Test of Reading Efficiency? or other test for Fluency?

There are a couple but the one I think you are thinking of is called the Test of Word Reading Efficiency. It is available from PRO-ED and costs in the neighborhood of $150.00.

Robin

What is this test supposed to show or do?

It is a measure of how fluidly an individual reads words. It is timed and the person taking thetest has to read as many words aloud as they can within the time limit. It is beneficial information, especially with older students who have had good remediation, for a couple of reasons. The first is that if they have been taught well, many students no longer show delays in decoding ability- frequently the issue that raised concerns in the first place. Thus their entire reading level is much better- and a team which focuses solely on numbers may decide that this student’s disability is “cured” and that they no longer require support or remediation. Often however, students become accurate but sloooowwww decoders/readers- because the processing issues are still there- they just have more skill. At test like the TOWRE can help tease that stuff out and provide some normed numbers for those who need them. You can get much of the same info clinically from observation- but often times we do need those numbers…

The second issue with fluency is comprehension. Students who read too slowly often lose the rhythm and prosody of what they are reading- they read a string of words as opposed to reading phrases and sentences etc. This can interfere greatly with their understanding of text and is often tied to how efficient they are when confronted with unfamiliar words.

Robin