Quantitative Article Critique

Quantitative Article Critique Summary: Reading Comprehension and Fluency Levels Ranges across Diverse Classrooms: The Need for Differentiated Reading Instruction and Content
Summary
In view of insufficient current research available on the variance in students’ reading comprehension and fluency levels within the classrooms, Firmender, Reis, and Sweeny (2013) conducted a quantitative research study to review the extremes of students’ understanding in reading and their reading speed and accuracy within diverse classrooms and schools resulting in a necessity for individualized reading lessons for all students, particularly for those at the highest and lowest level of attainment. Firmender (2013) identified the following four research questions,
two categorized by all students in all schools 1) what is the variance of reading comprehension, 2) what is reading fluency, and the last two categorized by classrooms at each grade level 3) what is the average variance of reading comprehension levels, and 4) what is the variance of reading fluency (Firmender, 2013, p. 6).
In order to examine the reading comprehension and fluency within classrooms, the researchers assessed 1,149 third through fifth grade students, including gifted students, across five diverse schools throughout different locations in the United States.
However, it is important to note that the five elementary schools identified in this study were originally part of a larger study focusing on the effectiveness of an individualized reading program (Firmender, 2013). Upon identification of the sample varying in demographics such as race, ethnicity, education, and socioeconomic status, the researchers traveled to the five different schools to assess students’ understanding in reading along with their speed and accuracy utilizing two regulated assessments. The research team members and teachers administered the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) reading comprehension subtest (Form A) while only the research team administered the standardized assessment of Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) pretests. Once the students’ read the ITBS material consisting of narrative, poetry, and nonfiction material from science and social studies, their comprehension was assessed through multiple-choice questions over the material. For reading fluency, the test administrators timed each student reading a passage with 250 words for 1-minute for three independent trials increasingly with difficulty. Upon completion of the tests, the researchers translated the raw scores from the ITBS reading comprehension
subtest into Grade Level Equivalency (GLE) scores, and also calculated and recorded the average words per minute (wpm) from each of the passages used in the ORF assessment for each student.
Accordingly, the outcome from this study demonstrated a vast difference in the students’ reading comprehension and fluency both within the schools and classroom level.
Across all students in all schools, the reading comprehension results demonstrated a trend that the reading perception difference widened as the GLE score and the grade levels increased. For example, in the Grade 3 classes approximately 37% had a GLE reading comprehension range of 5 or more grade levels while in Grade 4 at 67% and Grade 5 at 65% (Firmender, 2013, p. 8). In addition, the researchers also evaluated the variance of reading comprehension across all the classrooms within schools with varying results. To enumerate, the average range within Grade 3 for all classes was 4.4 grade levels, Grade 4 with an average of 6.3 grade levels, and Grade 5 with an average of 6.4 grade
levels.
In regards to the oral reading fluency, the researchers analyzed the results both across all students in all schools and across classrooms within schools. Similarly with reading comprehension for all students in all schools, the difference in words per minute was extremely wide, for example in Grade 3 the difference was 209 wpm, 204 wpm for Grade 4, and 239 wpm for Grade 5; however, a wide range variation also existed within each classroom in these schools, for instance, Grade 3 displayed a range of 67 to 153 wpm, with 75 to 177 wpm for Grade 4, and 78 to 226 for Grade 5.
Based on the data analysis, Firmender et al. (2013) concluded that the wide range in reading comprehension and fluency dictated a need for differentiation in instruction and content, while suggesting strategies such as organizing groups based on instructional levels or utilize curriculum compacting, which determines what curriculum students have already mastered and replace it with new content (Firmender, 2013, p. 12). With such diversity in reading classrooms, differentiation is the appropriate instructional approach in order to challenge students and maintain reading growth.