Professional Development and Coaching in the Science of Reading: Impacts on Oral Reading Fluency in Comparison to National Norms

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The purpose of this 5-year longitudinal study was to examine the rate of growth of oral reading fluency (ORF) scores in response to professional development and coaching related to the Science of Reading (SoR) in one urban public school district in the northeast United States. A non-random sample of all grade 1-5 students (n=434) enrolled in the school over a five-year period was used. Analysis of the growth in ORF scores was conducted using a latent growth curve analysis within a structural equation model framework. This model allowed comparison of growth between the sample and established national norms. Results indicate that across the grades over time, the sample demonstrated significantly greater growth (9%) when compared to the national norms (6%), despite interrupted instruction due to the covid-19 pandemic. These results suggest that repeated Professional Development (PD) and ongoing coaching to implement the SoR can lead to long-term growth in student ORF. The implications support SoR as an effective instructional framework which may mitigate against loss of instructional time in the classroom and serve as a protective factor against school interruptions, especially for at-risk learners. Keywords: science of reading, oral reading fluency, teacher professional development, teacher coaching