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FLORiDA STATE UNIVERSITY
AN EXPERIMENT TO DETEWINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE S.R.A.
READING LABORATORY AS COMPARED WITH OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIALS I N REMEDIAL READING CLASSES FOR TENTH GRADE
PUPILS AT HILLSBOROUGH H I G H SCHOOL, TAMPA, FLORIDA,
I N THE SCHOOL YEAR 1957-58
BY MARGARET GWHAM PEELER
A Paper Submitted t o t h e Graduate Council o f F l o r i d a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f t h e requi rements for t h e degree of Master of Science.
Approved: P r o f e s s o r D i r e c t i n g Paper
August, 1958
- I ,.-- - ,- ..,.~ .i<.d<.<.'( - ~ i . . .:;+
Dean of the-GFaduate Schoo l
TABLE OF CONTENTS
L I S T O F T A B L E S . . . - . . - Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION. . . . . . - 11. THE S.R.A. READING LABORATORY . . *
111. THE RMDING PROGRAM INVOLVED I N THIS STUDY
IV. THE DESIGN OF THE EXPERIMENT AND COMPARISON O F T H E T W O G R O U P S . .
V. PROCEDURES. . . . * - V I . RESULTS . . . . m . . .
V I I . CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . A P P E N D I X . . . . . . - - - BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Page iii
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7
17
21
25
41
45
48
54
ii
LIST bF TABLES
Table Page 1. Comparisons of t h e Groups of Reading P u p i l s ,
September, 1957 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2. Dai ly A c t i v i t i e s f o r Group A, A p r i l 8, 1958, Through May 20, 1958 . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3. Comparison of Reading Progress of t h e Four C las ses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4. Reading Progress of Group A Compared With Group B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
5. Data Used i n Computing Progress o f P u p i l s I n - valved i n This Study . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6. Data Used i n Computation of t h e "T" Score . . 53
iii
CHAPTER I
I n t h i s s tudy a n experiment was conducted t o de- l
termine t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s of t h e S.R.A. Reading Labora tory
a s compared wi th o t h e r i n s t r u c t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s used i n re-
medial reading c l a s s e s 2 f o r t e n t h grade p u p i l s a t H i l l s -
borough High School, Tampa, F l o r i d a , i n t h e school yea r
1957-58.
The S.R.A. Reading Labora tory i s a k i t of r ead ing
m a t e r i a l s designed t o h e l p p u p i l s improve i n r ead ing s k i l l s
by provid ing h igh ly i n t e r e s t i n g f a c t u a l prose s e l e c t i o n s of
va ry ing degress of d i f f i c u l t y .
Labora tory p l a n i s p r o v i s i o n f o r each p u p i l t o read sB-
l e c t i o n s of t h e r i g h t degree of d i f f i c u l t y f o r him.
b l e comprehension and word-study e x e r c i s e s fo l low each
r ead ing a c t i v i t y . P u p i l s check and e v a l u a t e t h e i r own
work and keep a graphic r eco rd of t h e i r p rogress i n i n d i -
v i d u a l s tuden t r eco rd books. Each p u p i l advances t o a
Essence of t h e Reading
S u i t a -
lThe S.R.A. Reading Laboratory i s a complete se t of m a t e r i a l s by Don H. Parker e t a l . (Chicago: Sc ience Research Assoc ia t e s , Inc., 1957).
111. ?A d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e s e c l a s s e s i s g iven i n Chapter
1
2 1 highe r r ead ing l e v e l when he i s ready.
Th i s s tudy was undertaken a f t e r t h e t e a c h e r involved
had a n oppor tun i ty t o examine t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory
and observe i t s use i n t h e Laboratory C l a s s i n Remedial
Reading a t t h e F l o r i d a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y School i n t h e
summer of 1957. These obse rva t ions i n r ega rd t o t h e S.R.A.
Reading Laboratory seemed noteworthy:
1. The m a t e r i a l s a r e a t t r a c t i v e , making good use of
c o l o r and p i c t u r e s .
2. A balanced program i s of fe red .
a ) Both long and s h o r t s e l e c t i o n s a r e o f f e r e d a t each
reading l e v e l .
b ) Improvement of r a t e i s encouraged i n both r ead ing
and s tudy time.
c ) A v a r i e t y of comprehension s k i l l s a r e emphasized
( inc lud ing see ing t h e main idea , implied meanings,
cause and e f f e c t r e l a t i o n s h i p s , important d e t a i l s ,
and o t h e r s ) .
d ) Vocabulary b u i l d i n g i s encouraged by word s tudy
e x e r c i s e s t h a t c a l l f o r use of contex t c l u e s and
by s tudy of antonyms and synonyms.
e ) Word a t t a c k s k i l l s a r e reviewed by ques t ions t h a t
r e q u i r e t h e p u p i l t o make use of phonet ic c l u e s ,
base words, p r e f i x e s , s u f f i x e s , i n f l e c t i o n a l
'A more complete d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory is given i n Chapter 11.
3
endings, s y l l a b i c a t i o n , and accent .
f ) Study s k i l l s a r e t augh t d i r e c t l y by v igorous pre-
s e n t a t i o n of t h e SQ3R method.
g) L i s t e n i n g s k i l l s a r e emphasized by a unique s e t
of s i x e x e r c i s e s c a l l e d L i s t e n i n g S k i l l Bui lders .
3. The p u p i l s responded w e l l t o t h e m a t e r i a l s a s pre-
sen ted , They seemed happy wi th t h e d i f f e r e n t i a t e d
assignments and were eage r t o show improvement on
t h e i r p rogress graphs.
The se l f -checking f e a t u r e s seemed h e l p f u l for two
reasons:
a ) Each pup i l seemed t o f e e l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r h i s
own progress .
b) The t e a c h e r was given more f ree time t o devote
4.
t o t hose who needed s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n .
Comparison of t h e s e obse rva t ions with t h e evalu-
a t i o n s t anda rds s e t by A l b e r t J. H a r r i s i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e
S.R.A. Reading Laboratory should be e f f e c t i v e i n s t r u c t i o n a l
ma te r i a l . H a r r i s s t a t e s :
There a r e . . . c e r t a i n gene ra l p r i n c i p l e s which should be incorpoxated i n t o any method of t each ing reading. While s p e c i f i c a p p l i c a t i o n s may and should d i f f e r ac- cord ing t o t h e circumstances, t h e s e p r i n c i p l e s a r e
'Don H. Parker e t a l . , S.R.A. Readinq Labora tory S tudent Record Book (Chicago: Sc ience Research Assoc ia t e s , Inc., 19571, pp. 2-3. Adapted from Study Types of Readinq Exerc i se s by P r o f e s s o r Ruth S t r a n g (New York: Bureau of Pub l i ca t ions , Teachers Col lege , Columbia Un ive r s i ty , 1951).
4
fundamentally important and provide a b a s i s f o r evalu- a t i n g t h e probable e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f any plan.
1. Reading m u s t be a n en joyable a c t i v i t y . . . . 2. Systematic t r a i n i n g must be g iven i n t h e mastery
of s p e c i f i c r ead ing s k i l l s . . . . 3. A good r ead ing program i s balanced and con ta ins
v a r i e d a c t i v i t i e s . . . . 4. Provis ion must be made f o r i n d i v i d u a l d i f f e r e n c e s .
5. S p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n must b i v e n t o p u p i l s whose . . . reading i s below normal. e g
I n s p i t e of t h e many good f e a t u r e s of t h e S.R.A.
Reading Laboratory, it seemed reasonable f o r any though t fu l
t e a c h e r us ing i € f o r t h e f i rs t t i m e t o have some doubts.
The t e a c h e r making t h e s e obse rva t ions was accustomed t o
us ing t h e Standard T e s t Lessons i n Reading2 and t h e P r a c t i c e
Readers a s sources of work-type comprehension e x e r c i s e s t o
b u i l d comprehension s k i l l s . The e d i t o r s of both t h e s e
p u b l i c a t i o n s emphasize t h e importance o f c l a s s d i s c u s s i o n
a f t e r each exerc ise . The p u p i l s us ing t h e S.R.A. Reading
Laboratory d i d not seem eage r t o d i s c u s s many of t h e i r m i s -
t akes . Did t h e y o r d i d they not understand why a c e r t a i n
response was not a s s a t i s f a c t o r y a s t h e one given i n t h e
key? Were most of t h e mistakes r e a l l y due t o c a r e l e s s n e s s
3
'Albert J. H a r r i s , How t o I n c r e a s e Readincl A b i l i t (New York: Longmans, Green and Co., Inc. , 1947), pp. 94-;5.
2William A. McCall and Lelah Mae Crabbs, S tandard T e s t Lessons i n Readinq (New York: Bureau of P u b l i c a t i o n s , Teachers Col lege , Columbia Un ive r s i ty , 1950), Books D and E and Teacher 's Manual.
(St. Louis: Webster Publ i sh ing Co., 1949), Book 4. 3Charles Grover and Evalyn Bayle, P r a c t i c e Readers
5
(and t h e r e f o r e not worth d i s c u s s i n g ) , or were t h e y due t o
more fundamental confusion? Was r e a l l e a r n i n g t a k i n g p l a c e
or were t h e p u p i l s merely doing so-ca l led "busy work"?
