Round One — Placing the Child in the Right Reader

Abstract

A method for placing children in appropriate readers was devised and implemented; it combines aspects of the Informal Reading Inventory with techniques developed by applied behavior analysts. Using this method, three different reading behaviors of pupils were measured directly and frequently: correct oral reading rate, incorrect oral reading rate, and correct comprehension percentage. Subjects were seven intermediate age boys with reading problems. Each pupil was placed in a reader based on his three performance scores. The effectiveness of the placement method was judged in terms of how well it predicted subsequent reading performance in the instructional readers. There were two major findings: First, although oral reading rates and comprehension scores generally worsened as the grade level of the material increased, the performance differences between adjacent books were minimal. Correct rate was more sensitive to changes in grade level than either incorrect rate or comprehension percentage. Second, after placement in the readers, all pupils progressed satisfactorily throughout the remainder of the year.