ABSTRACT
In recent years, uency instruction has come to be seen as a central component in the primary and elementary literacy curriculum (e.g., National Reading Panel, 2000), one that assists students as they make the shift from stilted and uneven oral reading to oral reading that is smooth and expressive and one that contributes to skilled silent reading as well (e.g., Samuels, 2006). And, while uency instruction has an important place in the general literacy curriculum, such instruction is especially important for students with reading disabilities since these learners are far more likely to experience dif culty making this transition than are their peers (e.g., Kuhn & Stahl, 2003). However, while identifying ways in which we can help struggling readers become uent is an essential part of this discussion, exploring the ways in which uency contributes to reading development in general, and comprehension in particular, is also critical if we are to avoid creating uency instruction-and assessment-that emphasizes reading rate at the expense of understanding. Such instruction not only limits our students’ understanding of uency and its role in the reading process, it leads to a devaluation of instructional approaches that, when implemented properly, can make a signi cant contribution to the reading development of students experiencing reading dif culties.
