This study was conducted to determine how well the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) correctly identifies children who are experiencing reading difficulties and to describe more precisely the characteristics of children who have been identified as poor readers so that program planners can design more effective remedial instruction. The DRP and…

Using a newly developed 6-week course, a study examined the effect of children's literature on the reading attitude and fluency of secondary remedial students. Subjects were 10 tenth- through twelfth-grade students enrolled in a central Washington State alternative high school for students who dropped out of regular high school but who still…

Noting that most classroom teachers use informal reading inventories (IRI) as diagnostic instruments, a study examined what oral reading accuracy level is most appropriate for the instructional level and whether repetitions should be counted as oral reading errors. Randomly selected students from the second through fifth grades at two elementary…

This study tested the validity and reliability of the West Informal Reading Evaluation (WIRE), an unobtrusive screening device that identifies adult learners' reading abilities. Of the 154 students in basic education or high school completion courses who completed one form of WIRE, 123 subjects were administered another reading test that served as…

Evidence exists that reading achievement can be measured simply and validly by having students read aloud for one minute from vocabulary lists drawn from their basal reading series. Direct and frequent measurement of student performance using this procedure provides a means for continuously evaluating a student's instructional program. The present…

A study was conducted to explore the reliability and validity of three prominent procedures used in informal reading inventories (IRIs): (1) choosing a 95% word recognition accuracy standard for determining student instructional level, (2) arbitrarily selecting a passage to represent the difficulty level of a basal reader, and (3) employing…

AN ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE THE RELIABILITY, VALIDITY, AND EFFICIENCY OF ALL READING INSTRUCTION BY MODIFYING CERTAIN DIMENSIONS OF TEACHER BEHAVIOR IS REPORTED. A SURVEY IN OREGON INDICATED THAT TO DETERMINE THE FUNCTIONAL READING LEVEL OF STUDENTS, 74 PERCENT OF THE TEACHERS USED GRADE EQUIVALENT SCORES FROM ACHIEVEMENT TESTS, 24 PERCENT USED…

Suggestions are made for evaluating reading and study skills in secondary school content subjects. Evaluation procedures include (1) standardized reading tests, (2) teacher-made informal reading tests, (3) inventories of reading and study skills, (4) interest inventories, and (5) teacher observations. Suggestions are made and samples are shown for…

A reading conference in the Chicago area provided a setting in which to systematically explore the views of 24 professionals regarding a number of statements about Informal Reading Inventories (IRIs). The results obtained from a 24-item questionnaire indicated that professionals perceive IRIs as instruments which generate more questions than…

Although it is frequently assumed that students who meet college entrance requirements have mastered basic reading skills, the presence of so many college reading and study skills centers argues that such is not the case. Many college students need help with some basic skills. To provide such help, careful diagnosis of individual abilities is…

This study investigated the relationship between instructional level scores as determined by a cloze test and instructional level scores as determined by an informal reading inventory (IRI). Fifty male and 50 female subjects were randomly selected from the total fifth grade population of five schools chosen from a total of 22 midwestern elementary…

Suggestions are made for evaluating reading and study skills in secondary school content subjects. Evaluation procedures include (1) standardized reading tests, (2) teacher-made informal reading tests, (3) inventories of reading and study skills, (4) interest inventories, and (5) teacher observations. Suggestions are made and samples are shown for…

Research indicates that the informal reading does not produce reliable enough information on reading ability to use it for individual placement of students, though it can be used to judge the achievement of groups. (Ed./JD)

Means of teacher judgment and standardized test scores were not significantly different. Means of informal reading inventory placements were significantly different from teacher judgment means and standardized test score means. Highest correlations were between teacher judgment and the informal reading inventory placements. (Author)