San Fernando Valley State College
A READIN G PROGRAM,)
II
An Attempt to Reve r s e Negative Attitude s _
the s is s ubmitte d in partial s atis faction o f the
r e quir ements for the de gree ·of Ma s te r of Arts in
A
E ducation
by
Anthony Vincent Fadale
-
Septembe r ,
1971
The the s i s o f Anthony Vincent Fada1e i s app r oved:
San Fe rnando Valle y State College
S eptemb e r,
1 971
A CKNO W LE DGME N T
I a m ve ry grateful t o my wife ,
Lynn,
without who s e love and help this s tudy would
not have been con1.ple te d.
I am al so de eply indebte d to the help
and enc our agement of Sylvia McGrath who
uns elfishly donated he r p r e c ious time and energy.
Finally, I owe many thanks to my friends ,
family, and fellow - te a �he r s , who s e moral sup­
port and physi cal help ¥/as de eply app r e c iated.
iii
TABLE OF C ON TENTS
A CKNOW LE D Gl\,1E N TS
ABS TRA C T
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S TA TE ME N T O F T HE P R O B LEM
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D e s c ription of Population.
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Que s tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .
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Hypothe s i s . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
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D e finitions . .
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Sumn1.ary.
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T HE RE VIEW O F LI TERATURE
S tudi e s in Gene 1·al Relate d to the Affective Are as
in R e ading
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Studie s Relate d to Tea c he r Attitudes and
R e ading In s truction . . ...
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Studie s Related to Student Self - Concept and
Reading Ins tructi on
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Studies Re lated to Horne Life and Ee�tding Ins truction.
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Studie s R e lated to Grades and Reading Instruc tion... . ..
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Chapter Summary.
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THE PR OGRAM
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Self - Concept . . . .
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Tl1.e Tec.c.l1.er .........
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TAB LE O F CONTENTS
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Home Life . . . . . . . . , ...... " .. . . ........ . . . .. . .
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Grade s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Rationale of Ca s e Studie s
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Obj e ctive s of Ca s e Studie s . . .. . ... . . . . . . . . . .
C a s e Studi e s (1 4) . . . . . . .
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Summar y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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FINDINGS A ND C O NCLUSIO NS
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APPE NDI CES
S ummar y of Re s pons e s en S tude nt
Atti tudinal Surve y.
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Teache r s 1 Surve y s - --Summary of
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Students ' Gra de Point Ave r a ge . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .
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S tudents 1 Attenda nc e Figure s .
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Ave r a g e Reading S co r es ,
1970.
A ve rage Rea di ng S co re s,
1971................
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Comparison o f Average Rea ding
S c o r e s , 1970-71 . .
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Ac cun:.ulation of Re spons e s fr on1
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2 34
ABS TRA C T
A READING P ROGRAM
An A ttempt to R e ve r s e Ne gative Attitude s
by
Anthony Vincent Fadale
Ma s te r of Arts in Educ ati on
September,
1971
The purp o s e of this study wa s to show how a r e a ding
p r o gr am,
whi ch took into conside ra ti o n ce rta in negati ve attitudes
that could be blo cks to fu rthe r learning ,
atte 1npted to r e ve r s e the
failing a ttitude s o f s tudents and bring abou: m.o re p o s i tive attitudes
towa rd r ea ding .
The s tudy attempted to d e s crib e a r e ading pr.o -
g r am that took pla c e in an o r dinary cla s s ro om sur r o 1.1nding,
in a clini cal situatio r� ,
not
and that tr ie d to emphasize the affe ::::ti ve
domain o f lea r ning.
The des ign of the s tudy was de s c r iptive in nature .
pre s e nting fourteen c a se studie s o f
a
By
r ando m s ampling of the
s tudent pop ula tion in the readin g p r og r am,
the s tudy a tte rr�pted
reveal the multitude of fa cto rs that c ould h av� caused reading
failure.
vi
to
The a c cumulati on of data gathe r e d fr om a ten p e r c ent
s ampling of the r e a ding p r o gram s tudents r e ve aled the follow­
ing :
1.
