Oral Reading Fluency Norms
Grades 1-6
Grade
Percentile
WCPM*
Fall
WCPM
Winter
WCPM
Spring
1
90th
75th
50th
25th
10th
90th
75th
50th
25th
10th
106
79
51
25
11
81
47
23
12
6
125
100
72
42
18
111
82
53
28
15
142
117
89
61
31
3
90th
75th
50th
25th
10th
128
99
71
44
21
146
120
92
62
36
162
137
107
78
48
4
90th
75th
50th
25th
10th
145
119
94
68
45
166
139
112
87
61
180
152
123
98
72
5
90th
75th
50th
25th
10th
166
139
110
85
61
182
156
127
99
74
194
168
139
109
83
6
90th
75th
50th
25th
10th
177
153
127
98
68
195
167
140
111
82
204
177
150
122
93
2
Interpreting screening scores using the ORF norms: Grade 1. In general, first-grade students
who are reading 40 or more WCPM on unpracticed text passages are by the end of the year at low risk
of future reading difficulty, while students below 40 WCPM are at some risk, and students reading below
20 WCPM are at high risk of failure. We recommend following these guidelines for interpreting firstgrade scores.
Research by Good, Simmons, Kame’enui, Kaminski, & Wallin (2002)
Interpreting screening scores using the ORF norms: Grades 2–8. To determine if a student may
be having difficulties with reading, the teacher compares the student's WCPM score to the scores from
that student's grade level at the closest time period: fall, winter, or spring. On the basis of our field
experiences with interpreting ORF screening scores, we recommend that a score falling within 10 words
above or below the 50th percentile should be interpreted as within the normal, expected, and
appropriate range for a student at that grade level at that time of year, at least for students in grades
2–8.
(source: J. Hasbrouck & G.A. Tindal, The Reading Teacher, April, 2006)