Fluency Gains in Struggling College Readers from Wide Reading and Repeated Readings

Effects of wide reading and repeated readings were examined on struggling college readers' silent reading rate and reading comprehension relative to a vocabulary study control condition. Randomly assigned to a condition, community college students (N = 30) completed 25-min sessions individually in class three times a week for three weeks. Significant gains were made by wide reading (Cohen's d = 1.05) and repeated readings (Cohen's d = 0.72) in silent reading rate. No other effects were significant. Repeated readings appeared to encourage skimming whereas wide reading appeared to encourage careful processing of print. Instructional implications and future directions are discussed.