The component skills underlying reading fluency in adolescent readers: a latent variable analysis

• DOI: 10.1007/s11145-008-9125-y
• Publication Date: 2008-05-23T15:24:32Z
• Authors: Amy Elizabeth Barth; Hugh W. Catts; Jason L. Anthony
• Keywords: Verbal fluency test; Component (thermodynamics)

This study investigated the component skills underlying reading fluency in a heterogeneous sample of 527 eighth grade students. Based on a hypothetical measurement model and successive testing of nested models, structural equation modeling revealed that naming speed, decoding, and language were uniquely associated with reading fluency. These findings suggest that the ability to access and retrieve phonological information from long-term storage is the most important factor in explaining individual differences in reading fluency among adolescent readers. The ability to process meaning and decode novel words was smaller but reliable contributors to reading fluency in adolescent readers.