College students with either high or low prior domain knowledge (PK) read a text chapter presented in short pages on a computer monitor. Half of the participants read with headings present and half with headings absent. The computer recorded time spent reading and rereading each short page. Learning was assessed through a structured recall task.…

Presents a technique for analyzing eye movements in reading using a computer. (RB)

Describes a study in which it was found that informational background has some effect on reading speed and comprehension. (TJ)

Reviews research indicating that, on the average, students read narrative prose faster and comprehend it better than expository prose. (AEA)

Replicates the McConkie and Rayner study (1974) in which the strategies of college students were manipulated through the use of payoff conditions. (RB)

The improvement of college students' reading rate and comprehension is a major educational concern. Many students arrive at college unprepared for the massive amount of required reading. This study presents several attempts to improve vocabulary, reading rate, and comprehension and addresses tangential issues related to the improvement of reading…

Results of a study of the reading rate of 435 students varying from grade four through college support the theory that individuals typically read at a constant rate rather than adjusting their rate to the difficulty level of the material. (AEA)

Reports on a study that demonstrated that college students are flexible in their reading and readily adjust their reading rates in accordance with the payoffs of a task. In particular, propositions expressing case relations were more likely to be retained than those expressing descriptive information. (HOD)

Uses a novel word-reading efficiency measure to determine if articulations or processing times associated with reading the word "aye" were enhanced through the phonological or orthographic qualities contained in the preceding word. Documents the importance of separating phonological and orthographic information in English homophones. (SG)

A study was conducted to examine the relationship of reading rate to comprehension on material read with a pacer and without a pacer. Two hundred paired scores were obtained in a college reading and study skills course in which students read both paced and nonpaced material alternately during class time and recorded their rate and comprehension…

The hypothesis of this study was that reading rate would be relatively constant (within a 15% range of the subject's mean reading rate) both within and across different difficulty levels of materials as long as the levels of difficulty remained at or below the subject's ability level. The subjects were 65 college students whose reading levels…

Concludes that the two reading courses offered by the education department at Clemson University are effective in increasing reading rate, vocabulary, and comprehension. (RB)

Although techniques of measuring reading rate have been studied and reported in the literature, actual practice is not always consistent with the findings. A study reexamined the reading rate issue in light of additional information regarding the test-taking experience provided directly by the test takers themselves. The purpose of the study was…