The reading performances of fifteen blind readers and fifteen sighted readers were compared by evaluating the reading performances of each reader reading at instructional level from Lippincott's "Basic Reading Series" and from Form A of the "Gray Oral Reading Test." Nine matched pairs of subjects read at grade one first reader level and six pairs…

A study was conducted to compare the reading levels of beginning students in a two-year community college with the readability levels of the materials they are required to read in selected courses. Subjects, all the students enrolled at an open door community college in Tampa (Florida), took the Nelson-Denny Reading test. Readability levels of…

The reading performances of high- and low-anxiety third- and fifth-grade pupils were compared. Cloze tests of reading comprehension were constructed using narrative and expository prose of varying levels of difficulty. For the third-grade sample, high-anxiety students scored significantly higher on both narrative and expository materials; sex…

Reading scores earned by 286 fifth-grade pupils taking the California Test of Basic Skills were used in a study examining the relationship between reading achievement and birth order and related family factors. Vocabulary scores were significantly related to birth order, family size, and socioeconomic status. Comprehension scores were…

The purposes of this study were to determine which test instruments should be used to report instructional and independent reading levels to tutors or classroom teachers and what recommendations should be made concerning the materials to be used for teaching the child. The subjects were children from grades two through ten who had been identified…

One of the major objectives of this study was to obtain an estimate of the reading skill level an individual would need in order to be able to read and understand the training and job materials in his Air Force career ladder. A methodology developed by Mockovak (1974) for comparing training and job reading requirements was used to calculate the…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between reading ability and self-concept of academic ability. The Nelson-Denny Reading Test was administered to 253 freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior college subjects. The scores attained by the subjects were used to classify the subjects as reading above actual grade…

This paper suggests several techniques and instruments which can be used and/or adapted for classroom use to gather diagnostic data on each child's reading levels and reading skills. The contents include: a look at some of the factors which impede a teacher's development and use of skill in diagnostic procedures for reading; a discussion of some…

This conversation between Louis E. Haga and Harry Berger, Jr., is part of the National Humanities Faculty "Why Series." The discussion in this booklet touches not only on reading and writing, but on some of the cultural and structural consequences of typography and print literacy. Some of the other topics discussed include reading…

Two studies were carried out to measure the difficulties in visual perception which affect the reading abilities of disadvantaged children. The first study involved children in the first grades of eight poverty-area schools. Results reinforced earlier findings that urban disadvantaged children scored poorly on tests of visual perception.…

The effects of fixed-ratio and variable-ratio reinforcement classroom reading performance was investigated. Subjects were 50 boys and 50 girls from four grade-2 classrooms of one elementary school. The subjects were divided into three reading levels, above-average, average, and below-average, and were randomly assigned to (1) a no-reinforcement…

To determine the effect of oral responses on cloze test, particularly at the primary grade level and with students of below average reading ability, was the purpose of this study. A total of 135 students from second, fourth, and sixth grades were included in the study. At each grade level the students were divided into above-average, average, and…

This study examined the adaptability of reading rate to passage difficulty under different conditions of task-induced processing. Sixteen experimental passages varying in subject matter and ranging from 85 to 171 words were selected from a set of 32 texts rated for comprehensibility. The eight easiest and eight hardest texts were selected. Another…

A standardized method, called programed prose, has been developed which can be used to automatically convert prose training material into a form which forces trainees to read the material with at least a minimal level of comprehension. From the results of a series of experimental studies, it was concluded that programed prose facilitates learning…

This study examined the relationship of existing science programs (K-3) to reading materials (K-1) on the assumption that existing reading programs seem to neglect those aspects of nature with which the child is acquainted and the science programs seem to neglect the child's reading ability. Six activity units were developed for use with…