WCPM (words correct per minute)
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WCPM is the number of words a student reads correctly in one minute from a passage, used to measure oral reading fluency.
Topic: Measurement and data collection
In plain terms
The student reads an unpracticed passage aloud for one minute. The listener marks errors, such as misread words, omissions and words supplied after a few seconds of hesitation. WCPM is the total words read minus errors. Self-corrections usually count as correct. Accuracy should be checked too: a high rate with many errors is a warning sign.
How it shows up in an IEP
WCPM is one of the most common measures for reading fluency goals, because it can be taken weekly with equivalent passages and compared with published norms and growth rates. Goals should name the passage level.
Example
A fourth grader reads 98 words in one minute with 7 errors, for 91 WCPM and 93% accuracy. The median of three passages becomes the baseline.
Related terms
- Oral reading fluencyOral reading fluency is reading text aloud accurately, at a good rate, and with appropriate expression.
- Curriculum-based measurement (CBM)Curriculum-based measurement is a set of brief, standardized, timed probes that measure a general skill, such as reading or math, to track growth over time.
- RateRate is the count of a behavior or response divided by the observation time, such as words per minute or requests per hour.
- ProsodyProsody is the expressive part of reading aloud: phrasing, stress, intonation and pacing that match the meaning of the text.
- BaselineA baseline is a student's measured performance on a skill before instruction toward a new goal begins, used as the goal's starting point.
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