What skill involves the ability to decode words quickly and accurately, facilitating reading with proper prosody?

The correct choice, reading fluency, refers to the ability to read text smoothly and accurately while maintaining appropriate pacing and expression, known as prosody. This skill encompasses not only swift and precise decoding of words but also the ability to read with emotional tone and rhythm, enhancing overall understanding and enjoyment of the text. Reading fluency is crucial because it allows a reader to focus on the meaning of the text rather than getting bogged down by the mechanics of decoding individual words.

In this context, vocabulary development and comprehension play important roles in literacy but do not directly address the mechanical aspects of reading proficiency. Vocabulary development refers to the knowledge of word meanings and the ability to use them effectively, which aids comprehension but is not focused on the fluency of reading itself. Comprehension, on the other hand, is the ability to understand and interpret what is read, relying on a foundation of fluency but again not directly related to the quick and accurate decoding of words. Word recognition does involve identifying and understanding words but lacks the nuance of reading fluency, which includes the dynamics of expression and smoothness in reading.