Abstract
This study describes the features of words known and unknown by first graders of different proficiency levels in six instances of an oral reading fluency assessment: three in winter and three in spring. A sample of 411 students was placed into four groups (very high, high, middle, and low) based on their median correct words per minute in spring. Each word in the assessment was coded on 11 features: numbers of phonemes, letters, syllables, blends, morphemes, percentages of multisyllabic and of morphologically complex words, concreteness, age of acquisition, decodability, and U function. Words were classified as known if more than 50% of the students within a group were able to correctly read those words. Features of known and unknown words were contrasted for all but the highest group, which made no errors, at each point in time. An analysis of the patterns of known words across groups from winter to spring shows that students followed a similar general progression in the number and type of words recognized. The most prominent feature of unknown words in winter and spring for the middle group of students was the presence of multiple syllables. The lowest-performing group of students continued to be limited by word length and frequency in their recognition of words, but on both features, their proficiency increased from winter to spring. The discussion addresses several critical issues, most notably the relationship of words in oral reading assessments to the word recognition curriculum of many beginning reading programs.
Highlights
This study is an examination of the words known and unknown by first graders of different proficiency levels in winter and spring on a widely used oral reading fluency assessment
Establishing the equivalence of passages administered in winter and spring is critical in that equivalence is needed if proportional changes in specific word features are to be attributable to changes in student proficiency
The information is given for five consecutive segments of 25 words to determine whether demands of the first and second sections of text are similar to those of later text sections
Summary
This study is an examination of the words known and unknown by first graders of different proficiency levels in winter and spring on a widely used oral reading fluency assessment. The underlying aim of this work is to support theory building and research as well as instruction and intervention by adding to the field’s understanding of word recognition in the context of typical texts. While research on student and word factors that influence word recognition is substantial [1,2,3], studies often use word lists or carefully constructed texts that control words, sometimes even through the use of nonsense words [4]. Typical texts can be expected to have a variety of words, some orthographically regular and others not. Even within texts written to emphasize specific grapheme–phoneme correspondences (GPCs), students encounter numerous words with irregular correspondences [5]. Reading multisyllabic words is often viewed as a skill that follows consolidated alphabetic knowledge [9], despite the presence of
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