The Effects of Repeated Readings on the Reading Fluency and Comprehension for High School Students with Specific Learning Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the efficacy of repeated readings on the oral reading fluency rate and reading comprehension accuracy of high school students with specific learning disabilities. The participants included three tenth and eleventh grade students with specific learning disabilities in a study skills resource classroom in a public high school. A multiple probe across participants design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the repeated readings instruction on both the oral reading fluency and reading comprehension of practiced and unpracticed passages. Dependent measures included the rate of words per minute read correctly and completion of a ten-problem multiple-choice comprehension test, consisting of seven direct questions and three inferential questions. Results of the study indicated the use of the repeated reading strategy increased all three of the students’ oral reading fluency rates and the number of comprehension questions accuracy of practiced and unpracticed passages. Limitations of the study, implications for practice for both students with and without disabilities, and future research questions are discussed.