Abstract
Which test offers the best estimate of the improvement of a student in reading training: a test administered immediately after a training session or a test administered at the beginning of the next training session? The problem of the best time to test students for a meaningful evaluation of gains in reading scores is closely involved in any comparison of different methods of teaching developmental reading. An analysis of 276 periods of instruction which used four different methods was run on data from a college population. The results show: (1) the timing of the evaluation test substantially affects the obtained results; and (2) the methods produce significantly different patterns across speed and comprehension. Each reading center should develop its own norms for differing methods if its reading program is to be adapted to the needs of the individual student.