What best defines reading fluency?

Reading fluency is primarily defined as the skill of decoding text easily and accurately. This encompasses not just the ability to read words correctly, but also to do so at a natural pace and with appropriate expression. A fluent reader can read passages smoothly, which allows them to focus on comprehension rather than struggling with word recognition.

Decoding is a critical component of reading fluency, as it involves translating written text into spoken words. When a reader can decode efficiently, it frees cognitive resources, enabling them to comprehend the meaning of the text more fully. This distinction highlights the importance of fluency as it relates to overall reading proficiency, making it a fundamental aspect of literacy development.

The other options focus on different aspects of reading that, while important, do not capture the essence of fluency in itself. Memorizing texts or understanding complex vocabulary may contribute to overall reading skills, but they do not define the smooth and automatic reading process that characterizes fluency. Similarly, summarizing a text involves higher-level comprehension skills rather than the fluent decoding of words. Thus, the understanding of reading fluency is best encapsulated by the ability to decode text easily and accurately.