Fluency is the ability to read phrases quickly, accurately, and with expression. Fluent readers read as though they are speaking - they read automatically, but with expression. Because they read automatically, fluent readers are able to focus on the ideas in the text and comprehend the author's message. Early readers use a great deal of mental energy sounding out (decoding) the words on the page and their reading often times sounds robotic - not fluent. As they learn the phonetic rules and can apply them with ease along with having automatic recall of all sight words, reading begins to sound more like fluent reading. Less fluent readers struggle along in a very labored, word-by-word way. They spend so much energy just reading the words that by the time they are finished with a few words, they have no idea what it was about. Comprehension can't be attended to when they are so busy just figuring out letter sounds or words.
"Fluency is important because it provides a kind of bridge between word recognition and reading comprehension" (National Reading Panel, 2000; Rasinski, 1985; Reutzel & Hollingsworth, 1993).