We measure progress in fluency by counting the number of corrects and the number of learning opportunities (errors) that occur in one minute when the learner is trying to go as quickly as possible. The scores for each one minute timing are saved so that we can check for progress.

A quick way to check for progress is to make a chart of the scores. We use the Standard Daily Celeration Chart because it allows us to see a half year of progress at a glance. The best scores from each day (highest number of corrects) are plotted on the Chart.

The Date: The Daily Charts are calendar synchronized to begin on the Sunday before Labor Day, 20 weeks later and 40 weeks later. Three charts cover a complete year.
The Left (vertical) Scale: The scale on the left is the number per minute, beginning with 0 at the bottom and rising to 200 or more. This scale is a multiply/divide (logarithmic) scale (which allows us to put a lot more information in a small space.) Instead of being divided evenly, this scale is continuously divided, so that the distances between the 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc. marks are evenly spaced. Since the spaces between the numbers are getting smaller, we count by 1's to the 10 mark, then by 10's to the 100 mark, and by 100's above that.
The Data: Corrects are indicated by dots, and are joined together from day to day, unless a day is missed because the learner is not practicing (weekends, holidays, etc.) Learning Opportunities are marked with an 'x', and are also joined from day to day.

The Scale Across the Bottom: This scale is an even scale (add-subtract), and represents Calendar Days. Each vertical line on this bottom scale represents a Sunday. The lines for Monday through Saturday have been left out. Each chart spans 20 weeks or 140 days. On this chart, the learner practiced every day in the first couple of weeks, and had 0 or 1 learning opportunities each day, so the 'x's are evenly spaced from left to right, indicating each day's (learning opportunity) score.

Levels: In typing, arithmetic, and reading, learners pass through "levels" of difficulty. Each time a level is passed, a vertical line marks the beginning of the next level, and a number appears to the right of the line (near the top of the chart), indicating the new level the learner is working on. Because the new level is more difficult, it is usual for the corrects to drop on the first day of the level change, then slowly rise again.

Jaws: The best learning is occurring when the corrects are rising and the learning opportunities are dropping. When this happens, we draw a line through the middle of the dots (from the earliest to the most recent), and another line through the middle of the 'x's. We started doing this about the same time as the popular movie about a shark was released, and the students called the lines "jaws" - and the name stuck. On the charts generated by the computer, "jaw lines" are drawn in green through the data every time the computer discovers that the combination of corrects rising and errors falling produces an effect of doubling the score in one week.

The charts generated by the computer usually 3 or 4 Cycle Charts. (Each count from 1 to 10 is a cycle.) The true Standard Celeration Chart is a 6 cycle chart, allowing you to chart behaviors from one per day to 1 million per day, or 1000 per minute on the same chart. The 6 cycle chart is available from Behavior Research Company, FAX (913) 362-5900, or Box 3351, Kansas City, Kansas 66103-3351. It is called the Dpmin-1DES. In this chart, the student kept track of the number of complete sentences he said each day, so 1 appears on the .001 line (approximately 1 in 16 hours.)

The program that generates the computer charts is written in C, and runs on a DOS platform. We are developing a C++ GUI interface that will run on Windows. Most of the charts shown by students of BBA or CyberSlate are generated by the fluency programs they do on the computer. They input the data for their reading charts on screens that provide the timer, suggested aim, and a chart of progress. The Chart program will be made available to the Precision Teaching community as soon as we have determined (and written) the kind of interface that will allow easy, accurate data entry.