Traditional and Virtual Assessment of Oral Reading Fluency

Curriculum based measurement in reading (CBM-R) is a commonly used tool to assess students’ reading skills, with oral reading fluency (ORF) being among the most widely used measures. Most types of CBM-R have been developed, standardized, and validated based on traditional face-to-face administration using paper probes, but there may be advantages to conducting these assessments using alternative modalities such as virtual assessment through video conferencing software. However, there is limited research on whether scores on assessments conducted traditionally are equivalent to those administered virtually. The current study used a within-subjects design to compare students’ scores on traditional (face-to-face, paper probes) measures of ORF to scores on ORF measures administered virtually (using video conferencing software, probes presented using screen share). Results show statistically significant differences between scores on the two measures with higher scores in the traditional condition. A student preference assessment also revealed a statistically significant preference for the traditional face-to-face administration. Discussion focuses on considerations for using different assessment modalities in the schools and implications for practitioners in their roles in assessment and intervention practices.