This paper informs reading researchers about a new model-based approach to oral reading fluency (ORF) assessment and how to implement it with a web-based, easy-to-use Shiny App. ORF is widely used in response to intervention (RTI), which is a framework for adapting instruction and progress monitoring to each student. However, ORF lacks a well-defined psychometric model. The model-based approach to ORF assessment instead relies on an innovative psychometric model, analogous to item response theory (IRT), that calibrates passage parameters (e.g., passage difficulties) and models speed and accuracy as latent factors. This approach also estimates students’ fluency in words correct per minute (WCPM) scores, with individually estimated standard errors (versus a global standard error in traditional ORF). This method offers better score compatibility between passages and lower standard errors, enabling more accurate and timely identification of at-risk students. The Shiny App allows researchers to prepare data, calibrate passage parameters, estimate fluency scores, and visualize results. It supports customization of variables, analyses (e.g., sentence level), scores estimated and estimators, and visualizations on one task or one student. Each step is performed via simple menus, while a related R package enables full customization. Thus, the Shiny App affords easy implementation of the model-based approach to ORF assessment without requiring deep expertise in psychometrics or R. In turn, the model-based approach to ORF provides stronger evidence for comparable results, greater insights into students and passages, and more precise measurement, thereby supporting better educational decisions.

Authors:
Paul Foster, Southern Methodist University, United States
Akihito Kamata, Southern Methodist University, United States
Kuo Wang, Southern Methodist University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Paul Foster is a Graduate Research Assistant at Southern Methodist University on a team of psychometricians with a focus on oral reading fluency.

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