Below we set out some of the circumstances under which it may be beneficial to be able to speed read and other circumstances where it may not be so beneficial to be able to speed read:
When it is beneficial to speed read
.Essentially, the great joy of being able to speed read is the ability to take in large volumes of data over as short a period as possible.  Consequently, those of us who find ourselves in circumstances where we need to read excessive amount of information in a short period of time; and, importantly, to comprehend that material at the same time, will benefit from this skill.  Such persons include:

School students:

School students are ideal candidates for speed reading skills because they are at an age where they can still absorb new concepts and ideas, whilst also having the need to have advanced reading skills in order to be able to read lots of school texts;

College students:

As with school students, college students need to be able to read lots of textbook material in a short space of time.  Therefore, the ability to be able to speed read is an important and useful skill.

Work employees:

Those of us who are working “white-collar” clerical jobs certainly need to have the ability to speed read as this will cut-down on an otherwise very long day.  With almost all of the world’s reading material being generated in offices, as faxes, memos, letters, reports, etc. being able to speed read becomes more important as time progresses, not less!

English language students:

As speed reading skills enable you to comprehend what you are reading better, English language students are an often quoted group of people who benefit from the ability to be able to speed read.

Pleasure:

With the amount of advertising in modern magazines, the ability to speed read is vital if you want to read this month’s magazine before next month’s issue!  And, that’s nothing compared to Sunday’s edition of the newspaper.  Can you image trying to read Sunday’s paper without speed reading skills? – Well, it simply cannot be done these days!
In short, it doesn’t really matter what stage of your life you are at, the ability to be able to speed read is an essential one.
Occasions when speed reading may not be beneficial
Having said that speed reading is an essential element no matter what stage you are at in your life, there are a number of circumstances under which it may not be overly beneficial to be able to speed read.  These include:

If you have a reading problem:

Speed reading techniques use cluster methods.  This is to say, the reader needs to group whole paragraphs together and skim read them.  However, if a person has a reading disability that doesn’t allow them to be able to process the clustering of paragraphs easily, then this may result in a feeling of embarrassment, discomfort, or even slowness.  In such circumstances, it is far better for the confidence of the reader if they resort to traditional methods of reading each word on the page word-by-word.

Age:

Care needs to be taken at what age a student starts to learn to speed read as certain clinical studies have shown that students who try to learn to speed read too early can be left with counterproductive problems – such as dyslexia.  As such, it is not recommended that children below 10 learn to speed read.

Comprehension:

In certain circumstances some readers who speed read are left with a loss of comprehension of the reading material, rather than more.  If this is the case, then invoking speed reading skill may be counterproductive.
To sum it up, like most things in life, the ability to speed read is something most of us should try to conquer, which is not to say that it is necessarily beneficial to all of us, nor that we should invoke it at all times.

Reading fluency is the ability to read quickly and accurately. A person with good reading fluency is able to comprehend more because they instantly group and recognize words. Doing this instantly frees up the brain for comprehending what is actually being read. Good reading fluency will help people learn more and excel at school or on the job. It is common for people to struggle with this. There are, however, specific training programs that allow an individual to strengthen their reading fluency.
An individual struggling with fluency can be extremely frustrated with learning because they have to spend extra time trying to understand what they are reading. This can negatively impact people in a school or professional work setting. When a person struggling with fluency reads out loud their reading will typically be slow, choppy, and without natural expression.
Besides having difficulty reading aloud an individual who struggles with reading fluency may also notice that they identify words in a list well, but they can’t read the same words fluently in a phrase. It is vital that you help students move from word recognition in isolation to reading fluency in context. This can be accomplished with the proper testing, training, and practice.
The National Institute for Literacy said on their website that, “Repeated and monitored oral reading improves fluency and overall reading achievement.” This is one of the two steps researched by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The second step they found for improved fluency is silent reading done independently by the students. Practice is one of the key factors to an improvement in reading fluency.
The NAEP has also laid out their definition of reading fluency. They define it as: “the ease or ‘naturalness’ of reading.”
In 1995 the NAEP found that 44% of United States fourth graders were on the lower end of the fluency scale. The study also confirmed that reading fluency and reading comprehension are directly related to each other. It has been proven that many American classrooms neglect to teach or train students to become more fluent readers. This in turn affects student’s reading comprehension in the present and carries over later in life.
To help your child or a loved one become a more fluent reader it is important to have them take a simple reading fluency test at a quality learning training center. This test will help you understand their strengths and weaknesses on the fluency scale. After the test the learning training center can put together a plan of action for helping to improve the reading fluency. This includes having your child receive professional feedback on their reading. This training process has proven to help improve reading fluency for a lifetime.