Were t h e word-study e x e r c i s e s s u f f i c i e n t t o do more t h a n
merely review? Would a cons ide rab le amount of i n i t i a l i n -
s t r u c t i o n be necessary be fo re t h e p u p i l s could d e r i v e r e a l
b e n e f i t from t h e word-study exe rc i se s? Was t h e p rogres s re-
corded on most of t h e graphs r e a l o r faked?
S ince t h i s t e a c h e r f e l t t h a t t h e advantages o u t -
weighed t h e d isadvantages , she recommended t h a t h e r school
purchase t h e S.R.A. Reading Labora tory because she f e l t
t h r e e features made it e s p e c i a l l y d e s i r a b l e f o r t h e r ead ing
c l a s s e s i n t h a t p a r t i c u l a r school.
1. Ind iv idua l i zed m a t e r i a l s were needed because t h e r e
i s a r a t h e r wide range of r ead ing a b i l i t i e s even
i n a remedial r ead ing c l a s s .
2. The c o l o r s for d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s of reading s k i l l
might a t t a c h l e s s stigma t h a n t h e grade l e v e l
s co res provided by m a t e r i a l s c u r r e n t l y i n use. 1
3. Proqress qraphs i n t h e S tuden t Record Books might
i n c r e a s e motivat ion.
The Reading Labora tory was purchased a s a supplement
t o o t h e r m a t e r i a l s and was not in tended as a replacement for
a l l of them by any means. As t h e Reading Laboratory was not
'McCall and Crabbs, OD. sit.. ,
6
a c t u a l l y a v a i l a b l e f o r use u n t i l t h e second semester of t h e
1957-58 school yea r , s t u d e n t s u s ing it t h i s p a r t i c u l a r yea r
had a n oppor tun i ty t o b e n e f i t from exper ience gained from
group use of t h e P r a c t i c e Readers and t h e Standard T e s t
Lessons i n Reading. As t h e t e a c h e r s t i l l had some doubts
a s t o t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s of t h e i n d i v i d u a l i z e d do-i t -yourself
approach a s compared wi th t h e group method, it seemed de-
s i r a b l e t o conduct t h i s study.
It i s expected t h a t t h e r e s u l t s w i l l be a p p l i e d i n
two p r a c t i c a l ways i n t h e p a r t i c u l a r s i t u a t i o n where t h e
s tudy was conducted:
1. To h e l p dec ide how much time :BiiouCi!d: be a l l o t t e d t o
t h e Reading Laboratory a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e r ead ing
c l a s s e s a t Hil lsborough High School du r ing t h e
school year 1958-59.
2. To h e l p dec ide whether t h e school should purchase
ano the r S.R.A. Reading Laboratory i n t h e coming yea r
i n o r d e r t h a t more c l a s s e s may have access t o t h i s
m a t e r i a l . It i s f u r t h e r hoped t h a t t h e f i n d i n g s of t h i s s tudy
may be of some va lue t o t h o s e who a r e r e spons ib l e f o r t h e
s e l e c t i o n of m a t e r i a l s t o be used i n reading c l a s s e s i n
o t h e r high schools.
CHAPTER I1
THE S.R.A. READING IABORATORY
The set of m a t e r i a l s known a s t h e S.R.A. Reading
Laboratory was prepared by Don H. Parker (Reading Con-
s u l t a n t , t h e Northern Westchester County Schools, New York)
and o t h e r s and i s publ i shed by Sc ience Research Assoc ia t e s ,
Incorpora ted , 57 West Grand Avenue, Chicago, I l l i n o i s
(Copyright , 1957). The au tho r s t a t e s t h a t t h e S.R.A.
Reading Labora tory was b u i l t on t h e s e p r i n c i p l e s :
1. Nearly every secondary school s tuden t can improve
2.
3. I n t h e t y p i c a l secondary school c l a s s , read ing
4.
5. To be f u l l y e f f e c t i v e , a program i n reading i m -
h i s p r e s e n t r ead ing performance both i n r a t e and comprehension. L i t t l e improvement t a k e s p l ace when s t u d e n t s a r e reading i n m a t e r i a l s t h a t a r e e i t h e r t o o t o o easy f o r them.
a b i l i t i e s range a c r o s s s i x , e i g h t , o r , even t e n grade l e v e l s . Each s tuden t needs t h e oppor tun i ty t o advance i n reading s k i l l s a s fast and a s far a s his l e a r n i n g r a t e and l e a r n i n g c a p a c i t y permit.
provement must provide any secondary school c l a s s wi th a f u l l range of r ead ing m a t e r i a l s covering many grade l e v e l s . 1
The experimental background s t a t e d i n t h e manual i s
hard o r
worth not ing:
'Don H. Parker e t a l . , S.R.A. Readinq Labora tor Teacher 's Handbook (Chicago: Sc ience Research Assoc ia tEs , Inc., 1957), p. 1.
7
8
The S.R.A. Reading Laboratory method grew out of s i x y e a r s of p re l imina ry work by t h e a u t h o r i n F l o r i d a , North Caro l ina , and Westchester County, New York. Druing t h i s time s e v e r a l thousand s t u d e n t s were t r a i n e d wi th mul t i - l eve l ma te r i a l s . I n a c a r e f u l l y c o n t r o l l e d ex- periment i n v o l v i n g 456 seventh grade s tuden t s i n C h a r l o t t e , N. C., t h e group us ing mul t i - l eve l m a t e r i a l s showed a 64% g r e a t e r g a i n than a matched group us ing one- leve l m a t e r i a l s .
s ea rch f i n d i n g s a c r o s s t h e n a t i o n , d i sc losed t h e follow- i n g c o n d i t i o n s a s most conducive t o t h e success of a reading development program:
pendent r ead ing and be allowed t o master t h e s k i l l s o f t h a t l e v e l a t h i s own r a t e . A sequence of m a t e r i a l s must be provided of g r a d u a l l y i n c r e a s i n g d i f f i c u l t y so t h a t t h e s tuden t can seek and a t t a i n p r o g r e s s i v e l y h ighe r reading l e v e l s . C h a r t s and graphs f o r r eco rd ing progress have h igh mot iva t iona l va lue and permit t h e s t u d e n t t o compete wi th h i s own reco rd r a t h e r t h a n wi th o t h e r s t u d e n t s .
4. Procedures t h a t a r e l a r g e l y s e l f - a d m i n i s t r a t i v e g i v e t h e s tuden t a f e e l i n g of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r h i s own progress .
5. S e l f - c o r r e c t i o n of mis takes immediately a f t e r t h e y a r e made and de tec ted- the "feedback process"-guides t h e s t u d e n t ' s f u r t h e r e f f o r t s t o improve t h e reading-thinking process .
6. M a t e r i a l s v a r i e d i n con ten t a r e necessary f o r growth i n f l e x i b i l i t y of r a t e , i n comprehension, 1 and i n vocabulary power.
The pre l iminary experimental work supported by re-
1. The s t u d e n t must s t a r t "where he i s" i n inde-
2.
3.
The S.R.A. Reading Laboratory i s a c t u a l l y a n a t -
t r a c t i v e gold and white box con ta in ing reading e x e r c i s e s on
s e p a r a t e ca rds and f o l d e r s so t h a t each r e a d e r may have a n
assignment s u i t e d t o h i s r ead ing level. The d i f f i c u l t y of
t h e s e l e c t i o n s ranges from approximately t h i r d grade t o
t w e l f t h grade and i s i n d i c a t e d by c o l o r r a t h e r t han by grade
number. The manual s t a t e s t h a t :
'Ibid. -
9
I n s o f a r a s p o s s i b l e t h e level of d i f f i c u l t y of t h e . . . s e l e c t i o n s , . . has been determined by t h e use of t h e U r g e R e a d a b i l i t y Formula and t h e Dale-Cha11 Formula. These mechanical eva lua t ions have been f u r t h e r r e f i n e d by a c t u a l classroom t e s t i n g of t h e ma te r i a l s .
The grade l e v e l s i n t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory a r e i n d i c a t e d on ly by co lor . The c o l o r equ iva len t s a r e a s fo l lows:
Orange Grade 3 Red Grade 8 Ol ive 4 Tan 9 B l u e 5 Gold 10 Brown 6 Aqua Green 7 Purp le '111
Teachers us ing t h e manual a r e not advised t o t e l l
t h e s tuden t exac t ly what t h e c o l o r s mean.
The a u t h o r has found it n e i t h e r necessary nor de- s i r a b l e t o t e l l s t u d e n t s t h a t a c e r t a i n c o l o r r e p r e - s en ted a c e r t a i n grade l e v e l . S tuden t s a r e s a t i s f i e d t o l e a r n t h a t t h e range of c o l o r s r e p r e s e n t s a range of d i f f i c u l t y l e v e l s ( t h a t Oranqe i s t h e lowest and Purp le t h e h i g h e s t , w i th v a r i o u s c o l o r s t e p s i n between). Few ques t ion beyond t h i s . It may,be t r u t h f u l l y s t a t e d t h a t a s tuden t reading wi th p e r f e c t comprehension a t t h e Purp le l e v e l would be doing cons iderably b e t t e r t h a n t h e average c o l l e g e freshman.*
S ince two types of f a c t u a l prose s e l e c t i o n s (Power
Bu i lde r s and Rate Bu i lde r s ) a r e o f f e r e d and s i n c e t h e r e a r e
f i f t e e n s e l e c t i o n s of each c o l o r f o r each of t h e two types
of e x e r c i s e s , any given pup i l has a v a i l a b l e a t o t a l of
t h i r t y e x e r c i s e s f o r h i s c o l o r l e v e l . Normally, however,
t h e p u p i l i s not expected t o r ead a l l t h i r t y s e l e c t i o n s be-
cause p rov i s ion i s made f o r advancing him t o t h e nex t c o l o r
whenever h i s s co res i n d i c a t e t h a t he i s ready f o r more
d i f f i c u l t r ead ing matter .
l l b i d - 0 , P - 8.
