What should a teacher first consider when assessing a child's oral reading fluency?

When assessing a child's oral reading fluency, it is crucial to first consider the child's decoding skills for the text. Decoding, which involves the ability to recognize and process letters, sounds, and words, is foundational to reading fluency. If a child struggles to decode words accurately and efficiently, their fluency will be affected. Fluency relies on the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression, all of which hinge on effective decoding. Without decoding skills, a child will likely read slowly and with interruptions, making it difficult to assess their overall reading fluency accurately.

While aspects such as expression, engagement with the text, and relevant background knowledge are important in a comprehensive assessment of reading abilities, they come into play after determining whether the child can successfully decode the words on the page. Once decoding is established, the teacher can then move on to evaluate how expressively the child reads, how engaged they are with the material, and whether their background knowledge supports their understanding of the text.