A large national study of silent reading, representing all demographic groups in grades 3 to 12, found 70% of below-grade readers and 30% of at or above-grade readers read inefficiently
Research Summary
The study examined silent reading efficiency among a national sample of elementary, middle, and high school students. Students completed the InSight assessment, a valid and reliable reading measure of vocabulary and reading comprehension, and which provides a student’s comprehension-based silent reading rate in words per minute (wpm). Students whose composite vocabulary and reading comprehension scores were at or above grade level were identified as proficient readers, while those performing below grade level were identified as non-proficient readers. Efficient reading was defined as reading at or above a typical conversational speaking rate of 150 wpm.
| Grades: | 3-12 |
| Participants: | n = 555,558 |
| Measure: | InSight |
| Publication: | Beyond School Hours Conference. Orlando, Florida (2020) |
| Authors: | Alexandra Spichtig, Ph.D. |
Results showed that 50% of all students were inefficient readers, who read silently at a rate slower than typical speech. Among non-proficient readers, 70% read inefficiently even when reading below-grade-level texts. Notably, 30% of proficient readers also read more slowly than typical speech despite demonstrating grade-level reading skills.
These findings suggest that silent reading efficiency may be an overlooked aspect of reading development for many students in Grades 3 and above. While proficient readers can successfully understand grade-level text, inefficient reading increases the time and effort required to complete reading tasks. As reading assignments become longer and more complex as grade levels increase, efficient navigation of text is important to enable readers at all levels to meet reading demands for sustained academic achievement.