The s tudents ,
at the c on c lus ion of the p r o grarn ,
w e r e gene r a lly p o sitive in their attitude s toward s choo l,
tea cher s ,
r e a ding and s e lf.
2.
p r o gram,
3.
The s tudents showe d,
at the c on c lus ion of the
s ·onJ.e r e ading impr ovement.
The s tudents showe d positive r ea ctions to the type
of tea che r r ole a s sume d by the Dire ctor o f the p r o g r am -,vho
attempte d a lwa ys t o be benevolent,
4.
flexible and since r e .
The s tudents s amp le d s eemed able to perc eive the
influence of the i r home envi r onment on thei r r e ading habits .
5.
The s tudents r e a cte d p o s iti vely to the gra ding s ys­
tem o f the p r o gram whe r eby grade s we r e bas ed only on the
amount of e ffor t put fo r th and not on a c a demi c s uc c e ss .
vii
I.
Statement of the P roblem
Introduction
The pur pose of this study i s to show how a reading pro­
gram, which took into consideration
certain
negative attitudes that
could be blocks to further lear ning, attempted to reverse
the
fail­
i ng attitude of students and to bring about mor e positive attitudes
toward reading.
The program which the author developed was one that
tried to motivate one hundred and forty poor readers to want to
r ead.
The program stressed the saturation appr oach to reading as
promoted by Fader and McNeil.
In saturation reading, the class-
roon""l becomes a place where books other than textbooks are found.
For example,
i11.
the author's pr ogram the paperback book entitled
Tarzan of the Anes proved to have enough rnotivational power het-ween its two covers to make students want to read.
racks containing
Cycle
News,
Sports Illustrated, and
Magazine
Seventeen_
made for relaxed reading in an environment more like
a
family
. room parlor than a stereotyped classr oom.
The availability of quantities of light reading material
slowly began to bombard the
student
with
the
he had been avoiding all of hi·s academic life.
wor ds
may
not have
been
part of a typi cal
1
world of print wt-J.ch
Admittedly,
the
college-bound student's
2
vocabulary,
but they were words.
these words,
The more the student saw
the more at ease he· was in a world of forrnal
schooling which had always estranged him.
Coupled with this attempt at involving students with
The
saturation reading was a diagnostic program in reading.
The diagnosis and
diagnosis was done on a one-to-one basis.
remediation many times were conducted with rnaterial the student had chosen himself.
chosen,
Since the printed material was freely
his feeling of being forced into reading instruction was
considerably reduced.
In this paper the following negative attitudes were
studied:
The negative attitude of the teacher.
1.
The
teacher
of reading is often faced with a low aca.demic achiever who
usually is a behavioral problem.
This combination causes
many teachers to react only negatively to the child (Kunz,
19 69; Willis,
2.
1969; Tobin,
1969; Richardson,
The negative attitude
1969).
of the student about himself.
Low academic achievers have only failure in their school his­
tory which leads them to think poorly of themselves and their
cha.nces for future success (Kunz,
Lurnpkin,
1966; Athey,
Blackman,
Hallack,
1969;
1955; Bod win,
1958).
1969; Richardson,
Lockhart,
19 65; Seay,
1957; Schwyhart,
1969;
1960;
1969; Toller,
196 7;
3
3.
home.
The negative attitude toward reading brought from
Emotional stress from the home introduces learning blocks
which the student brings to school (McGinnis,
4.
1965; Tabarlet, 1958).
The negative attitude toward the grading system.
The
grading system has been the means by which schools have continu­
ally labeled poor achievers as failures (Kingston,
Anderson,
1966; Reid, 1970;
1966).
The students involved in the program were all ninth-graders
between the ages of fourteen and sixteen who read at an eighth-grade
level or below (Nelson Reading Test,
readers (Nelson Reading Test,
level (Nelson Reading Test,
fied by S. I. T.
Form A).
Form A),
Form A).
