ClearFluency FAQ

Does ClearFluency work on an iPad?

Yes. ClearFluency launched an iPad version of their program in early 2016. There is an app that has to be downloaded and then authorized by Gemm Learning.

Who should use ClearFluency?

ClearFluency can help any student who has attained basic word recognition skills build vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Texts go from 1st grade through adult.

When does Gemm use ClearFluency ?

We offer this program only to students have completed the cognitive skills training in Fast ForWord. It is offered in concert with the Fast ForWord Reading series.

How often should students use ClearFluency?

Our recommended schedule is for grades K-3 – a minimum of 20 minutes 4-5 days per week, for grades 4-12 — a minimum of 30 minutes 4-5 days a week.

How much does ClearFluency cost?

While ClearFluency can be added to an Intensive or Summer Friends program for returning clients for no extra charge, in most cases it will be done in a sequence that includes Fast ForWord and is priced identically to Fast ForWord services.
Gemm Learning fee schedule

Are there levels of progress like Fast ForWord?

Each passage is rated for reading skill level. And, Gemm Learning sees fluency, comprehension and other scores, including listening to recorded reading, after every session. Using this information, Gemm Learning can adjust this library based on your child’s progress, hopefully, in most cases, providing more complex material as reading skills improve.

Is ClearFluency research-based?

Yes. According to the report of the National Reading Panel, “classroom practices that encourage repeated oral reading with feedback and guidance lead to meaningful improvements in reading expertise for students—for good readers as well as for those who are experiencing difficulty.” With ClearFluency, the computer becomes the supportive listener that ensures all students can regularly practice oral reading while receiving immediate, individual feedback from the advanced speech-recognition software.

Is ClearFluency research-validated?

Yes. The impact of ClearFluency on fluency growth was evaluated with mainstream students in Grades 2-5. Half of the classrooms in two schools used the software in thirty-minute sessions, once or twice a week over 17 weeks. Across all four grades, fluency gains were significantly greater for students who used the software than those who did not, averaging 43% (E.S.=0.91) greater than normative expectations over grades. Project sponsored by the Carlisle Foundation and NICHD.
ClearFluency results

What genres are covered in ClearFluency ?

Realistic fiction
Historical fiction
Science fiction
Poetry
Folktale, myth, legend
Expository nonfiction
Biography
Play
Speech
Jokes
Short Story
Point-counterpoint
Personal Narrative
Journal; eye-witness account

How long has ClearFluency been in existence?

Soliloquy Learning, the original developers of Reading Assistant, was formed in 2000 to pioneer the use of proprietary speech recognition technology to monitor and assist students through Guided Oral Reading. Design was led by literacy expert, Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams, with research on the efficacy sponsored through research grants from NICHD and IES. Soliloquy was purchased by Scientific Learning, developers of Fast ForWord, in 2007, after which time large sums were invested to dramatically expand the leveled ClearFluency library, and it was integrated into the Fast ForWord online reporting platform, Progress Tracker, and the online student access platform, MySciLearn.

What do the quiz questions assess?

The comprehension questions are designed to review main ideas, key concepts, core arguments, and vocabulary from the passage. The question types include inferential and literal comprehension, analysis, prediction, and summary.

How does ClearFluency build fluency?

Reading fluency is the ability to read automatically, so that the reader can concentrate on comprehension. The software builds fluency by providing oral reading practice and a review of unfamiliar words.

How does ClearFluency help reading comprehension?

ClearFluency helps reading comprehension by improving fluency that frees up concentration for comprehension.  In addition it provides practice in answering questions (presented at the end of each passage) and embedded questions in the text that check comprehension while reading.  These embedded questions help develop the habit of thinking while reading.

Voice Recognition Reading Software

The technology that makes ClearFluency effective

ClearFluency software is a guided reading tool to build fluency. By virtue of the speech verifier, the voice recognition reading software listens to students reading aloud. Monitoring for signs of difficulty, which include hesitations, silence, mispronunciations and other cues, the reading intervention program provides assistance when students stumble or get stuck.

ClearFluency uses an “intelligent intervention” methodology that balances the need for support — offering the correct pronunciation of a word — against the impact that interruptions have on a student’s reading progress.

Adaptivity Can Be Adjusted
When the voice recognition reading software detects a student is struggling, it will intervene by pronouncing the word or phrase. Students can also get help by accessing our vocabulary resources. Key vocabulary terms contain a definition, a context specific sentence, and often a picture clue.

The ClearFluency software can be adapted to individual needs. For instance, the program allows the teacher to set how strictly each student’s pronunciation should be evaluated for correction.

Intelligent intervention is tuned to ensure that students have time to self-correct. The program indicates to students that they missed a word, and allows them to repair before pronouncing the word for them. As a teacher, you can set the amount of time allowed students for repair.

Building the voice profile: customized, personalized, and adaptable The enrollment process is simple. The software will prompt students to read ten sentences aloud the first time they use the product. Students’ readings will provide the speech verifier with sufficient information to adapt to their voice and pronunciation. Using the data collected, the software analyzes how students pronounced each word and creates a personal voice profile. The application stores the voice profile and makes it available at any computer.

Speech Recognition Technology

Unlike traditional voice-recognition systems, ClearFluency voice recognition does not attempt to match the closest word to the user’s utterance but makes sure that the student pronounced the correct word from the text.

Improvements in technology have meant that our voice recognition reading software has now reduced the number of false negatives — where the software corrects a word that was pronounced correctly — and false positives — where the software does not correct a word that is mispronounced, to around 1.5% in 6th grade. This level of errors compares favorably to correction error rates made by teachers when listening to a student reading out loud.

Learn more about how Gemm Learning provides ClearFluency at home.