2=., p. 47.
10
The m a t e r i a l s comprising t h e S.R.A. Reading Labo-
r a t o r y may be d iv ided i n t o s i x ca t egor i e s :
Bu i lde r s , (2) Rate Bu i lde r s , (3) S t a r t i n g Level Guide, (4)
Student Record Books, ( 5 ) Teacher 's Handbook, and (6)
L i s t e n i n g S k i l l Bui lders .
(1) Power
1. Power Builders , t h e longe r type s e l e c t i o n s , a r e
i n t h e form of four-page f o l d e r s , each beginning wi th a
b r i g h t l y co lored p i c t u r e and an m e s t i n g t i t l e .
vary from approximately 500 t o 800 words i n l e n g t h and a r e
followed by two sets of ques t ions t o be answered.
S e l e c t i o n s
The f i r s t s e c t i o n , e n t i t l e d "How Well Did YOU
Read?", c o n s i s t s of f i v e t o t e n comprehension ques t ions
which seek t o l e a d t h e s tuden t t o a b e t t e r understanding of
what he has read. The r e a d e r i s asked to : (1) n o t i c e
i d e a s d i r e c t l y s t a t e d ; (2) see i d e a s implied b u t n o t d i -
r e c t l y s t a t e d ; ( 3 ) no te t h e sequence of events ; (4) see t h e
au tho r ' s purpose; (5) be a l e r t f o r s i g n s of t h e a u t h o r ' s
b i a s ; (6) eva lua te t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e of what i s r ead
(Question: What d i f f e r e n c e does t h i s make?); and (7) form
a n opin ion on t h e b a s i s of what i s expressed i n t h e r ead ing
s e l e c t i o n (Question: What do you th ink?) .
A t t h e e a s i e s t l e v e l (Oranqe) t h e ques t ions a r e
g e n e r a l l y of t ypes (1) and (2), and t h e answers a r e f a i r l y
obvious. As t h e s t u d e n t advances t o t h e h ighe r l e v e l s , he
i s given ques t ions of g r e a t e r v a r i e t y , demanding a n i n -
c reased amount of discernment.
11
The second s e c t i o n of ques t ions e n t i t l e d "Learn
About Words", p rovides twenty t o t h i r t y - t h r e e i tems which
e x p l a i n and a t t h e same time provide p r a c t i c e i n word
a t t a c k s k i l l s . A t t h e Oranqe l e v e l t h e e x e r c i s e s d e a l wi th
(1) hea r ing vowel and consonant sounds i n f a m i l i a r words;
(2) h e a r i n g consonant blends;' and (3) see ing t h e p a r t s of
compound words. A t p r o g r e s s i v e l y h ighe r l e v e l s t h e s tuden t
becomes acquainted wi th (4) t h e terms and d i a c r i t i c a l marks
f o r long and s h o r t vowels; ( 5 ) synonyms ( s e l e c t i n g synonyms
f o r words i n con tex t and s e l e c t i n g groups of synonyms
omi t t i ng one o r more words t h a t do not have s i m i l a r
meanings); s y l l a b i c a t i o n ; (7) antonyms; (8) words with
m u l t i p l e meanings; (9) diphthongs; (10) i n f l e c t i o n a l
endings; (11) t h e use of contex t c l u e s a s a n a i d t o t h e
r e c o g n i t i o n of meaning; (12) t h e meanings of s u f f i x e s ; (13)
t h e meanings of p r e f i x e s ; and (16) meanings of c e r t a i n
L a t i n roots .
A s t h e s t u d e n t s use t h e Power Bu i lde r s , t h e y a r e
t augh t t h e SQ3R method of s tudy which w i l l be expla ined on
page 14 i n connect ion wi th t h e S tuden t Record Books.
The s t u d e n t s time themselves a s t hey use t h e Power
Bu i lde r s , making no te of a c t u a l r ead ing t i m e a s d i f f e r e n t
from s tudy t i m e ( t ime f o r answering ques t ions ) . They check
I n s t e a d lThe term "consonant blends" i s not used. t h e a u t h o r s c a l l a t t e n t i o n t o ' 'consonants t h a t come to - g e t h e r and have t h e same sound i n each wordn. Power B u i l d e r . Oranqe No. 1.
12
t h e i r work with keys provided on s e p a r a t e cards. Each time
they f i n d an e r r o r t h e y a r e i n s t r u c t e d n o t on ly t o makr it
but t o w r i t e i n t h e c o r r e c t answer. Cor rec tness and nea t -
ness a r e emphasized. Scores i n comprehension, word a t t a c k ,
reading t ime, and s tudy t ime a r e recorded s e p a r a t e l y on t h e
graphs i n t h e S tudent Record Book.
2. R a t e Bu i lde r s , a s t h e name impl i e s , emphasize
speed of r ead ing on s h o r t s e l e c t i o n s . Each Ra te Bui lder
c o n s i s t s of two paragraphs followed by comprehension
ques t ions of t h e mul t ip le -choice type. The s t u d e n t i s a l -
lowed t h r e e minutes f o r reading and answering ques t ions .
He checks h i s answers by a key, w r i t e s i n any needed cor-
r e c t i o n s , and records h i s comprehension sco re on a graph.
Rate Bu i lde r s i n c r e a s e i n l e n g t h from about 100 words
(Orange) t o over 200. The d i f f i c u l t y of vocabulary, sentence
s t r u c t u r e , s u b j e c t matter, and comprehension ques t ions l i k e -
wise i n c r e a s e s . The f i v e comprehension ques t ions a t t h e
lowest l e v e l a r e g r a d u a l l y inc reased t o t e n a t t h e h ighe r
l e v e l s .
3. S t a r t i n q Level Guide, a one four-page f o l d e r , i s
provided f o r each s tudent . Page 1 of t h e guide, t o be
f i l l e d o u t by t h e s tuden t a t t h e s t a r t of t h e course, asks
f o r personal d a t a such a s name, age , and i n t e s e s t s and a l s o
a s k s ques t ions designed t o h e l p t h e s tuden t se t h i s own
goa l s by s t a t i n g ways i n which he would l i k e t o improve h i s
reading.
Pages 2 and 3 of t h e guide c o n s i s t of two r ead ing
t e s t s s i m i l a r t o t h e Rate Bui lders . Tes t A i s f a i r l y easy
while Tes t B i s cons iderably more advanced. Time allowed
f o r each t e s t i s t h r e e minutes. Combined sco res on t h e
t e s t s a r e converted t o a c o l o r l e v e l by means of a t a b l e i n -
cluded i n t h e Teacher 's Handbook. T h i s i s t h e s t a r t i n g
c o l o r l e v e l recommended f o r t h e s tuden t . The a u t h o r s adv i se
t h a t t h e S t a r t i n g Level Guide i s not t o be regarded a s a
s tandard ized achievement t e s t . It merely s e r v e s a s a quick
means of p l ac ing p u p i l s a t t h e s t a r t of t h e program. It i s
expected t h a t it w i l l soon be apparent t h a t some p u p i l s w i l l
need t o be moved t o a s l i g h t l y h ighe r or lower co lo r level.
The l a s t page of t h e guide provides a p l ace f o r each
pup i l t o g i v e a f i n a l e v a l u a t i o n of t h e program.
4. T h e S.R.A. Readinq Laboratory S t u d e n t Record
- Book con ta ins every th ing which i s used i n common by s t u d e n t s
using t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory.
purchased separately.) '
name, school , grade, and t eache r ' s name. He a l s o keeps a
record of e x e r c i s e s completed by darkening a p p r o p r i a t e
r e c t a n g l e s on t h e Power Bui lder and Ra te Bui lder Char t s .
Th i s i s important because it enables anyone t o s e e a t a
glance what e x e r c i s e s he has not y e t attempted. The g r e a t e r
p a r t o f t h e record book i s used f o r t h e necessary r eco rd
(The record books a r e
On t h e cover t h e s tuden t writes h i s
'48$ each, f.0.b. Chicago, I l l i n o i s .
14
blanks, p rogress c h a r t s , comprehension checks f o r L i s t e n i n g
S k i l l Bui lders , and conversion t a b l e f o r determining per-
centage sco res ; b u t t h e r e a r e a few o t h e r s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s .
To encourage more purposeful reading a t t h e v e r y
s t a r t of t h e program, t h e s 9 3 R method i s introduced on pages
2-3 of t h e record book. SQ3R s t a n d s f o r f i v e s t eps :
Survey, ( 2 ) Quest ion, (3) Read, , (4) Review, and ( 5 ) Rec i t e .
