The cloze procedure, a technique for determining the difficulty level of written material, involves the systematic deletion of words from a prose selection and the supplying of the missing words by a student or a group of students. The students' ability to supply these words is a significant indicator of how well they comprehend the written…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether cloze procedure could be used in adult literacy programs serving those students reading from about fourth grade reading equivalent level through high school equivalency level. This research investigated three questions: (1) Is cloze procedure acceptable for this group? (2) Can cloze procedure be…

The purposes of this study were to determine the relationship between item readability and item difficulty in a standardized mathematics achievement test, and to determine if students could raise their mathematics achievement scores if they were given aid in reading items that presented them with reading difficulty. Two hundred third and fourth…

A workable plan to help social studies teachers develop the competencies they will need to teach students to read social studies materials in grades K through 12 is provided in this document. A directed reading lesson is included which suggests practical techniques for improving reading skills. A unit sample and some suggested techniques for…

This paper presents data describing large differences between the reading difficulty levels of printed materials used in certain military occupational specialties (MOSs) and the relatively lower reading ability levels of men assigned to these MOSs. Initial data explore the relationship between reading ability and utilization of printed materials…

A total of 180 reports found relevant fo r the annual review of research on college-adult reading was treated under five major headings. Studies that dealt with trends, origin and development of programs, descriptions of specific programs, and the evaluation of the improvement of program participants were classified under the heading of programs.…

This pamphlet is intended for teachers and other people concerned with the teaching of reading. The sections of the pamphlet include: "Individual Differences," which looks at how schools have tried to meet the problem of individual differences; "Working with Individual Difference," which discusses what an individual brings with him to the…

The validity of the Dale-Chall Readability ratings for sixth-grade science textbooks when compared to an independent criterion of language difficulty expressed in cloze units was examined. The Canadian Lorge-Thorndike IQ Test and the Canadian Test of Basic Skills, Vocabulary and Comprehension subtests, were administered to 366 sixth graders. Mean…

Because vocabulary control in children's reading materials is largely based on vocabulary lists and studies which are now obsolete, new areas of learning are being considered for developing beginning reading materials. Instead of basing vocabulary lists on frequency counts and adult reading materials, the three approaches examined here are…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether high school subject matter text which was revised on the basis of secondary school students' oral reading miscues that result in grammatical re-transformations had greater readability than the original text. The subjects, 217 students, were randomly selected and were assigned to stanine levels…

Prose passages read aloud or silently were rated for pronounceability and comprehensibility. The relationships of text-derived readability indices to reading rate, comprehensibility ratings and comprehension test scores were explored. Reading rate in syllables per minute was unrelated to readability. The high correlation between rate in words per…

This paper discusses a study designed to survey English as a second language readers for the purpose of determining whether a range of syntactic gradation can be observed, and the degree to which readers intended for the same level of proficiency are of equivalent difficulty. (Author/CFM)

A study assessed and compared the syntax in the oral language of six-, seven-, and eight-year-olds with the syntax in the written language of reading instruction textbooks prepared for children of the same age. (HOD)

The article discusses three features of content area textbooks that make them relatively easy to read, understand, and learn from--structure, coherence, and audience appropriateness. For each feature, the article describes the research basis for the feature, outlines problems with existing textbooks, and presents suggestions for evaluating…

Reports on five studies which investigated reading for pleasure. Finds that this reading is characterized by within-text reading rate variability, is more arousing physiologically than other waking activities, and gives readers a feeling of control. Also finds that the Fog Index of readability predicts readers' preferences and difficulty rankings.…