Approximately 150 references to speed reading published during the past 40 years, including 50 new entries, are included in this revised annotated bibliography. The new entries relate mainly to research but also include some references to theoretical discussions. The references are grouped into the categories of tachistoscopic and controlled…

A survey was made of the reading programs which exist in commercial reading firms, college and university reading centers, and corporations in the United States and Canada. The resulting data, recorded here, are presented so that one may become familiar with the current status of reading improvement programs in both countries. Fifteen tables…

This pilot study investigated (1) the extent scanning speed can be improved through practice, (2) the learning strategies students use in attempting to improve their scanning, and (3) differences between scanning rate for stimuli presented orally and visually. Subjects were advanced college students with average reading skills. Each subject was…

The subskills content of 23 college reading manuals published in the past decade was analyzed. The skills which were investigated are grouped under these headings: rate, vocabulary, comprehension, organizational skills, critical reading, and study-textbook reading skills. In addition, content features such as tests, exercises, test validations,…

A word recognition model involving four processing stages was used, and tests of various word recognition strategies were administered to 25 fourth graders and 25 college students. The model included the following stages: (1) using information in a passage; (2) generating hypotheses from what the next word might be; (3) testing these hypotheses…

Effects of a speed reading course on ninth-grade girls were studied at intervals of 3 and 6 months after completion of the course. The Perceptive Reading and Study Skills Course was administered to 94 students, and progress was evaluated using the Nelson-Denny Reading Tests. Results indicated that significant improvements in speed and…

Prose passages read aloud or silently were rated for pronounceability and comprehensibility. The relationships of text-derived readability indices to reading rate, comprehensibility ratings and comprehension test scores were explored. Reading rate in syllables per minute was unrelated to readability. The high correlation between rate in words per…

The purpose of this study was to determine what effects an intensive six-week college reading improvement program would have on students' reading rates, reading comprehension, and cumulative quality point ratio (CQPR) over a fourteen-month period of time. The population consisted of 40 matched pairs of undergraduate students at the University of…

Approximately 150 references to speed reading published during the past 40 years, including 50 new entries, are included in this revised annotated bibliography. The new entries relate mainly to research but also include some references to theoretical discussions. The references are grouped into the categories of tachistoscopic and controlled…

A phonetically based reading program was designed for senior high school special education students utilizing the teaching techniques of behavior modification. Student success was the primary reinforcing agent. Students began by reading orally sound symbols printed on cards. Each day the individual students' oral reading was timed. Throughout the…

Four experiments investigated memory scanning rates of skilled and less skilled readers. In three experiments, reaction times of skilled readers were faster than those of less skilled readers with reading time partialled out (aloud and silent reading). Differences were not significant when the scan component in answering was minimized. (Author/RD)

Reports on five studies which investigated reading for pleasure. Finds that this reading is characterized by within-text reading rate variability, is more arousing physiologically than other waking activities, and gives readers a feeling of control. Also finds that the Fog Index of readability predicts readers' preferences and difficulty rankings.…

This article reports some cautions to consider when too much emphasis is placed on phonic instruction, especially with adolescent and adult learners. The importance of developing automaticity in word identification and fluency in reading rate is discussed. Six specific procedures designed to improve reading fluency are outlined. (Author/CT)

Describes two experiments which demonstrate improvement in reading speed as a result of an uncomplicated BASIC computer program which automatically assigns phrase structure to grammatical sentences to produce syntactically formatted text. Both experiments indicate poor readers are aided by this type of format. (MBR)