(1)
Page 3 i s designed t o be e s p e c i a l l y h e l p f u l i n
t each ing S t e p 1, $ u m e y . P i c t u r e s of two d i f f e r e n t pages
from a Power Bui lder a r e accompanied by numbered l i n e s t h a t
show where t h e r e a d e r should look a s he makes h i s quick pre-
l imina ry sunrey. The f i r s t l i n e c a l l s h i s a t t e n t i o n t o t h e
p i c t u r e ; t h e o t h e r s p o i n t t o t h e t i t l e , t h e f i r s t sen tence ,
t h e l a s t paragraph, and then t o words or phrases a t t h e be-
ginning of s e v e r a l o t h e r paragraphs i n between. The a u t h o r
s t a t e s :
Taking t h i s s t e p w i l l r e q u i r e no more t h a n a minute. It i s worth every second i t takes! The survey n o t on ly g e t s you i n t e r e s t e d , b u t it b u i l d s up your power t o concen t r a t e . . . [ b y ) . . . br ing ing t o mind what you a l r e a d know about t h e s u b j e c t . . . and) p u t t i n g t o -
shows t o be i n t h e s e l e c t i o n . 1 d w h a t you a l r e a d y know wi th wha t your f i r s t glance
S t e p 2, Ques t ion , c o n s i s t s of a sk ing ques t ions t h a t
come t o mind dur ing t h e survey. Th i s t a k e s no more time
than h a l f a minute b u t g ives a purpose for reading.
S t e p 3, Read, i s the a c t u a l r ead ing t o f i n d t h e
15
answer t o ques t ions formulated menta l ly du r ing S t e p 2. The
s tuden t i s urged t o a d j u s t h i s r ead ing r a t e accord ing t o t h e
d i f f i c u l t y of t h e ma te r i a l .
S t e p 4, Review, w i l l involve skimming t o check on
d e t a i l s o r i d e a s t h a t a r e necessary i n answering t h e com-
prehension ques t ions t h a t fo l low each reading exerc ise .
S t e p 5, R e c i t e , i s what a c t u a l l y happens when t h e
r e a d e r answers t h e comprehension ques t ions .
t a t i o n involves " t h e k inds of t h i n k i n g necessary i n good
reading."l
C o r r e c t r e c i -
Even though t h e s 9 3 R program can be e f f e c t i v e l y
demonstrated by t h e t e a c h e r us ing a r e a l Power Bu i lde r i n
h e r hand, t h e pages i n t h e record book enable t h e s t u d e n t t o
read t h e p l an for himself when it i s presented by t h e teacher.
These pages a r e a l s o handy a s a r e f e r e n c e and reminder.
A f t e r t h e s t u d e n t has had cons ide rab le p r a c t i c e
using t h e SQ3R method with t h e Power Bui lders , t h e Day-by-
Day Schedule c a l l s f o r d i r e c t t each ing of how t o "Use t h e
SQ3R Method i n Studying Your Textbook."* The r eco rd book
devotes two pages t o h e l p f u l adv ice on t h i s t op ic .
Another important i t em i n t h e r eco rd book i s t h e
Power Bui lder S t a r t e r S e l e c t i o n , pages 4-6. This i s used
by a l l s t u d e n t s when t h e t e a c h e r i n t roduces them t o Power
Bui lders f o r t h e f i r s t time. It i s a p p r o p r i a t e t h a t t h i s
' Ibid -*
21bid - 0 * pp. 46-47.
16
s e l e c t i o n be t h e same f o r a l l s t u d e n t s s o t h a t ques t ions
t h a t a r i s e may be answered f o r t h e b e n e f i t of a l l t h e c l a s s .
5. The S.R.A. Readinq Laboratory Teacher 's Handbook
exp la ins every p a r t o f t h e program, even inc lud ing e x a c t l y
what t o say i n i n t roduc ing each new a c t i v i t y .
6. The S i x L i s t e n i n q S k i l l Bu i lde r s , though p r i n t e d
i n t h e Teacher 's Handbook, a r e r e a l l y a unique f e a t u r e of
t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory method.
about 600 words i s t o be read a loud t o t h e c l a s s by t h e
teacher . A f t e r hea r ing t h e reading , t h e p u p i l s answer
comprehension ques t ions p r i n t e d i n t h e i r s tuden t record
books. Answers a r e d i scussed and checked when everyone has
f i n i s h e d . The f i r s t t h r e e L i s t e n i n g S k i l l Bui lders c a l l t h e
s t u d e n t ' s a t t e n t i o n t o t h e importance of good l i s t e n i n g
h a b i t s . One s e l e c t i o n s t r e s s e s a l i s t e n i n g method c a l l e d
TQm (Tune i n , Ques t ion , L i s t e n , Review). The l a s t t h r e e
L i s t e n i n g S k i l l Bu i lde r s d e a l with miscel laneous t o p i c s , b u t
a l l r e q u i r e thought fu l l i s t e n i n g .
Each s e l e c t i o n of
CHAPTER I11
THE READING PROGRAM INVOLVED I N THIS STUDY
For many y e a r s a reading course has been o f f e r e d a s
an e l e c t i v e a t Hil lsborough High School, Tampa, F lo r ida .
This course i s designed f o r t e n t h grade s t u d e n t s who have
approximately normal i n t e l l i g e n c e b u t a r e not reading up t o
t h e i r grade l e v e l . The primary purpose of t h e course i s t o
t each any reading s k i l l s t h a t a r e needed t o b r i n g t h e
s tuden t up t o h i s es t imated reading grade expectancy by t h e
end of t h e school yea r i n o r d e r t h a t he may be b e t t e r a b l e
t o b e n e f i t from reading assignments i n a l l h i s c l a s s e s .
The t e a c h e r of t h e course endeavors i n many ways t o encourage
wide reading and t o h e l p t h e s t u d e n t s improve t h e i r reading
t a s t e s , b u t t h e s e can ha rd ly be s a i d t o be t h e main purposes
of t h e course.
S tudents a r e secommended f o r t h i s course on t h e
b a s i s of s co res on s tandard ized t e s t s adminis te red t o n i n t h
grade pup i l s .
and a t o t a l reading sco re2 of 8.5 o r less, he is u s u a l l y
If a s t u d e n t shows a n 1.Q.l o f 88 or b e t t e r
'Cal i fornia Short-Form Test .of Mental Ma tu r i tv (Los Anqeles; C a l i f o r n i a Test Bureau, 1950).
2Cal i forn ia Readinq T e s t (Los Angeles: C a l i f o r n i a T e s t Bureau, 1933-50).
17
18 3
recommended f o r t h e r ead ing course. However, because i t
has long been r e a l i z e d t h a t t e s t s c o r e s a r e not i n f a l l i b l e
and t h a t t e s t s co res a lone cannot g ive a complete p i c t u r e
of t h e s t u d e n t , t h e l i s t of recomnended s t u d e n t s i s d i s -
cussed wi th t h e n i n t h grade Engl i sh t e a c h e r s be fo re f i n a l
recommendations a r e made. These t e a c h e r s u s u a l l y sugges t
t h e a d d i t i o n of some names and removal of o t h e r s because
pe r sona l knowledge l e a d s them t o b e l i e v e t h e t e s t s c o r e s
may not be g iv ing t h e t r u e p i c t u r e .
mended f o r t h e r ead ing cour se i q t e n t h grade a r e n o t i f i e d
s e v e r a l weeks before t h e day of r e g i s t r a t i o n . T h i s a l lows
t ime for them t o d i s c u s s t h e ma t t e r wi th p a r e n t s and o t h e r s
and e l e c t t h e course i f t h e y so d e s i r e .
S tuden t s who a r e recom-
Varied materials a r e used i n t h e course. I n r e c e n t
years t h e y have included: Basic Readinq S k i l l s f o r Hiqh
- Use by Gray, Horsman, and Monroe; Word At tack by Rober t s ; 2 3
'Students who s c o r e low on t h e C a l i f o r n i a Reading Test i n January o c c a s i o n a l l y sco re much h ighe r on t h e Iowa:. S i l e n t Reading Test given t h e fo l lowing September. However, by t h e time t h e s tuden t ' s second r ead ing sco re i s known, it i s t o o l a t e f o r him t o change h i s schedule. Such s t u d e n t s u s u a l l y f i n d t h e course of va lue t o them, too, even though they would not have been recommended f o r t h e course o r i g i - n a l l y i f a l l t h e f a c t s had been known e a r l i e r . S t u d e n t s numbered 14a, 3b, 3c, lOc, 5d, and 20d i n Table 5 a r e ex- amples o f t h i s .
%ar i an Monroe, Gwen Horsman, and William S . Gray, Basic Readinq S k i l l s f o r Hiqh School Use (Chicago: S c o t t , Foresman and Co., 1948).
3Clyde Rober t s , Word At tack (New York: Harcourt , Brace and Co., 1956).
19
P r a c t i c e Readers' by Grover and Bayle; Reader's Diqes t
Readinq S k i l l Bui lders2; Standard Tes t Lessons i n Reading
by McCall and Crabbs; and Adventures With Words4 by
B e l l a f i o r e .
3
Most of t h e time t h e s e books a r e used t o f u r n i s h
common readings f o r t h e e n t i r e r ead ing c l a s s , I n d i v i d u a l
d i f f e r e n c e s a r e t aken i n t o account t o some e x t e n t by pro-
v i d i n g o p t i o n a l "ex t ra c r e d i t " ass ignments o r r e sea rch ac-
t i v i t i e s from t ime t o time. However, when most assignments
a r e made f o r t h e e n t i r e c l a s s , t h e r e a r e always some who
seem t o f i n d t h e a c t i v i t i e s q u i t e e a s y while o t h e r s have
great d i f f i c u l t y completing t h e minimum amount o f reading.
