Cooperative Study of Reading 



27 



read silently and to what extent they understand what is 

 read. The material used in the silent reading tests consisted 

 of three short selections, each less than three hundred words 

 in length. These selections formed a series of increasing 

 difficulty. The first was appropriate for second and third 

 grade pupils ; the second was appropriate for fourth, fifth, and 



V/crds per 

 second 

 5.00 



\ 







\ 





4e00 





\ 







\ 



2'-!'9 7 ^ 





3. CO 





2'. 21'' } 



^ ' 





1 i yT ^ 





2.00 



/ 









197 





1.00 



1^ 



/ ( / 

 / /' 



; 











2d 3d 4th 5th 5th " Vth 8th 



City 5 



City 14 Lowest Score 



Indiana • Highest Score --- 



Diagram 6. Average Silent Reading Rates for Indiana and Two 

 Selected Cities; also Highest and Lowest Scores for 

 Each Grade 



sixth grade pupils ; and the third was appropriate for seventh 

 and eighth grade pupils. The tests were given as individual 

 tests according to the directions which were included in earlier 

 paragraphs of this report. While the pupil read, the teacher 

 who gave the test noted the num^ber of seconds required to 

 read the middle column of the selection. When the pupil 

 had finished reading, he was given a sheet of paper upon which 

 to write aJl he could remember of what he had read. After 

 completing the written reproduction, he wrote the answers 



