Initial Pilot of a Progress Monitor for Reading Comprehension Based on Sentence Ordering

Drawing on cognitive theory in reading comprehension, Sentence Order Fluency (SOF) is proposed as a method for monitoring progress in reading comprehension. In this article, we present results of a pilot study on SOF conducted between April and June 2023, with a group of 119 students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 in a charter school in the mid-Atlantic U.S. Students’ median SOF scores exhibited correlations between .59 and .67 with Gates-McGinitie IV comprehension extended scaled scores. While SOF on its own explained about 45% of the variance in comprehension after controlling for classroom membership and grade level, a combination of accuracy, fluency, and SOF scores together accounted for up to 62% of the variance in comprehension scores; between 14% and 16% of the variance in comprehension was explained uniquely by SOF after controlling for reading accuracy and fluency, as measured by easyCBM Passage Reading Fluency probes. Results suggest SOF exhibits potential utility as a progress monitoring technique for student reading comprehension.