Encouragement of f r e e reading i s a v e r y important
p a r t of t h e program.
with books t h a t appea l t o teen-agers .
t o complete a t l e a s t one book every two weeks. For each
book he writes a b r i e f comment of two or t h r e e sen tences i n
h i s r ead ing record. F u r t h e r r e p o r t i n g i s given i n
The c l a s s l i b r a r y i s well supp l i ed
Each s tuden t i s urged
k h a r l e s Grover and Evalyn Bayle, P r a c t i c e Readers Book 4 ( S t . Louis: Webster Publ i sh ing Co., 1949).
%eades's Diqes t S k i l l Bui lder . Book Six. P a r t s One and Two (1 a t i o n , Inc., 1952).
3William A. McCall and L&lah Mae Crabbs, S tandard T e s t Lessons i n Readinq. Books D and E (New York: Bureau of P u b l i c a t i o n s , Teachers Col lege, Columbia Un ive r s i ty , 1950).
'Joseph B e l l a f i o r e , Adventures With Words. Book I (New York: Amsco School P u b l i c a t i o n s , Inc. , 1945).
20
conferences with t h e teacher .
Pup i l s have always responded well t o t h e course.
Records f o r a l l previous y e a r s a r e n o t a v a i l a b l e , b u t
teachers ' who have conducted t h e course f e e l i t i s t r u t h f u l
t o s t a t e tha t t h e average reading improvement shown has
always been 2.0 grade l e v e l s o r b e t t e r .
'MI'S. Helen F. Schroeder, Mrs. Bessie Ruth McAbee, Mrs. E l l e n e Walker, Mrs. Mary C . Roughton, and Mrs. Margaret G. Peeler .
CHAPTER IV
THE DESIGN OF THE EXPERIMENT
AND COMPARISON OF THE TWO GROUPS
The gene ra l p l a n of t h i s experiment was t o compare
t h e reading progress of p u p i l s us ing t h e S.R.A. Reading
Laboratory with t h e r ead ing progress of p u p i l s us ing o t h e r
i n s t r u c t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s . Th i s was t o be done by ( 1 ) us ing
groups of p u p i l s a s n e a r l y equal a s p o s s i b l e i n grade place-
ment, chronologica l age, mental a b i l i t y , and need f o r i m -
provement i n r ead ing a b i l i t y ; (2) keeping t h e i n s t r u c t i o n a l
program t h e same f o r bo th groups except f o r us ing t h e S.R.A.
Reading Laboratory i n one and not i n t h e o t h e r ; and (3)
measuring r ead ing progress with equ iva len t forms of a
s t anda rd ized reading t e s t adminis te red a t t h e beginning and
end of t h e course.
P u p i l s t a k i n g p a r t i n t h i s s tudy were e n r o l l e d i n
r ead ing c l a s s e s a t Hil lsborough High School, Tampa, F lo r ida .
The experimental group, t o be r e f e r r e d t o throughout t h i s
s tudy a s Group A, cons i s t ed of twenty-one p u p i l s i n one
s e c t i o n ; t h e c o n t r o l group, t o be r e f e r r e d t o throughout
t h i s s tudy a s Group B, cons i s t ed of f i f t y - s i x p u p i l s
t h r e e o t h e r s e c t i o n s t a u g h t by t h e same teacher .
21
i n t h e
22
Both groups pursued s i m i l a r a c t i v i t i e s under t h e
guidance of t h e same t e a c h e r us ing t h e same i n s t r u c t i o n a l
m a t e r i a l s , f o r t h e pe r iod beginning September 3, 1957, and
ending A p r i l 7, 1958. (This program is explained i n d e t a i l
i n Chapter V).
S.R.A. Reading Laboratory and fol lowed t h e procedure sug-
ges ted by t h e ed i to r s ' f o r a pe r iod of approximately f i v e
weeks.2
signments i n t h e books both c l a s s e s had been us ing all
year.
On A p r i l 8, 1958 Group A began us ing t h e
Meanwhile Group B continued wi th a d d i t i o n a l a s -
3
The Advanced Test: Form Am {Revised) of t h e Iowa S i l e n t Aeadinq T e s t s (New E d i t i ~ n ) ~ was admin i s t e red on
September 9 and 10, 1957, and Form Bm of t h e same t e s t was
adminis te red on May 20 and 21, 1958. Reading progress was
measured by comparisons of t h e sco res on t h e two tests. 5
All s t u d e n t s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h i s s tudy were
e n t e r i n g t h e t e n t h grade f o r t h e f i r s t time.
da ta on each i n d i v i d u a l s t u d e n t w i t h i n t h e des igna ted
P e r t i n e n t
lDon H. P a r k e r , e t a l . , S.R.A. Readinq Labora tory Teacher 's Handbook (Chicago: Inc., 1957).
Science Research Assoc ia t e s ,
2Twenty-five c l a s s pe r iods were used.
3Complete procedure i s inc luded i n Chapter V.
4H. A. Greene, A. N. Jorgenson, and V. H. Kel ley, Iowa S i l e n t Readinq T e s t s (New Ed.) (Yonkers-on-Hudson, N. Y.: World Book Co., 1943).
%or R e s u l t s , s ee Chapter V I .
groups w i l l be found i n Table 5 i n t h e Appendix.
i n g comparisons of t h e two groups a r e based on informat ion
given i n t h a t t a b l e .
The follow-
The average age of t h e s t u d e n t s i n each group was
f i f t e e n yea r s , f o u r months.
The average 1.9. of Group A was 95. I n Group B, t h e
average I.Q. f o r S e c t i o n (I) was 93; f o r Sec t ion (11) it was
95; and f o r S e c t i o n (111), 99. The average I.Q. f o r a l l
Group B was 96.
i n January, 1957, us ing t h e C a l i f o r n i a T e s t of Mental Ma-
t u r i t y , S-Form.
These I.Q. scores were obtained by t e s t i n g
The average r ead ing l e v e l was determined by computing
t h e a r i t h m e t i c mean of t h e i n d i v i d u a l median s t anda rd sco res
on t h e Iowa S i l e n t Reading T e s t (Form Am).
t h e n converted i n t o a grade equ iva len t us ing t h e t a b l e pro-
vided i n t h e manual of d i r e c t i o n s .
Th i s mean was
1
The average r ead ing l e v e l f o r Group A was found t o
be 7.6 ( seventh grade, s i x t h month). I n Group B , S e c t i o n
(I) had an average reading level of 7.6; S e c t i o n (11) and
S e c t i o n (111) each had a n average l e v e l of 8.2. The average
reading l e v e l f o r t h e whole of Group B was 7.9.
I n both groups a wide range of d i f f e r e n c e s was
evident . Reading grade equ iva len t s i n Group A v a r i e d from
'H. A. Greene, A. N. Jorgenson, and V. H. Kel ley , Iowa S i l e n t Readinq Tests, (New Ed.), Advanced Test: Manual of D i r e c t i o n s f o r Forms Am (Revised) . Brn (Revised) , Cm, and - Dm [Yonkers-on-Hudson, N. Y.: World Book Co., 1943) p. 16, Table 19.
24
a l o w o f 5.2 t o a high of 10.6.
5.9 t o 10.9.
I n Group B t hey v a r i e d from
The s i m i l a r i t i e s o f t h e groups a r e summarized i n t h e
fo l lowing t a b l e .
Number
i n t h e Placement l o g i c a l 1.4. of Average
Group P u p i l s Grade Chrono- Averaje
Group age
A 21 10.0 15-4 95
B (1) 18 10.0 15-4 93
B (11) 18 10.0 15-4 95
B (111) 20 10.0 15-4 99
Average Reading
Level (Grade Equiva-
l e n t l b
7.6
7.6
8.2
8.2
CHAPTER V
PROCEDURES
A l l p u p i l s i n both Group A and Group B rece ived t h e
same program of i n s t r u c t i o n from September 2, 1957, u n t i l
A p r i l 8, 1958. Much t ime t h e f i r s t f e w weeks was devoted
t o s e l e c t i n g and reading books from t h e c l a s s l i b r a r y . The
t e a c h e r in t roduced d i c t i o n a r y work, making use of t h e many
e x e r c i s e s and sugges t ions found i n Word Attack (Teacher 's
E d i t i o n ) by Clyde Roberts . As soon a s t h e s t u d e n t s were
ready (on about t h e f o u r t h day), t h e y were asked t o b r i n g
i n a "vocabulary s l i p " each day. This wds a s l i p of paper
( u s u a l l y 3" x 86') on which t h e s tuden t was t o write a word
he had met i n h i s reading , some word t h a t he d i d n o t recog-
n i z e o r f u l l y understand. He was t o copy t h e sen tence or a
p o r t i o n of t h e sen tence i n which t h e word appeared. Below
t h e sen tence he was t o w r i t e t h e puzz l ing word and i t s
meaning i n context . These word s l i p s were checked by t h e
t e a c h e r dur ing t h e f r e e reading t ime each day. The t e a c h e r
kept a t a l l y of t h e number o f c o r r e c t vocabulary s l i p s
tu rned i n by each pupi l . E r r o r s were d iscussed wi th
s t u d e n t s who then made t h e necessary c o r r e c t i o n s .
when some s k i l l had been developed i n t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of
L a t e r ,
25
26
d i a c r i t i c a l marks, each s tuden t was asked t o answer t h e roll
c a l l by pronouncing h i s word f o r t h e day c o r r e c t l y .
s tuden t k e p t a l i s t of h i s vocabulary words and t h e i r
meanings and was urged t o master them, a l though o c c a s i o n a l l y
it was necessary t o p o i n t ou t t h a t c e r t a i n words s e l e c t e d
were l i k e l y t o have v e r y l i m i t e d use. This a c t i v i t y was
continued throughout t h e f i r s t semester.
