Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. in Education

First Advisor

Lane Gauthier

Second Advisor

Diane Lowry

Third Advisor

Rick Balkin

School

University of Mississippi

Relational Format

dissertation/thesis

Abstract

This study examined the effects of a repeated reading (RR) intervention on the oral reading fluency and comprehension of first grade students identified as “at-risk” in a high poverty school in the Mississippi Delta. Students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds often have limited early literacy experiences, which contributes to persistent achievement gaps in reading (Romeo et al., 2022; NAEP, 2024). This study is grounded in LaBerge and Samuels’ (1974) theory of automaticity to employ an intervention focused on building reading fluency as a means to improve reading comprehension.

Six students participated in one-on-one sessions three times per week for four consecutive weeks. Each session included a listening passage preview (LPP), repeated readings (RR), and systematic error correction (SEC). Data were collected via iReady Literacy assessment, an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI), and timed oral readings measuring percentage of words correct (PWC) and percentage increase of words correct (PIWC).

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