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<DIV dir=ltr><FONT color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>I taught a student who won the Braille Challenge after leaving me. He was an excellent braille reader. He was also very smart. Many of our students will never read at 250-300 words per minute because even if they had normal vision, it wouldn't be something they could do.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>Toni Anderson</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>VI-SDC, Dona Merced Elem.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>10333 Palo Alto Drive</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>(909) 941-8869</FONT></DIV></DIV>
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<FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><B>From:</B> pibe-division-bounces@nfbnet.org on behalf of Sheila Amato<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tue 6/29/2010 2:31 PM<BR><B>To:</B> Professionals in Blindness Education Division List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Pibe-division] Reading Rate Standards<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I just returned from Los Angeles California where I attended the finals for the Braille Challenge. Yep, I saw just that... fingers flying over braille and braillers. I was delighted and honored to walk with and chat with the top 60 finalists in North America... kids in grades 1-12 who represented 43 states and 4 Canadian provinces. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>One of the students from our Long Island Regional Braille Challenge took first place in her grade group, Sophomores! My own student did admirably well for being the 5th grader in a combined 5th/6th grade grouping. He was proud that he tried his best and had fun. Whatever the outcome, it is still cool to be able to say that you are among the top 12 finalists. Guess that makes all of them winners. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>There are several youtube videos of regional competitions throughout the country, as well as several newspaper articles. If you want to learn more about this event, check out <A href="http://www.braillechallenge.org/">www.braillechallenge.org</A>. </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Sheila</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><B>From:</B> <A title="mailto:dmehlenbacher@yahoo.com
CTRL + Click to follow link" href="mailto:dmehlenbacher@yahoo.com">Dr. Denise M. Robinson</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, June 29, 2010 4:01 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title="mailto:pibe-division@nfbnet.org
CTRL + Click to follow link" href="mailto:pibe-division@nfbnet.org">Professionals in Blindness Education Division List</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Pibe-division] Reading Rate Standards</DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<TD vAlign=top>You are EXACTLY correct James. By 12th grade our kids need to be reading 250-300+ and they do if you expect it and teach to that degree.<BR><BR>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Brush Script MT'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 18pt"><FONT color=#4040ff> Denise </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Brush Script MT'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 18pt"></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV>Denise M. Robinson, TVI, Ph.D. <BR>Teacher of the Blind & Visually Impaired<BR>Yakima School District</DIV>
<DIV>TechVision-Independent Contractor</DIV>
<DIV>509-674-1853 <A href="mailto:deniserob@gmail.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank> deniserob@gmail.com</A></DIV><BR><BR>--- On <B>Tue, 6/29/10, James Konechne <I><<A href="mailto:JamesKonechne@BISM.org">JamesKonechne@BISM.org</A>></I></B> wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR>From: James Konechne <JamesKonechne@BISM.org><BR>Subject: Re: [Pibe-division] Reading Rate Standards<BR>To: "Professionals in Blindness Education Division List" <pibe-division@nfbnet.org><BR>Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2010, 8:50 PM<BR><BR>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Hi everyone,</SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">I don’t buy the whole 120 wpm as a standard for what a blind adult reads. The average sighted college student reads at between 250 and 350 wpm. Lots of factors go in to how fast a person reads, but if you set an expectation of a person reading at 120 wpm, that’s what you’ll get. If you set it at 250 or 350wpm, then you’ll probably get that. You’ve got to set and keep high expectations; people live up to the expectations set for them.</SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Anyway, that’s my two cents worth.</SPAN>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">James K</SPAN>
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<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> pibe-division-bounces@nfbnet.org [mailto:pibe-division-bounces@nfbnet.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Mary Willows<BR><B>Sent:</B> Friday, June 25, 2010 10:51 PM<BR><B>To:</B> Professionals in Blindness Education Division List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Pibe-division] Reading Rate Standards</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Hi Eric:</SPAN></P></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">This is a great question. I spoke to Dr. Sharon Sacks at the California School for the Blind about this topic. Apparently, there are no standards. It is thought that adult fluency is 120 words per minute. This would be a great research project. </SPAN></P></DIV>
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<P style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <A title=pumpkinracer@gmail.com href="http://us.mc524.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=pumpkinracer@gmail.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank>DrV</A> </SPAN></P></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">To:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <A title=pibe-division@nfbnet.org href="http://us.mc524.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=pibe-division@nfbnet.org" rel=nofollow target=_blank>Professionals in Blindness Education Division List</A> </SPAN></P></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Sent:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Saturday, June 19, 2010 9:00 AM</SPAN></P></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Subject:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> [Pibe-division] Reading Rate Standards</SPAN></P></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; COLOR: blue; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Hi Everyone,</SPAN>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; COLOR: blue; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Many school districts assess the reading speed & accuracy of students at the beginning & end of their school year. How is reading fluency approached & assessed for blind/VI students? What benchmarks & assessment tools are educators using in the field? How often are reading rate assessments performed? Are therereading rate standards for blind/VI students?</SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; COLOR: blue; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">I would greatly appreciate your thoughts & input.</SPAN>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; COLOR: blue; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Sincerely,</SPAN>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; COLOR: blue; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Eric Vasiliauskas</SPAN>
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