Each
Meanwhile, t h e t e a c h e r used e x e r c i s e s from both
At tack and Basic Readinq S k i l l s f o r High School U s e by Gray,
Horsman, and Monroe t o t each t h e sounds of t h e consonants,
t h e vowel sounds, and t h e d i a c r i t i c a l marks used i n t h e
school d i c t iona r i e s ' , a few c l u e s t o s y l l a b i c a t i o n , and t h e
meaning of accen t marks.
About t h e f o u r t h week, t h e s t u d e n t s began us ing Book - 4 of t h e P r a c t i c e Readers. Each e x e r c i s e c o n s i s t s of one
page of reading m a t e r i a l (about 200 words) and one page,
oppos i t e it, devoted t o s i x comprehension ques t ions r e -
q u i r i n g v e r y s h o r t answers ( u s u a l l y s i n g l e l e t t e r s or words).
The s tuden t i s allowed f i v e minutes f o r reading and answer-
i n g t h e ques t ions .
Much time was devoted t o in t roduc ing and, l a t e r ,
d i s c u s s i n g each of t h e f i r s t exe rc i se s . S tudents were en-
couraged t o n o t i c e which one of t h e s i x comprehension
'Webster's S tuden t ' s D ic t iona ry , prepared by t h e e d i t o r i a l s t a f f of G. & C. Merriam Co., William A l l e n Neilson, ed.-in-chief (New York: American Book Co., 1950)
27
ques t ions gave him t h e most d i f f i c u l t y and t o ask s p e c i a l
h e l p when he r e a l i z e d h i s p a r t i c u l a r weakness.
Reader e x e r c i s e s lend themselves t o t h i s because t h e f i r s t
ques t ion always a s k s f o r a conclus ion t h a t i s implied b u t
not d i r e c t l y s t a t e d , t h e second a s k s f o r t h e main idea of
t h e s e l e c t i o n , t h e t h i r d and f i f t h check on reading for
d e t a i l s , t h e f o u r t h checks on understanding of t h e reference
of pronouns, and t h e s i x t h emphasizes word meaning. During
t h e course t h i r t y - s i x e x e r c i s e s from t h e P r a c t i c e Readers
were used. D i f f i c u l t words from t h e e x e r c i s e s were r e -
corded wi th t h e i r meanings i n a vocabulary l i s t which p u p i l s
were expected t o master.
The P r a c t i c e
The p u p i l s a l s o r ead most of t h e a r t i c l e s from t h e
Reader 's D iqes t Readinq S k i l l Bui lder , Book 6 . P a r t Two.
They found t h e s e h igh ly i n t e r e s t i n g and t h e ques t ions less
d i f f i c u l t t han those i n t h e P r a c t i c e Readers. Occas iona l ly
p u p i l s t imed. themselves a s t hey read and computed t h e i r
reading rate i n words p e r minute.
Other e x e r c i s e s from Word At t ack and Basic Readinq
S k i l l s were used t o develop s k i l l i n t h e use of con tex t
c l u e s a s a i d s t o meaning, t o h e l p t h e s tuden t understand
idioms and o t h e r f i g u r a t i v e language, and t o i n c r e a s e h i s
vocabulary through e x e r c i s e s us ing antonyms and synonyms.
F ree reading was c o n s t a n t l y emphasized and en-
c ouraged.
A t t h e beginning of t h e second semester t h e s t u d e n t s
28
began us ing t h e Standard Tes t Lessons i n Readins. Book D.
These a r e three-minute e x e r c i s e s r e q u i r i n g t h e s tuden t t o
read a s h o r t s e l e c t i o n and answer mul t ip le -choice compre-
hension quest ions. Content i s v a r i e d and u s u a l l y seems t o
be i n t e r e s t i n g t o t h e s tuden t s . Quest ions a r e v a r i e d i n
type and order , s t r e s s i n g implied meaning, main i d e a , t h e
use of contex t a s a c l u e t o meaning, and cause and e f f e c t
r e l a t i o n s h i p s . Discussion was encouraged a f t e r each exer -
c i s e , and a vocabulary l i s t was k e p t t o a i d i n t h e mastery
of d i f f i c u l t words met i n context . On A p r i l 7, 1958 t h e
reading c l a s s e s had completed t h i r t y - f i v e of t h e s e l e s sons .
The s t u d e n t s a l s o used Exerc ises 1-4 from Ad-
ven tu res With Words, Book 1 by Joseph B e l l a f i o r e . Th i s
word s tudy workbook, i l l u s t r a t e d wi th car toons , i s usefu l
i n t h e r ead ing c l a s s mostly because it h e l p s provide v a r i e t y
without l e t t i n g t h e s t u d e n t s l o s e s i g h t of t h e i r goal.
S tuden t s i n both groups had completed a l l t h e above-
mentioned a c t i v i t i e s on A p r i l 7, 1958. The next day marked
t h e beginning of d i f f e r e n t i a t e d programs f o r t h e two groups.
The program for Group A ( t h e experimental group)
followed a s c l o s e l y a s p o s s i b l e t h e procedure recommended
i n t h e Teacher 's Manual of t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory.
The s t a t emen t s i n t h e manual a r e q u i t e c l e a r i n regard t o
time a l l o t m e n t s and schedules:
The S.R.A. Reading Laboratory i s designed t o f i t i n t o t h e r e g u l a r curr iculum i n whatever course may be chosen f o r it. It may be s t a r t e d i n i t i a l l y a t any
29
grade l e v e l i n t h e jun io r - sen io r high school. . . . Any secondary school s tuden t w i l l p r o f i t from us ing t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory.
The program can be s t a r t e d i n one grade and con- t i n u e d i n t h e fo l lowing grades s i n c e t h e r e is always cha l lenging work t h a t s t u d e n t s have n o t done. f i r s t yea r of t h e s t u d e n t s work i n t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory should be t h e most i n t e n s i v e . f irst y e a r program has been proved t h e most product ive i n t h e yea r s of experimental work wi th mul t i - l eve l
But t h e
The fo l lowing
r ead ing m a t e r i a l s :
F i r s t Month: 5 per iods p e r week Second Month: 3 pe r iods p e r week Th i rd Month: 2 pe r iods pe r week L a t e r Months: t o be scheduled a s
Some may ask why t h e program
t h e e n t i r e year. The a u t h o r says:
You may wonder whv it i s not
f o r 4 weeks 20 Pe r iods f o r 4 weeks 12 Per iods for 4 weeks 8 Per iods -~ convenient 10 Periodsl
T o t a l 50 Per iods
i s not spread iiiroughout
recommended t h a t t h e program be'spaced, say, once a week du r ing t h e e n t i r e school y e a r r a t h e r t h a n concent ra ted a s above. It i s because t h e p r i n c i p l e of re inforcement , f i r m l y es- t a b l i s h e d by r e s e a r c h i n t h e psychology of l e a r n i n g , would not be given a chance t o o p e r a t e i n a once-aiweek schedule. With proper t iming , t h e r e i s a carry-over of one day 's l e a r n i n g t o r e i n f o r c e t h e next. When p r a c t i c e pe r iods a r e spaced t o o f a r a p a r t , f o r g e t t i n g sets i n and carry-over i s diminished. During t h e e a r l i e r s t a g e s of a l e a r n i n g process , p r a c t i c e i s most e f f i c i e n t when c l o s e l y spaced.
s t u d e n t ' s s k i l l s a s e a r l y a s p o s s i b l e i n t h e yea r so t h a t t h e inc reased e f f i c i e n c y can be put t o work i n a l l school s u b j e c t s f o r t h e g r e a t e s t p a r t of t h e school year . F o r t y pe r iods of work with mul t i - l eve l m a t e r i a l s have been found t o r a i s e t h e reading l e v e l of most s t u d e n t s t o t h e approximate l e v e l o f t h e i r c u r r e n t capac i ty . The a d d i t i o n a l t e n pe r iods . . . a r e o f t e n g iven near t h e middle or end o f t h e second seme t e r a s
Teachers have found it p r o f i t a b l e t o b u i l d up each
a r e f r e s h e r p r e p a r a t i o n f o r f i n a l examinations. !3
l p a r k e r e t a l , OD. c i t . , p. 4.
30
Ten b a s i c s t e p s i n t h e program a r e l i s t e d i n t h e
handbook :
1. 2. 3.
4.
5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Goal-se t t ing and overview of purposes and methods. Adminis t ra t ion of t h e S t a r t i n g Level Guide. I n t r o d u c t i o n of t h e S t a r t e r S e l e c t i o n ( i n t h e S tudent Record Book) I n t r o d u c t i o n of Power Bu i lde r s from t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory box. I n t r o d u c t i o n of Ra te Bui lders . I n t r o d u c t i o n of t h e L i s t e n i n g S k i l l Bui lders . P r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e SQ3R method of textbook study. Evalua t ion o f p rogress t o da t e .
1 Fina 1 eva 1 ua t ion . Year-end r e f r e s h e r .
I n t h i s s tudy only twenty-f ive per iods were devoted
t o t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory program but , Basic S t e p s
1-7 were completed i n accordance wi th i n s t r u c t i o n s i n t h e
Teacher 's Handbook. S t e p 8, e v a l u a t i o n o f p rog res s , may be
s a i d t o have been accomplished by means of Form Bm of t h e
Iowa S i l e n t Readinq T e s t , though no s p e c i a l c l a s s pe r iod was
devoted t o a n e v a l u a t i o n d iscuss ion .
