Literacy performance of a group of elementary, middle, and high school students (N = 132) with mild to moderate mental retardation (mean IQ = 54.69; range = 29-76) from a school district in south central Texas is ascertained. Twenty-two percent of the students achieved the full criteria of “minimum literacy,” which included the ability to: (1) Recognize words within a narrative passage from an analytical reading inventory at least on the primer level; (2) Comprehend a narrative passage from an analytical reading inventory at least on the primer level; (3) Write at least two letters or letter combinations representing sounds in words on a phonemic awareness dictation task, and; (4) Write at least two words containing two or more letters each correctly spelled on a free-writing task. Practical implications for assessing student literacy and improving literacy programs for students with mental retardation are discussed.
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