Journal of Literacy Research

In this paper major factors interacting with readability measures in validity studies are identified and described. The basis for the analysis presented are thirty-six experimental studies of the effect of readability variables upon reader comprehension and/or retention. Emphasis is placed on the interacting nature of the factors involved.

Sentences were prepared such that they appeared on a TV screen with each syllable timed, syllable-by-syllable, as though it were spoken. This was accomplished by synchronizing the onset timing of each syllable as it appeared on the screen with the onset timing of the same syllable as it was heard through the speaker. The result was a sentence which “grew” left-to-right across the screen and which could be presented either visually by itself or in combination with its auditory counterpart. Primary-school children were exposed in training sessions to these sentences in “visual rhythm.” Their pre-to-post-experimental change in reading fluency was compared with that of other children in a control condition whose training was the same except that the sentences they saw were not rhythmic, but static. Positive results encouraged the discussion and rationale for further applications of the method.

Within Gibson's framework of teaching children to discriminate the distinctive features of letters, 28 preschool children were trained in letter discrimination using three different types of matching-to-sample alternatives: (1) high-confusion alternatives; (2) low-confusion alternatives; or (3) a sequence of low-, middle-, and high-confusion alternatives. On posttest 1, given after a criterion of two consecutive errorless training days, only the high-confusion and sequence groups significantly improved over their pretest scores as compared with the no-treatment control group. On posttest 2, however, given after a standard number of 20 training days, the performance of all three training groups, including low-confusion, was superior to the control group; no differences were found among the three training groups. The implications of these and other findings for letter discrimination training were discussed.

An acquisition model of decoding is proposed to explain the kinds of errors children make as they try to read. The model is based on data gathered from pronunciation errors of words presented in isolation. An analysis of the errors reveals that the kinds of errors made vary with reading competency. Less able readers make errors that appear to reflect reliance on a one-to-one correspondence between single letters and their sounds. More able readers make errors that suggest an understanding of letter-cluster-to-sound rules. The less able readers rely on less effective rules than do the more able readers. Differential understanding of the structure of letter-to-sound correspondences, particularly of vowel to sound patterns, is proposed to be the primary source of disparity in reading performance among beginning readers.

Previous studies have shown that while multiple hue color cues can have a facilitative effect on initial learning, they can produce negative effects on a non-cued criterion task. The present study was designed to determine if single hue color cues could facilitate initial learning without being disruptive at transfer. Manipulations involved condition of availability of these cues. 102 S's, in three treatment groups were presented with a learning sequence. Availability was varied in no color, maximum color, and vanished color conditions. Achievement was measured on three tasks, visual memory, visual discrimination, and a paried-associate task. Results indicated that vanished single hue color cues can facilitate learning without interference.

In Study 1, the functional relationship between word length and passage difficulty was determined to be linear from Grade 1 to Grade 17 difficulty levels. A total of 360 passages were studied; the passages were sampled from curriculum materials used in all school levels ranging from Grade 1 to graduate school. Average word length was measured in both character spaces per word and letters per word. The newly developed Rauding Scale was used to estimate passage difficulty. In Study 2, the reading rate of college students was found to decrease from about 315 to 200 words per min. as difficulty increased from about Grade 2 to about Grade 17. However, when measured in standard length words per min. reading rate was approximately constant at about 250–260 words per min. as difficulty increased from about Grade 5 to about Grade 14. These data were interpreted as providing no support for certain current theory relating redundancy to reading rate and eye movements.

Presents results of an experimental task which measured children's learning of CVC words when minimum contrasts were employed in first, middle, and last letter positions (e.g., tin, win vs. pan, pen vs. pit, pig). Subjects were 84 kindergarten and first grade pupils who knew the alphabet but who had not yet learned to read. The visual and oral task provided measures of transfer, recognition, recall, delayed recognition, and delayed recall. For the sexes separately and combined, first letter position contrasts (rhyming words) were superior to letter contrasts in the middle or last letter positions; middle letter position contrasts were least effective. Last letter position contrasts were more effective for females than males. The results suggest that the teaching of rhyming words is the most efficient initial presentation of CVC words for beginning readers.