In addition to using chunked items, the Carver-Darby Chunked Reading Test differs from the traditional reading test in the way it was developed and the manner in which the test scores are interpreted. The criterion for developing and revising test items was based on the inability of the readers to answer test items correctly before reading the…

In a series of three experiments involving 104 individuals, the effect of chunking sentences (the spatial separation of sentences into small groups of meaningfully related words) upon the reading rate and comprehension of mature readers was investigated. Passages and questions from a standardized reading test were displayed via an…

A study made with three specially selected groups of students reading similar material revealed that there was little difference in speed and comprehension between reading printed material in books or on microfilm. One test group was composed of students trained to read in thousands of words per minute. (Author)

To determine whether the connectedness of prose passages had any effect on the behavior of readers who searched for information in the passages, the behavior of readers who saw the normal arrangement of a passage was contrasted with the behavior of readers who saw the random arrangement of the passage. (HOD)

Among findings from analysis of several research projects involving a total of 20 dyslexic college students are typical student characteristics of slow reading rate, error-prone oral reading, poor written spelling, and grammatically incorrect writing; origin in poor mastery of grapheme-phoneme relationships; and adequacy of oral language skills.…

Describes a study that compared the reading efficiency at three different reading rates of five rapid readers and two control groups. Reports that the rapid readers demonstrated superiority in rate and comprehension in free recall situations. (FL)

Examines selected research showing how the components of human information processing limit reading rates. Suggests that speed reading is impossible when the intent is to understand the message communicated by the text. Discusses limiting factors in processes of word recognition, working memory, and comprehension. Discusses evaluative and…

According to Gough and Tunmer (1986), in a "Simple View of Reading" (SVR), Reading comprehension (RC) = Decoding (D) x Linguistic Comprehension (C). To further evaluate this model, this paper describes an exploratory study of the performance of 60 university students, the majority of whom received academic accommodations at university to…

The association of Rotter's Internal-External personality dimension and improvement in reading rate and comprehension was investigated in four reading instruction treatments and a fifth control condition. The motivated instruction was found more effective for increasing reading rate, without significantly affecting reading comprehension, than the…

The purpose of this investigation was to identify the superior method of accelerating reading rate without the use of mechanical assists. A secondary purpose was to identify personality characteristics which might serve as predictors of success in reading rate. Thirty volumteer college level students completed an unstructured course in reading…

According to a theory of textual cohesion, anaphoric references and noun phrase organizers may serve as cohesive ties linking separate sentences into unified paragraphs. This study revealed that only the noun phrase organizer condition was significant in promoting comprehension and indicated no difference in time scores by paragraph condition.…

Examines expository text processing abilities of fourth- and sixth-grade students and college students. Reports these major findings: topic sentence reading times were shorter if a transition question informed the reader of the next topic; topic sentence reading times were shorter if the new topic was directly related to the immediately preceding…