A Study of the Growth to be Expected of Retarded Readers

Abstract

Introduction. The importance of remedial instruction for retard e d readers has been generally recognized by educators from the grade school through college. This has resulted in a rapid growth in the num ber of reading centers and clinics established and, more recently, in a growing emphasis on having each classroom teacher attend to the specif ic reading problems of her pupils as much as time and training will per mit. Need for evaluative standards. There has been general agreem ent as to the techniques of diagnosis and remediation that might prove effec tive in connection with retarded readers. On the other hand, however, there has been practically no mention of standards or nor m s by which the growth in reading resulting from remedial work might be evaluated. An average child reading at grade level is expected to make a gain of one month of reading age per month of the usual classroom instruction. But what gain is to be expected of the retarded reader? It was the purpose of this study to set up tentative standards that might be used by teachers in evaluating the gains made by retarded readers receiving remedial instruction. Whereas, it is recognized, the data presented are based on the experience of the reading centers of the public elementary schools of the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it is felt that the organization and procedures of these centers are not too un like that which could be duplicated by an alert classroom teacher and that, as a consequence, the results of this study might prove of value i n the classroom.