A Survey of the Reading Achievement of Pupils in Low-Tenth Grade

Abstract

It has long been recognized that the ability of pupils to read influences materially their accomplishment in many phases of school work. So important is this skill that in many schools pupils are classified into sections solely on the basis of their ability in reading, and most classification plans take this ability into account either directly or indirectly. In the elementary schools the most capable teachers recognize that pupils who are poor readers cannot do the work in other school subjects which would normally be expected of them. Such teachers consciously attempt to adapt instruction to the reading level of their classes. However, there are teachers who do not appreciate the seriousness of reading disability and who attribute the resulting poor work to low mental ability, ineffective study habits, or to poor teaching in the preceding grades. While this attitude is rather more common in the high school than in the elementary school, many high-school teachers have become aware of the true situation with regard to the reading ability of their pupils, and in recent years numerous articles have appeared describing the results of reading tests, learn-to-study classes, and remedial instruction in reading given in high school. The procedure for the discovery of reading difficulties which is used in the senior high schools in Oakland is thought to be worth reporting because of the type of reading test given and the simplicity of the plan for making use of the results. During the second week of each semester a reading test is given to all incoming members of the low-tenth grade. The test is given for the purpose of obtaining a measure of the reading achievement of the poorer readers in the class rather than an accurate measure of the achievement of the entire group in reading. For this reason, the Stanford Reading Examination is used. This test is probably satisfactory for use in the high587