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Barati Z, Kharazi Baheri P, Zarifian T, Ashtari A, Vahedi M. The Role of Text Genre in Reading Fluency Components and Comprehension in Persian-speaking Students. Iranian Rehabilitation Journal 2026; 24 (3) :283-296
URL: http://irj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-2743-fa.html

Objectives: Given the critical role of reading fluency and comprehension in academic functioning, understanding how text genre influences reading can enhance assessment and rehabilitation practices. This study aimed to examine the role of text genre in oral reading fluency components (rate and accuracy) and comprehension among Persian-speaking elementary school students.
Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, a multi-stage cluster random sampling method was used to select 260 students with typical reading development in grades 2-6 from public elementary schools in Tehran. Reading performance was measured using the KHANA-2 test, which consists of two parallel booklets (A and B), each containing 12 passages. Data from three narrative and three expository passages per booklet (12 passages in total) were analyzed. Effects of genre, grade, and their interaction were examined on rate, accuracy and comprehension, controlling for text length using linear mixed models (LMM). Pairwise comparisons assessed grade-level differences.
Results: Students performed significantly better on narrative texts than on expository ones across reading rate, accuracy, and comprehension (mean differences=19.64, 2.19, and 12.43, respectively; all P<0.001). Differences in reading accuracy, and comprehension across genres were relatively small, whereas reading rate showed more pronounced genre-related variation. Grade level had a significant effect (P<0.001), with all components increasing steadily from grade 2 to 6. The interaction between genre and grade level showed consistently higher scores for narrative texts across grades (P<0.001).
Discussion: Text genre significantly affects reading performance, with the strongest influence on reading rate and smaller effects on accuracy and comprehension. These findings highlight the need to consider genre differences in reading assessment and suggest that incorporating diverse text types into rehabilitation programs may enhance the effectiveness of interventions targeting reading skills.