Word Recognition Error Analysis: Comparing Isolated Word List and Oral Passage Reading

The purpose of this study was to determine the relation between word recognition errors made at a letter-sound pattern level on a word list and on a curriculum-based measurement oral reading fluency measure (CBM-ORF) for typical and struggling elementary readers. The participants were second, third, and fourth grade typical and struggling readers (n = 69) who were systematically sampled from a pool of 265 students participating in a larger study. Participants read a nonsense word list composed of 599 words across 89 letter-sound patterns and three CBM-ORF passages. Pearson product-moment (Pearson "r") correlation coefficients indicate students' recognition of letter-sound patterns on word list and CBM-ORF differs between patterns as well as between type of reader. Results are discussed in terms of usefulness for CBM-ORF to assess letter-sound pattern recognition skills of typical and struggling elementary readers. (Contains 3 figures and 4 tables.)