Remedial Reading Tests Are Planned Again for This Year

As a result of the outcome of the remedial reading experiment carried on last fall for members of the Freshman Class, it has been decided to continue and enlarge the sections for the coming year.

Students increased their reading speed from 230 to 450 words per minute over a two month period, under the direction of Irving H. Anderson, instructor in Education, and Walter F. Dearborn, professor of Education.

Test Speed and Comprehension

Stanley C. Salmon '36, Secretary for the Board on the Supervision of Students, has announced reading tests for the Freshmen and those upperclassmen who wish to test their proficiency. Rate and comprehension are determined by the speed and accuracy of the student in his handling of a set material in a limited amount of time.

Those who show a deficiency in their reading skill will be placed in one of five sections, four for Freshmen and Sophomores and one for upperclassmen and graduates, meeting twice a week. If the results are as satisfactory as last year's, more than half the students will show an improvement in academic standing, according to Salmon.

Bond and Dearborn to Supervise

Eldon A. Bond, instructor in Education, has been appointed to aid Dearborn with the class this year in the absence of Anderson who is now in Michigan. There are two mediums used in the experiment: motion pictures and regular reading tests.

In the motion picture method, by projecting phrases across the screen according to the movements and pauses of the eyes of a skilled reader, the poor reader is made to pace his eyes so as to acquire the eye movements of the superior reader. The rate of projection of the phrases upon the screen is gradually increased, always keeping just a little ahead of the reader.

Tachistoscope Used

To improve the student's range of attention, the tachistoscope is used, exposing briefly to view a screen bearing up to seven words, the number of letters increasing with the reader's proficiency.

Regular reading tests are given periodically to check on the progress of the class. The number of words read per minute is computed and graphed for each student as well as the daily average for the class. Selections of increasing difficulty of thought are offered the student to teach him to grasp the main idea and central thought of any passage.