What are the two most critical skills for proficient reading?

The most critical skills for proficient reading are fluency and comprehension. Fluency refers to the ability to read text smoothly and accurately, which allows readers to focus on understanding the content rather than struggling with word recognition. Comprehension is the ability to understand and interpret the meaning of the text, which is essential for deriving information and ideas from reading.

While blending and segmenting, which involve combining sounds to form words and breaking words into their component sounds, are foundational skills necessary for early readers, they do not encompass the broader, higher-level reading skills that contribute to proficiency. Proficient reading requires the ability to seamlessly flow through text while also grasping its meaning, making fluency and comprehension the two most critical skills in this context.