Relationship between Reading Fluency and Comprehension

Reading teachers and researchers are constantly debating the relationship between reading fluency and comprehension. If a student can ready fluently, does that mean that they are reading well and comprehending the text that they are reading? What is the goal: reading quickly? Or reaidng to undestand and remember the content?"
In a recent article in The Reading Teacher, Mary DeKonty Applegate, Anthony J. Applegate, and Virginia B. Modla identified students who have been labelled as strong and fluent readers and found that one-third of them were poor comprehenders. So what does this tell us? This is evidence that just because a student can read a text in a certain amount of time, it does not mean that they are understanding or remember the material. To these readers, the text is just words on a page that they must get through. The text has not meaning, and therefore they will not remember it.
As reading teachers, we must reinforce fluency instruction with reading comprehension instruction. There needs to be a balance between the two in order for reading instruction to be successful.

Article:
Applegate, Mary DeKonty, Anthony J., Modla, Virginia B.
“ 'She's My Best Reader; She Just Can't Comprehend': Studying the Relationship Between Fluency and Comprehension" The Reading Teacher March 2009.