Altwerger, Bess; Jordan, Nancy & Shelton, Nancy Rankie (2007). Rereading Fluency: Process, Practice, and Policy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Pages: 122     Price: $15.00     ISBN: 978-0-325-01034-2

With their publication of Rereading Fluency: Process, Practice, and Policy, Altwerger et al. take a critical look at policy, practice and recent research on reading fluency. Altwerger, et. al. not only note major research studies, but point out areas where little definitive research has been done. This book also reviews the authors' own recent research on fluency conducted with over 120 second grade students.

Initially the book provides a historical overview of oral reading and the development of the idea of fluency. This is followed by a review of the place of fluency in the National Reading Panel Summary and No Child Left Behind legislation, thus providing background for the research the authors conducted which comprises the main part of the book. Altwerger et al. also provide an overview of different conceptualizations of fluency and how those relate to educational theories as well as classroom practice. Along with Opitz (2007), Allington (foreword in Altwerger), and others (Padak & Rasinski, 2008; Troyka & Thweatt, 2009), the authors note that there is not one accepted definition of fluency and that fluency for any reader varies with the text being read. Charts depicting reading models from varying educational theories help the reader to visualize the different aspects of fluency.

Chapters 4 - 9 provide an overview of current accepted practice in elementary classrooms across the United States as well as the authors' own research study with over 120 second graders. They have looked at the tests currently being required in many school districts as well as classroom practice to try to determine if the tests do, indeed, measure fluency. DIBELS, among other tests, is critically reviewed for its strengths and weaknesses. They also reviewed the conceptualization of fluency being measured and whether or not a high score on the test of fluency correlated with proficient reading on the part of students. However, there are at least as many definitions of "proficient reading" and "proficient readers" as there are definitions of fluency! Nevertheless, Altwerger et al. provide some thoughtful commentary on the nature of testing versus the real task of reading, i.e. making sense of the printed word.

In the conclusion of the book, Chapters 10 - 12, the authors relate their research to the earlier literature review as well as relating their findings to current classroom practice. They also provide a look at the way tests of fluency are used to make instructional decisions in today's classrooms. They conclude that much of the testing currently being done probably tells the teacher very little he or she didn't already know about a child's reading based on daily work with that child. Much research still needs to be done both on the relationship between fluency and proficient reading and on the relationship between test scores and proficient reading. Challenging currently accepted views of testing and fluency, they also discuss other, possibly better ways than just using measures of fluency to evaluate student growth toward proficient reading .

While 120 second grade students is quite a small sample, this study does provide a brief look at current classroom practices and instructional decisions in relation to fluency. It is to be hoped that it will be followed with larger studies to validate the Altwerger, et al. findings. A major study of the relationship between assessment, fluency, and real-world proficient reading would be a good follow-up to this book.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who teaches young children to read or is interested in research on current policies and practices in the field of beginning reading. The book is filled with information on recent fluency research as well as suggestions for assessing fluency and making instructional decisions. This is an excellent professional resource.

References

Opitz, M. (2007). DonŐt Speed. Read! 12 steps to smart and sensible fluency instruction. NY: Scholastic Publishing Company.

Padak, N. & Rasinski, T. (2008). Evidence-based instruction in reading: A professional development guide to fluency. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Troyka, L. & Thweatt, J. (2009). Structured Reading (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Reviewed by Dr. Lynda Robinson, Associate Professor, Department of Education, School of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Cameron University. She received her Ph. D. in Child Language and Literacy Development (Education) from University of Illinois in 1990. Her fields of expertise are early childhood, reading, and children's literature.