Florida Oral Reading Fluency and Mazes

Description and Purpose of Florida Oral Reading Fluency and Maze Tests

At the request of the Just Read, Florida! Office, and to satisfy the requirements of legislation requiring that students scoring at Level 1 and Level 2 on the FCAT take tests to monitor their progress in reading during the following year, the Florida Center for Reading Research developed both the Florida Oral Reading Fluency test and the Florida Maze test. Both of these measures should be regarded as interim progress monitoring measures to satisfy the requirements of the law while districts in Florida, and the Just Read, Florida! Office develop a long-term assessment strategy for adolescent struggling readers in Florida.

The risk levels associated with Mazes and the Oral Reading Fluency measures were developed by examining the relationship of these tests to performance on the FCAT, and then projecting an expected rate of growth during the year. Scores on both the FORF and the Mazes tests should increase from the Fall, to Winter, to Spring, if the student is making good progress in becoming a better reader.

Florida Oral Reading Fluency (FORF) measures consist of on-grade-level passages that students read aloud while being timed for one minute. Two passages are administered at each of the assessment periods and are averaged to get a score of words read correctly in one minute (wcpm). This score reflects a student’s accuracy and fluency. That score can then be compared to a risk levels chart to serve as an indicator for level of instruction. This is an individually administered measure.

Mazes is a group administered test that measures fluency of silent reading and low level comprehension of passages that are like those students will encounter on the FCAT. The test is meant to provide an estimate of a student’s basic reading skill. The test measures only lower level comprehension processes, because the items on the test were designed to be easy to answer if the student has a basic idea of the gist of the passage. The score that is provided is simply the number of items the student got correct in the time allowed to read the passage. The MAZE test assesses silent reading fluency, because the more fluently the student reads, the more items will be attempted. It assesses low level comprehension, because the items must be answered correctly in order to receive credit in the score.

Score Interpretation: A student scoring in the high risk range needs intensive intervention that includes explicit and systematic instruction. However, since neither the FORF nor the Mazes test is a diagnostic assessment, teachers may need to gather further information to plan a comprehensive instructional strategy. If a published intervention program is used to guide intensive instruction, a placement test from the program can be used to form instructional groups. Typically, most students at "high risk" will need intensive instruction in reading fluency and accuracy, vocabulary, and reading comprehension strategies.

A student scoring in the moderate risk range needs less intensive instruction along with extra reading practice and teacher support. Typically, the greatest instructional needs of students in this category fall in the area of vocabulary and comprehension strategies.

A student scoring in the low risk range should be able to succeed in regular classroom curriculum without any special instructional considerations.




	Home FORF Mazes A Florida State University Center			Florida Oral Reading Fluency and Mazes Description and Purpose of Florida Oral Reading Fluency and Maze Tests At the request of the Just Read, Florida! Office, and to satisfy the requirements of legislation requiring that students scoring at Level 1 and Level 2 on the FCAT take tests to monitor their progress in reading during the following year, the Florida Center for Reading Research developed both the Florida Oral Reading Fluency test and the Florida Maze test. Both of these measures should be regarded as interim progress monitoring measures to satisfy the requirements of the law while districts in Florida, and the Just Read, Florida! Office develop a long-term assessment strategy for adolescent struggling readers in Florida. The risk levels associated with Mazes and the Oral Reading Fluency measures were developed by examining the relationship of these tests to performance on the FCAT, and then projecting an expected rate of growth during the year. Scores on both the FORF and the Mazes tests should increase from the Fall, to Winter, to Spring, if the student is making good progress in becoming a better reader. Florida Oral Reading Fluency (FORF) measures consist of on-grade-level passages that students read aloud while being timed for one minute. Two passages are administered at each of the assessment periods and are averaged to get a score of words read correctly in one minute (wcpm). This score reflects a student’s accuracy and fluency. That score can then be compared to a risk levels chart to serve as an indicator for level of instruction. This is an individually administered measure. Mazes is a group administered test that measures fluency of silent reading and low level comprehension of passages that are like those students will encounter on the FCAT. The test is meant to provide an estimate of a student’s basic reading skill. The test measures only lower level comprehension processes, because the items on the test were designed to be easy to answer if the student has a basic idea of the gist of the passage. The score that is provided is simply the number of items the student got correct in the time allowed to read the passage. The MAZE test assesses silent reading fluency, because the more fluently the student reads, the more items will be attempted. It assesses low level comprehension, because the items must be answered correctly in order to receive credit in the score. Score Interpretation: A student scoring in the high risk range needs intensive intervention that includes explicit and systematic instruction. However, since neither the FORF nor the Mazes test is a diagnostic assessment, teachers may need to gather further information to plan a comprehensive instructional strategy. If a published intervention program is used to guide intensive instruction, a placement test from the program can be used to form instructional groups. Typically, most students at "high risk" will need intensive instruction in reading fluency and accuracy, vocabulary, and reading comprehension strategies. A student scoring in the moderate risk range needs less intensive instruction along with extra reading practice and teacher support. Typically, the greatest instructional needs of students in this category fall in the area of vocabulary and comprehension strategies. A student scoring in the low risk range should be able to succeed in regular classroom curriculum without any special instructional considerations.