability increases dramatically throughout the school year.

Tips & Warnings

• Have your students practice reading aloud, as well as reading silently, as often as possible. Practice improves reading fluency more than anything else.

• Assess students individually for best results. Some students are shy and will falter if forced to read in front of the class. Classroom reading is good for practice, but assessments should be done individually to ensure an accurate assessment.

• Smile during assessments. It will help to relax the student being assessed.

• Never rush a student during an assessment or offer hints on pronunciation. Stay quiet, smile, and let the student read. You can talk with the student about errors after the assessment is finished.

• Use only age- or grade-appropriate texts. Use recommended first-grade tests for first-grade reading assessments. Your assessment will be inaccurate if you use a higher grade reading material for a first grade class.

References

• Pacific Resources for Education and Learning: Assessing Reading Fluency
• GreatSchools: Your first-grader and reading
• Readingrockets: Questions About Fluency Instruction

Resources

• MCPL: Too-Good-To-Miss Books: First Grade Level
• Reading To Kids: Teacher-Selected Books by Grade Level
• Leveled Book Lists: Grade One List: Levels C through I