Two were non­
and ten were on a primer
Eight students were identi­
as having an index below sixty.
These students were
in the program because their parents refused to allov.r enrollment in
special education classes.
In almost every case,
the students had
been labeled beha v'i.oral problerns as 'vvell as being non-acr.J.evers.
This study will present fourteen case studies of students
whom the author taught in his prograrn during the school year 1970-
71.
The studies include data concerning the kinds of students in-
valved,
and the attitudes they held towc.rd reading,
selves and their home life.
school,
them­
The use of parent interviews supplied
infor1na tion about the attitudes toward reading that prevailed in the
h'"Jme to influence the stu.d_ent.
4
Reading test data gave
an indication. of the student's
reading ability before and after the program.
Student interest
surveys provided information about the �tudent' s outlook in the four
areas nam.ed as the major goals in this program.
Attendance files
provided an indication of improved attitudes toward rneeting the
challenge of new learning on a daily basis.
The indication of the
student's self-concept was measured by the student's answers to
selected questions taken from the Guttman Scale.
Teachers were surveyed to indicate their own general at­
titude toward the students and the students1 outlooks on school.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to present a reading program
that took place in classroom surroundings,
not in a clinical situation�
and that tried to emphasize the affective domain of learning.
The
program was not considered to be just one more reading class in
a student's slow progression through formal education,
but possib··
ly a point in time when the student would begin to enjoy reading.
The purpose of the Prograrn was to a tternpt to reverse
negative attitudes toward reading anci possibly develop positive at titudes not only toward reading in particular,
but
to learning
in
general.
The prograrri· was· developed with the 2.vowed p u r pose of
making unwilling learners rnore receptive to reading.
The 2.uthor
5
did not think that the prograrn ·could be a panacea for the many
different kinds of reading problems but it was hoped that some
positive attitudes toward reading would result and make future read­
ing programs more meaningful.
Since many secondary school reading programs seem to
limit themselves to a cognitive approach to learning,
undertook this descriptive study.
such as this is not to
meaningful statistics.
the author
The aim of a descriptive study
control groups scientifically and formulate
The study was undertaken to serve as a pre-
liminary step to be follmved by research using rrwre rigorous control and mo!"e objective rnethods.
This study deals with human be-
havior and hopefully with present valuable knowledge as to how
poor readers
think and act toward teachers,
self,
home,
and grades.
The study presents· what was done in the author' s reading program,
and gives
some meaningful recorn...'Tiendations based on material
found in the study.
The program and the study were not the result of enor­
m.ous scientific reaearch; they were not th�
treatise,
nor
was the
-result of a theoretical
program a totally new curriculun1..
The
Program and the study were the result of the author's attitude
toward learning which deems the lear·ner rnost im.portant and the
material to be learned only secondary.
6
Description of Population
The junior high school which was the site of this study is
located in the northern portion of
The school
Los A ngeles County.
is twenty freeway minutes away from a major metropolitan area.
The junior high school encom.passed the seventh,
In
and ninth grades.
and girls.
1 970-71
the student body numbered
eighth,
1 3 37
boys
The ethnic· makeup of the student body of the junior
high school was as follows:
American Indian
2
Negro
3
Oriental
3
Spanish Surnamed Americans
All students not included above
TO TAL
The author's classes,
forty,
73
125 6
1 337
which numbered one hundred and
contained five Spanish surnamed Americans,
no Negroes,
Orientals or American Indians.
The surrounding area from which the school draws its enrollment contains thirteen separate hous).:ng tracts and three mobile
hon1e parks.
The
average cost of the tract homes is
The area has
nineteen years.
$ 2 5, 000.
ex-perienced tre�endous growth in the past
The seventh,
eighth,
and ninth--grade population
for the general area served by the secondary
tained only one high school ar.d one
junior
school system con-
high school with five
7
hundred and fifty students in 1950.
By 1969 � he secondar y school
system had three j unior high schools and two hi gh schools sen.ring
4, 792 students.