The l e f t -hand column i n Table 2 shows t h e day-by-
day schedule suggested by t h e a u t h o r a s be ing most d e s i r a b l e ;
t h e r ight-hand column i n d i c a t e s t o what e x t e n t t h e suggested
procedure was followed.
self i n t h e box, it means t h a t t h e a c t u a l procedure was
about t h e same a s t h e one recommended. When t h e a c t i v i t y
f o r t h e day was completed, s t u d e n t s r ead t h e i r l i b r a r y books
f o r t h e remainder of t h e per iod. Th i s f r e e reading per iod
was a l s o a time f o r pup i l - t eache r conferences.
When t h e word Same appears by it-
'Ibid., p. 5.
31
TABLE 2
DAILY ACTIVITIES FOR GROUP A , APRIL 8, 1958, THROUGH
MAY 20, 1958
Recommended
The day-by-day schedule based on 50 c l a s s per iodsa
F i r s t Mo .
F i r s t Week
M
T
w
A c t i v i t y
Goal s e t t i n g and a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f
S t a r t i n g Level Guide
Discuss ion o f ind iv idua 1
d i f f e r e n c e s and i n t r o d u c t i o n
o f S tudent Record Book
P r e s e n t a t i o n of SQ3R; i n t r o d u c t i o n
of Power Bu i lde r S t a r t e r S e l e c t i o n
Actua l
Actua l schedule Used i n t h i s s tudy
T 4/a
-
w 4/9
A c t i v i t y
Same
Same
'Suggested i n Teacher 's Handbook.
32
TABLE %Continued
Recommended
The day-by-day schedule based on 50 c l a s s pe r iods
Th
-
F
- 2nd Week
M
T
-
A c t i v i t y
Completion of Power Bui lder S t a r t e r
S e l e c t i o n ( i n c l u d i n g c h a r t i n g and sco r ing )
Beginning use
Power Bu i lde r s of multi-level
Power Bui lders
Power Bui lders
Actua l
Actua l schedule Used i n t h i s s tudy
F 4/11
-
M 4/14
-
T 4/15
w 4/16
-
A c t i v i t y
Sa me
Same
Power Bu i lde r s (Most s tudents were advanced one c o l o r l e v e l on t h i s day be- cause t h e y were finish- i n g t o o f a s t and making high enough scores . )
Power Bui lders
33
TABLE 2-Continued
Recommended
The day-by-day schedule based on 50 c l a s s pe r iods
W
Th
F
3rd Week
M
A c t i v i t y
I n t r o d u c t i o n of
Ra te Bu i lde r s
Beginning use of
Ra te Bui lders
Power Bui lders
Power Bu i lde r s
Actua l
Actua l schedule Used i n t h i s s t u d y
T 4/17
F 4/18
M 4/21
T 4/22
A c t i v i t y
Same
Two Rate Bu i lde r s
~ ~~
Three Ra te Bui lders
Sa me
34
TABLE 2-Continued
Recommended
The day-by-day schedule based on 50 c l a s s pe r iods
T
w
T
A c t i v i t y
Ra te Bu i lde r s ; I n t r o d u c t i o n of
L i s t e n i n g S k i l l B u i l d e r s
Power Bu i lde r
R a t e Bu i lde r s
Actua l
Ac tua l schedule Used i n t h i s s tudy
w 4/23
Th 4/24
F 4/25
M 4/28
A c t i v i t y
Same
Same
Holiday
Power Bui lde r s
35
TABLE 2-Continued
Da Y
F
Recommended
A c t i v i t y
Power B u i l d e r
Da Y
I 4/29
A c t i v i t y
Three R a t e Bu i lde r s and L i s t e n i n g S k i l l
Bu i lde r No. 2
4 t h Week
M Power Builders
Ac tua l
T
Actua l schedule Used i n t h i s s t u d y
R a t e Bu i lde r s ; L i s t e n i n g S k i l l
Bu i lde r s
w P r e s e n t a t i o n o f SQ3R method
f o r textbook use
36
TABLE 2-Continued
Recommended
The day-by-day schedule based on 50 c l a s s pe r iods
Th
-
F
- 2nd Mo.
M
1st Week
A c t i v i t y
Ra te Bu i lde r s ; L i s t e n i n g S k i l l
Bui lder
Power Bu i lde r s
Power Bu i lde r s
Actua l
Actua l schedule Used i n t h i s s tudy
lHow E f f e c t i v e Is Your Real f e s s o r Ruth S t ranq . Teachers Col le l
A c t i v i t y
Three R a t e Bu i lde r s ; L i s t e n i n g S k i l l Bui lder No. 3
Three Ra te Bu i lde r s ; L i s t e n i n g S k i l l Bu i lde r No. 4
Power Bu i lde r s
P r e s e n t a t i o n o f SQ3R ' method of textbook
Bu i ide r s
as educa t ion consGitant (Chicago: mm., sound, black and white , 10 min.
x?, prepared wi th Pro- , Columbia Un ive r s i ty , o rone t Films, 1951), 16
Recommended
The day-by-day schedule based on 50 c l a s s pe r iods
w
Th
F
2nd Week
M
Actual
Ac tua l schedule Used i n t h i s s tudy
A c t i v i t y I
Da Y
579 Evalua t ion of
Progress t o d a t e
I
A c t i v i t y
F ree r ead ing and makeup work
I n s t r u c t i o n i n t h e meaning
of c e r t a i n pre- f i x e s and s u f f i x e s ;
e x e r c i s e s from pp. 95-97, Bas ic Readinq S k i r
Exerc ises on p r e f i x e s and s u f f i x e s ivere checked and dis- cussed. New words met 3n p. 97 were added t o
vocabulary l i s t .
T e s t on meanings of p r e f i x e s and
suff ixes; a l s o Power Bu i lde r s
38
TABLE 2-Con'tinuod
Recommended
The day-by-day schedule based on 50 c l a s s pe r iods
Th
-
F
A c t i v i t y
Ra te Bu i lde r s
Bui lders and L i s t e n i n g Skill
Power Bu i lde r s
Actual
Da Y
Th 5/15
F 5/16
M 5/19
T 5/20
Actua l schedule Used i n t h i s s tudy
A c t i v i t y
Three Rate Bui lde r s ; L i s t e n i n g S k i l l
Bui lder No. 5
F r e e r ead ing and makeup work.
Three Ra te Bu i lde r s ; L i s t e n i n g S k i l l
Bui lder No. 6
Iowa S i l e n t Reading Test
39
Inspec t ion of bo th columns i n Table 2 reveals t h a t ,
even though t h e a c t u a l schedule v a r i e d somewhat from t h a t
recommended, t h e b a s i c p l a n was followed f a i t h f u l l y . The
S.R.A. Reading Laboratory a c t i v i t i e s suggested f o r a per iod
of s i x weeks inc lude t h e use of t h i r t e e n days f o r Power
Bui lders (one p e r day) seven days f o r Rate Bu i lde r s (two o r
t h r e e p e r day), and f o u r days f o r L i s t e n i n g S k i l l Bu i lde r s
(one per day). The R a t e Bu i lde r s and L i s t e n i n g S k i l l
Bu i lde r s a r e u s u a l l y given on t h e same day.
twelve days were used f o r Power Bu i lde r s , e i g h t f o r Ra te
Bui lders , and s i x f o r L i s t e n i n g S k i l l Bui lders .
I n t h i s s tudy,
While Group A used t h e S.R.A. Readinq Laboratory,
t h e s t u d e n t s i n Group B completed 26 a d d i t i o n a l e x e r c i s e s
i n Standard Test Lessons i n Readinq,
followed by genera l d i s c u s s i o n and s tudy of d i f f i c u l t
words.
Each e x e r c i s e was
The c l a s s a l s o had a d d i t i o n a l l e s sons from Basrc Readinq S k i l l s covering such v a r i e d phases of r ead ing a s :
understanding t h e use of i rony; recogniz ing and apprec i -
a t i n g t h e use of similes, a l l i t e r a t i o n , and rhyming words;
us ing a newspaper index; reading f o r a s p e c i f i c purpose;
drawing conclusions from one 's reading: use of key words
i n r e f e r e n c e work; s e l e c t i n g t o p i c sen tences ; map reading;
reading a diagram; us ing con tex t a s an a i d t o word
meaning; see ing t h e exac t meaning of connect ives (as, - 9 while -s s i n c e e t c . ) ; review of pronuncia t ion marks used i n
40
s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t d i c t i o n a r i e s ( s t r e s s i n g t h e importance
of consu l t ing t h e pronuncia t ion key) ; and t h e meaning of
t h e same p r e f i x e s and s u f f i x e s t augh t t o Group A on May
12 and 13.
The movie, How E f f e c t i v e I s Your Readinq?, was
a l s o shown t o t h e members of Group B.
SQ3R method was discussed b r i e f l y .
A t t h a t time t h e
To add v a r i e t y , two l e s sons on antonyms and syno-
nyms were used from Joseph B e l l a f i o r e ' s Adventures With
m, pages 15-16 and pages 20-23.
Every F r i d a y was devoted t o f r e e reading and makeup
work.
