Correct Response: D. Reading fluency involves the ability to read a text easily and accurately. Two key indicators of reading fluency are accuracy and rate. Once a beginning reader has developed accuracy in decoding simple words, the student can begin to improve his/her rate by developing automaticity (rapid, automatic decoding of familiar words). Automaticity is developed through frequent reading practice of texts at the student's independent level (that is, the student can read at least 99 percent of the words accurately). Oral reading allows the student to hear his/her voice as he/she practices reading at an efficient rate, thus encouraging self-monitoring to maintain accuracy. A is incorrect because comprehension strategies support a student's understanding of the text, not the accuracy and rate with which the reader decodes words in a text. B is incorrect because beginning readers should practice reading orally to ensure they maintain accuracy. Also, reading high-interest texts does not necessarily promote development of fluency. For example, the student may be interested in a science text that is too difficult for the student to read with accuracy or at an appropriate rate because he/she has to struggle to decode too many unfamiliar words. C is incorrect because phonics knowledge and word analysis strategies provide tools for decoding unfamiliar words, but to develop an appropriate reading rate, the student needs to practice reading texts that he/she can already decode with ease.