The total population �as gr own in this general
area served by the secondary school system from 8, 000 in 1950
to 61, 000 in 1969.
The potential labor for ce numbers 2 2, 000.
Construction employs 14, 000 of this labor force, manufacturing
5, 500, agricultural 1, 000, and government employees 1, 000.
The
remaining 500 ar e spr ead through mining, communication and
transportation.
The voter registr ation reveals 60o/o of the population regi stered are Democrats.
About 30o/o are register ed as Republicans.
The political status of the area is that of an unincorpor ated area.
The management of the area comes under the super -
vi sion of the Los Ange les County Supervisors.
The general area was se:rved by one public libr ary from
1950-1971.
The site of the progr am was located appr o ximately
twenty driving minutes from this library.
Questions
The basic questions to this s tudy were:
1.
C an negative attitudes to\vard school, teacher s, r ead­
ing, and self which have
versed
in
2.
been
built
��p
over nine years be re-
a year1s cour se?
C an the attern:pt
about reading irnprovement'?
to
deal
with
negative attitudes bring
8
3.
What should be the teacher1s role in this atte mpt to
deal with negative attitudes?
4.
in
How much of a part does the home e.mr:ironment play
the failure of students in r eading?
5.
Do students perform when guaranteed a high grade ?
Hypothesis
The hypothesis of this study was that the r eversal of nega­
tive attitudes towar d teachers, grades, self, and hon!.e of poor
r eaders would produce significant improvement in the following
areas:
reading skills, r eading interest, academic
achievement.
D efinitions
1.
Self- concept.
"The term self- concept
the perc·eptions, ideas, and feelings
which e a c h
refers
to all
of
person de v�lops
about himself- -his- ·physical characteristics, m.ental abilities and his
acceptance by and influence upon others [Richar dson, 1969,
2.
Reading laborator;,-:.:..
p.
108].
This refers to classes offered in a
sequential English skills program for ninth and tenth-graders.
The
ing
criteria for entrance is
teacher
recomrner:dation and a r�ad-
ability, as tested by the Nelson Reading Test, For m A, at
least one year below grade le vel.
were all ninth-grad e rs so
their
In this study, the 140 students
reading abilities were at least as
low as eighth grade and for some as
3.
Relaxed
classroo.:-n,
teacher ;,vhich allows student;:;
to
An
lo;,v
as non-reader .
environ:rnent
cr.ClOSe
created by the
reading rnate:dal freely,
11
9
progress through programmed material to eliminate reading skill
deficiencies and to learn when they are ready.
4.
Significant adult=
A person who contributes to a stu-
dent's own image of himself, correctly or erroneously.
Attitudes.
The outlook of an individual toward things
outside the individual.
The importance of the attitudes depend on
5.
the thing which is involved.
For example, an attitude toward pa-
rents is more important than an attitude toward politics.
6.
Cognitive domain.
"Refers to the activity of mind in
knowing an object, to intellectual functioning.
What an individual
learns and the intellectual process of learning it would fall within
the cognitive domain; unless what is learned is an attitude or value,
which would be affective learning
7.
Affective doma in.
[Brown,
1 9 7 1 , p. 4]. n
''Refers to the feeling or emotional
aspect of experience and learning.
How a child or adult feels
about wanting to learn, how he feels as he learns, and what he
feels after he has learned are included in the affective domain
[Brown, 1 9 7 1 , p. 4].
"
Summary
The -p rogrc-.m which was the main concern of this study
was conducted by the author in the school year 1 9 7 0 -71.
The pro-
gram concerned itself with negative attitudes students had developed toward r eading over nine years of formal educa.tion.
maj or areas
of
ernphasis for attitudi
.1
The
change were atti tudes
10
toward the reading teacher, the attitudes of home as they in­
fluenced reading, attitudes of self-esteem, and attitudes toward
grades.
The program made an attempt to motivate the poor reader
to read more
by
saturating him with light reading -material.
The
hope was that the availability of reading material to please most
levels of the reader' s interest would help him to enj oy taking ini­
tial steps to improving reading skills.
