Standards for reading rate, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension

computing and pattern extension skills of numeracy. Further descriptions and instructions of these two types of tests are presented in the following chapter.

3.4 Setting tentative standards for Eastern Tamang adults

There are no standards of literacy skill levels set for adult learners either in Nepali or any indigenous languages of Nepal. Thus, I intend to propose a set of standards for Eastern Tamang adult learners aged 15 and above, based on various research programs mentioned in Chapter 2. Trial tests or benchmarks must be conducted to confirm the standards of literacy skill levels proposed below.

3.4.1 Standards for reading rate, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension

The Eritrea National Reading Survey Ministry of Education of the State of Eritrea, 2005 presents the following diverse reading standards proposed by various researchers, as well as its own reading standards used for calculating the reading indices. Table 19: Standards for silent and oral reading rates Source: NAEP 43 Guszak 44 Barr, Blachowicz, Katz, and Kaufman 45 Silent reading median rate Oral reading minimum rate Grade level Silent reading Oral reading First 30-70 wcpm Age Rate Grade Rate Second 50-100 wcpm 60-100 wcpm 9-year-olds 117 wcpm Grade 1 60 wcpm Third 70-120 wcpm 90-120 wcpm 43 The Eritrea survey team cited the information from Education Commission of the States. 1972. Reading rate and comprehension, 1970-71 assessment. National Assessment of Educational Progress Report 02- R-09. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp.4, 53, and 98. 44 This information was cited by the Eritrea survey team from Guszak, F.J. 1985.Diagnostic reading instruction in elementary school. New York: Harper Row.pp.64. 45 This information was cited by the Eritrea survey team from Barr, R., C. Blachowicz, C. Katz, and B. Kaufman. 2002. Reading diagnosis for teachers: An instructional approach. 4 th edition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. pp.76. 13-year-olds 173 wcpm Grade 2 70 wcpm Fourth 90-140 wcpm 110-140 wcpm 17-year-olds 195 wcpm Grade 3 80 wcpm Fifth 100-150 wcpm 140-170 wcpm Young adults 188 wcpm Grade 4 90 wcpm Sixth 110-150 wcpm 160-190 wcpm Source: Ministry of Education of the State of Eritrea, 2005:35-36. Words correct per minute Table 20: Standards for reading accuracy and comprehension Source: Betts 46 Barr, Blachowicz, Katz, and Kaufman 47 Health Science Center of UTH 48 Reading level Accuracy Comprehension Accuracy Comprehension Accuracy Independent: functioning adequately without a teacher‘s help 99 90 or greater 98-100 90-100 95-100 Instructional: function adequately with guidance yet still being challenged to improve 95 75-89 95-97 75-89 90-94 Doubtful Borderline: Functioning with difficulty, struggling to sound out words, and having difficulty with comprehension 91-95 51-88 90-94 50-74 Frustration: Not functioning adequately and often showing signs of tension and discomfort 90 or less Less than 50 Below 90 Below 50 0-89 Source: Ministry of Education of the State of Eritrea, 2005:36-37. Words decoded without error; Questions answered without error 46 The Eritrea team cited the information from Betts, Emmet A. 1946. Foundations of reading instruction. New York: American Book Co. pp.449-453. 47 The Eritrea survey team cited the information from Barr, R., C. Blachowicz, C. Katz, and B. Kaufman. 2002. Reading diagnosis for teachers: An instructional approach. 4 th edition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. pp.253. 48 This information was cited by the Eritrea team from Health Science Center Staff. 2002. Reading standards-Division of Developmental Pediatrics, Health Science Center, University of Texas at Houston. Table 21: Conventional reading standards for Grade 1, 3, and 5 The ―at risk‖ standards The ―on grade level‖ standards Rate Accuracy Comprehension Rate Accuracy Comprehension Grade 1 30 wcpm 90 50 50 wcpm 94 75 Grade 3 50 wcpm 92 50 80 wcpm 94 75 Grade 5 80 wcpm 92 60 100 wcpm 94 75 Source: Ministry of Education of the State of Eritrea, 2005:13, 15. Table 22: The Eritrea reading standards In terms of standards for reading fluency, Davis 2004:57 introduces the following four-point scale established by Zutell and Rasinski: 1 Clearly labored and disfluent slow, word-by-word, pause, sound-outs, repetitions, lack of expression 2 Slow and choppy 60-80 wcpm, two and three word phrases, many pauses, sound-outs, repetitions 3 Poor phrasing and intonation but reasonable pace; fewer sound-outs, repetitions, etc. 4 Fairly fluent – good pace more than 110 wcpm, longer phrases, good sense of expression and intonation. Davis 2004:125 also suggested the following minimum skill levels for the Machiguenga readers which could be used as criteria for success: The ―at risk‖ standards The ― on grade level‖ standards Rate Accuracy Comprehension Rate Accuracy Comprehension Grade 1 30 wcpm 90 50 50 wcpm 94 75 Grade3 55 wcpm 92 50 80 wcpm 94 75 Grade5 80 wcpm 92 60 100 wcpm 94 75 Source: Ministry of Education of the State of Eritrea, 2005:46. Table 23: Minimum skill levels for the Machiguenga readers Skill level Level Description Rate Accuracy Fluency Comprehension Basic or Functional Able to read text material familiar in daily experience and language genre which employs potentially all of the syllables of the language 80 spm 92 Score 2 among 1 Struggling, syllable-by- syllable 2 Reading word-by-word 3 Reading phrase-by-phrase 4 Observance of punctuation 5 Natural, communicative expression Score 2 among 1 Struggling, syllable-by- syllable 2 Reading word-by-word 3 Reading phrase-by-phrase 4 Observance of punctuation 5 Natural, communicative expression Score 3 among 1 No demonstrated recall 2 Poor – fragments of the passage, but not the main topic 3 Fair – identified the topic and evidenced literal understanding of the most important facts 4 Good – identified the topic and elaborated on some facts, but did not cover all the supporting ideas contained in the passage 5 Excellent – identified the topic and also reported most of the supporting information given in the passage Intermediate Able to read with comprehension material unrestricted as to vocabulary and syllable patterning but moderately sophisticated in language genre and partially unknown in content Advanced or Full Able to read unrestricted texts of formal genre which contain new information and abstract concepts Syllables per minute The educational settings for the Eastern Tamang adult learners are very different from that of adult learners in developed countries where there are well established educational settings using mother tongues as mediums of instruction. The Eastern Tamang adults have limited teaching and learning materials, few reading materials both at literacy class and at home, minimally trained teachers, poor facilities and utilities in rural areas, etc. Therefore, I assume the performance of the Eastern Tamang adults will be substantially lower than that of adult learners in developed countries. Considering the similarly poor educational settings, I prefer to refer to the Eritrea reading standards and the Machiguenga reading criteria to create the tentative reading standards for the Eastern Tamang adult readers. I hypothesize the Eastern Tamang adult learners who have graduated from the basic course will reach the following minimum skill levels: 1 oral reading rate – 30~60 wcpm 2 oral reading accuracy – 90~92 3 oral reading fluency – score 2 according to the five-point scale of Davis 4 oral and silent reading comprehension – 51~60. The comprehensive standards for literacy skills of the Eastern Tamang adult learners will be presented in the following section according to the appropriate literacy skill levels determined for them.

3.4.2 Descriptions of literacy skill levels for Eastern Tamang adult learners