Oral reading fluency assessment assisted by AI: associations with executive functions and intelligence in...

Oral reading fluency is central to reading proficiency, yet its relationships with distinct cognitive domains remain unclear. This study investigated the associations between oral reading fluency, executive functions, and intelligence in schoolchildren.

Students from the 2nd to the 5th grades (n = 106) were assessed through a standardized neuropsychological protocol. Reading fluency was measured using an artificial intelligence-based automated speech recognition system. Executive functions were assessed with phonemic verbal fluency (FAS), Go/No-Go, the Trail Making Test, and visuospatial working memory (Odd One Out). Intelligence was estimated through the Vocabulary and Matrix Reasoning subtests of the WASI.

Oral reading correlated with spontaneous flexibility (FAS; ρ = 0.317), inhibitory control errors (ρ = -0.396), reactive flexibility (TMT-B; ρ = -0.356), and working memory (ρ = 0.347; all p < .001). In an integrated regression adjusted for age and sex, inhibitory control (β = 0.327, p = .004) and working memory (β = 0.289, p = .005) were independent predictors, explaining 37.0% of the variance in words correct per minute. No associations emerged with intelligence.

Oral reading fluency depends not only on linguistic automaticity but also on executive mechanisms, particularly inhibitory control and working memory, involved in monitoring and regulating reading.