Cooperative Study of Reading 5 



The total number of pupils tested is 4,780. The number 

 in each grade above the first is as follows : 



Second grade 500 



Third grade ' 913 



Fourth grade : 990 



Fifth grade 974 



Sixth grade 881 



Seventh grade 269 



Eighth grade 253 



Description of the Tests 



The materials used in this study of reading were the 

 standardized oral reading paragraphs and the silent reading 

 tests which were used in connection with the surveys in 

 Cleveland, Grand Rapids, St. Louis, and in a large number 

 of investigations carried on in other cities. The derivation 

 and validity of these tests have been discussed in detail in a 

 number of articles and reports. Those who are interested in 

 such problems are referred to the Sujjplementa.i-y Educational 

 Monograph Vol. I, No. 1, entitled ''Studies of Elementary- 

 School Reading through Standardized Tests" (University of 

 Chicago Press) . A double advantage arose thru the use of 

 material which had been carefully rated and used in previous 

 investigations. In the first place, the reading selections were 

 standardized, that is, their relative difficulty was known. In 

 the second place, the earlier studies yielded results which 

 could be used in making productive comparisons. 



The oral reading test consisted of a series of twelve short 

 paragraphs arranged in the order of increasing difficulty. 

 These passages had been carefully selected from readers, text- 

 books, and current literature. The arrangement of the pas- 

 sages and the steps of difference of difficulty had been deter- 

 mined after several thousand pupils had been tested. The 

 passages of the test are reproduced below, except that in the 

 original test sheets the type of the first three paragraphs was 

 larger than in the others : 



1 



A boy had a dog. 



The dog ran into the woods. 



The boy ran after the dog. 



He wanted the dog to go home. 



But the dog would not go home. 



The little boy said, "I cannot go home without my dog.'' 

 Then the boy began to cry. 



