Building the Bridge to Comprehension

Districts across the country have made important progress aligning early literacy instruction with the Science of Reading. But when fluency is not intentionally prioritized within Tier 1 instruction, many students struggle to transition from accurate decoding to meaningful comprehension—leading to stalled reading progress and increased demand for intervention. 

This research-informed article explores why fluency is a critical bridge between decoding and comprehension and what district leaders can do to ensure fluency instruction is consistently supported across classrooms. 

In this free article, you’ll learn how to: 

• Understand why fluency is essential for moving students from word recognition to comprehension. 

• Recognize how weak or inconsistent fluency instruction can increase Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention demand. 

• Identify evidence-based fluency practices that can be implemented within Tier 1 instruction. 

• Strengthen MTSS frameworks by addressing fluency gaps earlier and reducing long-term remediation needs.