Reading Comprehension among Graduate Students

Abstract

The present purpose was to examine graduate students' reading comprehension and reading vocabulary by comparing their scores on a standardized reading test with scores obtained by a large normative sample of undergraduates. Participants were 59 graduate students from various disciplines, enrolled in three sections of an introductory educational research course at a southeastern university. These students were administered the Nelson-Denny Reading Test–Form G. Analysis showed these students had higher scores on the reading comprehension portion than did the normative sample of 5,000 undergraduate students from 38 institutions (Cohen d = .71). Also, the graduate students' scores on the reading vocabulary portion were higher (d = .45).

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anderson

R. C.

Pearson

P. D.

(1984) A schema-theoretic view of basic processes in reading. In Pearson

P. D.

(Ed.), Handbook of reading research. New York: Longman. Pp. 255–293.

Baker

(1985) Differences in the standards used by college students to evaluate their comprehension of expository prose. Reading Research Quarterly, 20, 297–313.

Brown

A. L.

Day

J. J.

(1983) Macrorules for summarizing texts: the development of expertise. (Technical Report No. 270) Urbana, IL: Univer. of Illinois, Center for the Study of Reading.

Brown

J. I.

Fishco

V. V.

Hanna

(1993) Nelson-Denny Reading Test: manual for scoring and interpretation, Forms G and H. Itasca, IL: Riverside.

Cohen

(1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. (2nd ed.) New York: Wiley.

Demps

D. L.

Onwuegbuzie

A. J.

(2001) The relationship between eighth-grade reading scores and achievement on the Georgia High School Graduation Test. Research in the Schools, 8, 1–9.

Dlamond

(1997) A comparison of ITBS scores below grade level: 1996-1997. (Unpublished manuscript, Valdosta City Schools, Valdosta, GA)

Du Boulay

(1999) Argument in reading: what does it involve and how can students become better critical readers? Teaching in Higher Education, 4, 147–162.

Mason

J. M.

(1984) A schema-theoretic view of the reading process as a basis for comprehension instruction. In Duffy

G. G.

Rochler

L. R.

Mason

(Eds.), Comprehension instruction. New York: Longman. Pp. 26–38.

10.

Merton

R. K.

(1968) The Matthew effect in science. Science, 159, 56–63.

11.

Onwuegbuzie

A. J.

(2000) I'll begin my statistics assignment tomorrow: the relationship between statistics anxiety and academic procrastination. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), New Orleans, April.

12.

Onwuegbuzie

A. J.

Slate

J. R.

Schwartz

R. A.

(2001) The role of study skills in graduate-level educational research courses. Journal of Educational Research, 94(4), 238–246.

13.

Paris

(1987) Introduction to current issues in reading comprehension. Educational Psychologist, 22, 209–213.

14.

Stanovich

K. E.

(1986) Matthew effects in reading: some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360–407.

15.

Wixson

K. K.

Peters

C. W.

(1984) Reading redefined: a Michigan Reading Association position paper. Michigan Reading Journal, 17, 4–7.

16.

Wood

P. H.

(1982) The Nelson-Denny Reading Test as a predictor of college freshman grades. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 42, 575.