Oregon Educator Licensure Assessments (ORELA) Practice Exam

What is an effective method for promoting reading fluency in students?

1. Understanding poetic meter

2. Word analysis skills

3. Promotion of automatic recognition of high-frequency words

4. Affix attachment to stem words

The correct answer is: Word analysis skills

Promoting reading fluency in students is significantly enhanced through the automatic recognition of high-frequency words. High-frequency words, often referred to as sight words, comprise a substantial portion of the text students encounter daily. When students can quickly and effortlessly identify these words, they can focus more on comprehension and meaning rather than decoding each word. This automaticity is crucial because fluency involves not only speed but also accuracy and expression in reading. By ensuring that students have a solid grasp of these high-frequency words, they gain the confidence necessary to tackle more complex texts without becoming bogged down by frequent decoding. This ultimately leads to improved overall reading fluency, as students can read smoothly and with appropriate pacing. While understanding poetic meter, word analysis skills, and affix attachment techniques can contribute to a student's overall literacy development, they do not primarily target the immediate needs of building reading fluency as effectively as focusing on high-frequency words does.