RESULTS
Reading progress measured by a comparison o f s co res
made on t h e Iowa S i l e n t Reading Tests, New Ed i t ion , Ad-
vanced Tests. Form Am (Revised E d i t i o n ) was adminis te red
September 9 , 1957, a t t h e beginning of t h e reading course,
and Form Bm (Revised Ed i t ion ) was given on May 20, 1958,
near t h e end of t h e school year. I n d i v i d u a l s c o r e s a r e
given i n Table 5 i n t h e Appendix. Groups were compared by
computing t h e a r i t h m e t i c mean of t h e median s t anda rd sco res
of t h e i n d i v i d u a l s t u d e n t s i n each group. These averages
a r e given i n Table 3.
When t h e averages o f t h e median s t anda rd s c o r e s on
t h e t e s t a r e converted i n t o grade l e v e l s , t h e average
amount of reading progress i n Group A ( t h e experimental
group) i s 3.0 grade l e v e l s . S e c t i o n B (I) of t h e c o n t r o l
group d i d n e a r l y a s we l l , showing an average ga in o f 2.8
grade l e v e l s . S e c t i o n B (11) showed an improvement o f 2.0
grades while S e c t i o n B (111) gained 2.2 grades.
A comparison o f t h e reading progress o f Group A
( t h e experimental group) with Group B ( t h e t h r e e s e c t i o n s
41
42
43
of t h e c o n t r o l group), i s shown i n Table 4. Here t h e amount
of r ead ing progress of Group B a s a whole i s shown t o be
2.3 grade l e v e l s . Comparison o f t h e amounts of i n c r e a s e of
Groups A and B shows t h a t t h e amount of i n c r e a s e i n Group A
i s 30 percent g r e a t e r t h a n t h e i n c r e a s e i n Group B.
However, s i n c e t h e average median s t anda rd sco res on
t h e p o s t - t e s t were so s i m i l a r , averaging 165 f o r Group A and
163 f o r Group B, a computation was made of t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e
o f d i f f e r e n c e of t h e mean o f t h e p o s t - t e s t f o r Group A and
t h e mean of t h e p o s t - t e s t o f Group B.
vea led t h a t no d i f f e r e n c e s ex i s t between t h e means beyond
t h e .05 l e v e l of confidence. Data used i n t h e computation
a r e shown i n Table 6 i n t h e Appendix.
This computation re-
44
0 m . m ei
I i
1 I
CHAPTER V I 1
CONnuSIONS
From t h e r e s u l t s obtained i n t h i s s tudy it seems
s a f e t o conclude t h a t t h e use of t h e S.R.A. Reading Labo-
r a t o r y help:; s t u d e n t s improve t h e i r r ead ing a b i l i t y . It
appears t o be equa l ly a s h e l p f u l a s o t h e r m a t e r i a l s and
methods used. T h i s e q u a l i t y i s p a r t i c u l a r l y n o t i c e a b l e i n
a comparison of t h e progress made by Group A and Group
B ( I ) shown i n Table 3, page 42.
Reading Laboratory, showed an average improvement of 3.0
grades while Group B ( I) , us ing o t h e r m a t e r i a l s , showed
improvement of 2.8 grades.
Group A, us ing t h e S.R.A.
Comparing t h e i n c r e a s e i n reading a b i l i t y o f Group
A with a l l t h r e e s e c t i o n s of Group B encourages t h e con-
c l u s i o n t h a t s t u d e n t s i n gene ra l may respond b e t t e r t o t h e
S.R.A. Reading Laboratory than t o many reading m a t e r i a l s
now i n use. Th i s conclus ion is based on t h e f a c t t h a t
Group A showed 30 percent more improvement t h a n Group B
a f t e r Group A had completed only h a l f t h e f i f t y pe r iods of
t h e recommended program. However, bear ing i n mind t h a t no
s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e e x i s t s between t h e means of t h e post-
t e s t s co res , it does not seem wise t o p l ace ve ry much s t ress
45
46
on t h e appa ren t ly g r e a t e r progress shown by Group A when
t h e sco res a r e converted t o grade equiva len ts .
Even though t h e s t a t i s t i c a l r e s u l t s may be incon-
c l u s i v e # t h e t e a c h e r making t h i s s tudy f e e l s t h a t some Of
h e r ques t ions have been answered. S tuden t s d i d ask for h e l p
when t h e y d i d not a g r e e wi th t h e answer i n t h e checking key.
The personal e v a l u a t i o n w r i t t e n by each s tuden t a f t e r each
Power Bui lder , gave h e l p f u l i n s i g h t i n t o h i s d i f f i c u l t i e s .
Many s t u d e n t s revea led t h a t t h e y r e a l i z e d t h e y had been
c a r e l e s s , bu t j u s t a s many o t h e r s s t a t e d t h e y were f a i l i n g
t o understand d i r e c t i o n s o r c e r t a i n words i n t h e s e l e c t i o n
i t s e l f . These w r i t t e n comments poin ted o u t s p e c i f i c needs
which could be met by d i r e c t teaching. Th i s i s a s good a s
o r perhaps even b e t t e r t h a n t h e e v a l u a t i o n provided by
gene ra l c l a s s d i s c u s s i o n a f t e r t h e o t h e r reading e x e r c i s e s
done by t h e c l a s s a s a whole. Learning m u s t have been
t a k i n g p lace , judging by t h e improvement i n s tandard ized
t e s t scores .
The p u p i l s who used t h e S.R.A. Reading Labora tory
d e f i n i t e l y seemed t o l i k e keeping t h e progress c h a r t s , and
t h e y revea led by t h e i r comments t h a t t h e y r e a l l y were
t r y i n g hard t o improve.
The t e a c h e r found t h a t classroom management was
q u i t e simple and s a t i s f a c t o r y when t h e sugges t ions given
i n t h e handbook were followed.
The L i s t e n i n g S k i l l a u i l d e r s provided an e x c e l l e n t
47
means of bu i ld ing b e t t e r l i s t e n i n g h a b i t s . Th i s t e a c h e r
would recommend t h a t t h e six L i s t e n i n g S k i l l Bu i lde r s be
followed by a number of o t h e r l i s t e n i n g a c t i v i t i e s checked
a t l e a s t some of t h e t ime by l i s t e n i n g comprehension
ques t ions ( e i t h e r teacher-made or pupil-made) . Since t h e twenty-f ive c l a s s pe r iods devoted t o t h e
S.R.A. Reading Laboratory were only h a l f t h e number recom-
mended, t h e r e i s no way t o know how much more improvement
might have r e s u l t e d from t h e f u l l program. It seems worth
t r y i n g .
P r a c t i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n of t h i s s tudy w i l l be made
by us ing t h e S.R.A. Reading Laboratory i n a l l read ing
c l a s s e s i n t h e school du r ing t h e coming year.
per iods proper ly spaced w i l l be devoted t o t h e program
fo l lowing t h e schedule i n t h e handbook. Another S.R.A.
Reading Laboratory w i l l be purchased a s soon a s funds a r e
a v a i l a b l e .
F i f t y class
APPENDIX
48
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.....................
50
o m m m o v m ~ m ~ r o m o m o a r - a N N N m r l o m b m N ~ c 4 m d o d m o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
O l O m o r - r - m N b N m m m m o r - ~ r r m r - o m r - d . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
52
4-t-0
N O d N . . . .
0000
0 m m . m rt d
. . . .
53
TABLE 6
DATA USED I N COMPUTATION OF THE "t" SCORE
m
T 0-
Group A 164.76 8.83
Group B 163.46 8.49
N
21
56
t
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I n s t r u c t i o n a l M a t e r i a l s
B e l l a f i o r e , Joseph. Adventures With Words. Book 1. New York: Amsco School P u b l i c a t i o n s , Inc., 1945.
Gray, William S . , Horsman, Gwen, and Monroe, Marion. Readinq S k i l l s f o r Hiqh School Use. S c o t t , Foresman and Co., 1948.
- 4. St. Louis: Webster Publ i sh ing Co., 1949.
Basic Chicago:
Grover, Cha r l e s , and Bayle, Evalyn. P r a c t i c e Readers, Book
McCall, William A. and Crabbs, Lelah Mae. Standard T e s t Lessons i n R e a d i n q . Book D. New York: Bureau of * Pub l i ca t ions , Teachers Col lege , Columbia Univers i ty , 1950
Science Research Assoc ia t e s , Inc., 1957. Parker , Don H. et. S.R.A. Readinq Laboratory. Chicago:
Reader 's Diqes t Readinq S k i l l Bui lder , Grade 6, P a r t One. P l e a s a n t v i l l e . N. Y.: The Reader 's Digest Associ- a t i o n , fnc. , i952.
Rober t s , Clyde. Word At tack (Teacher 's Ed i t ion ) . New York: Harcourt , Brace and Co., 1956.
T e s t s
Green, H. A., Jorgensen, A. N. and K e l l e , V. H. Iowa
Yonkers-on-Hudson, S i l e n t Readinq Test ( N e w E d i t i o n Y : A d v a n c m e s t , Forms Am and Em (Revised). N. Y.: World Book Go., 1943.
S u l l i v a n , E. T., Clark , W. w. and Tiegs , E. W. Test of Mental Matur i ty , S-Form. Cal i fo rn :n T e s t Bureau, 1950.
C a l i f o r n i a Los Angeles:
T iegs , E. W. and C le rk , w. W. Los Angeles:
C a l i f o r n i a Readinq Test. C a l i f o r n i a T e s t Bureau, 1950.
54