The program dealt with ninth-grade students who read at
least one year below grade level.
To attempt to give a sampling
of the reading students who entered this program, parent inter·­
vie\vs, teacher surveys, student attitude surveys, attendance
figures, standardized reading scores, standardized achievement
scores and grade point averages for the school years 1 968-69,
1969-70, 1970 -71 are pres-ented.
The study addresses itself primarily to what can be done
to reverse negative attitudes toward reading, what the role of the
teacher is in attempting this reversal process, what reading im­
provement can take place while an attempt is made to reverse
negative attitudes, what influence the home has in developing at­
titudes toward reading, and. how students perform when grades are
not en.1.phasized.
The study was undertaken
1.n
the hope that
future
ers in the area of secondary reading programs could use
research­
the
n1a-
11
terial set forth in this study.
The author1 s concern for what seen1.ed
to be a forgotten portion of the s econdary school population, the
poor reader s, prompted both the prog.ram and the study.
The �ypothesis of this study is that the attempt to reverse
negative attitudes toward teachers, grades, self and home within
poor readers would produce significant improve ment in the follow­
ing
areas: reading skills, readin
' g interest, and academics.
12
II.
The Re vie·w of Lite r atur e
Thls s urv"ey of lite rature r e vi ews pre s e nt s tudi e s on af ­
fective factors
in
reading.
Thi s chapter is divided as follows :
1.
Studi e s r elated to the affective factor s in reading.
2.
Teacher attitude s a.nd reading ins truction.
3.
Student s elf-conce pt and r eading instruction.
4.
Studie s r elated to s tudent home life and reading
ins true ti on.
5.
Studie s relate d to grade s and the s tudent in reading
i ns tr uction.
Studies in General Related to the Affe ctive Areas in Re ading
In a paper pr e s ented at the 1969 Inte rnational Reading Cor..­
ference , Irene Athey (1969) made s ome very reve aling comments .
Now i n all s tudies by Holme s
and
his colle agues us ing the
s ubstrata :model and technique , pers onality and attitudual
factor s failed to appear among those variables making a
s tatis tically significant contribution to the variance in reading abili ty. .
Should we then conclude that affe ctive factors make no
contribution to reading ability?
on
this question
immediately
A s urvey of the literature
belies
such
a
conclusion.
13
Howeve r .
. when the s um of the c ontdbution 1nade by
each o f the s ele cted variable s is c omplete d, approxi ­
nla tely twe nty - five p e r c ent o f the variance in reading
They s urmi s e that
c omp r ehension r emains unexplained.
n10tivational facto r s , either s table or te1nporary, may be
operating, but the s e fa c to r s a r e othe r than tho s e mea s ured
b y the p e r s onality· te s ts employed.
As a matte r of fa ct,
the r elationship between mea s ured p e r s onality variable s
and reading i s usually s o tenuous a s to p r e vent their ap ­
pearance at any level o f the analy s i s .
We do not a s yet ha ve pe r s ona lity mea s ur e s c o r r e s ponding
to the s tandardize d achievement te s t be c au s e the s cho ol
has b een much le s s concerne d with the affe ctive obje c­
tive of e ducati on or the 1neans to a s s e s s them [p . 5-6].
Athe y ( 1 969) goe s on to s ay:
Thus , if we c ons ide r an affective va riable , say s elf­
c onfidence, its r ole in the wo rking system n1ight
be
to
enhance certain c ognitive s kills which in turn affe c ts
othe r s , leading to imp r ove d p e rfo rman ce in reading, which
in turn leads to inc r e a s e d s elf- confidence [p.
6].
It i s plain to see from the s e com.ments that Athey se e s
a
di re ct r elationship between the affective area s and the learnin g of
reading.
cause she
Athey' s comme�ts and r esearch
does
not rule out the c ognitiv-e
are
area.
mo st creditable bec£
learning.
What
14
she demonstrate s in thi s paper.. citing over s �venty studie s , is the
greater ne e d to blend and u s e both the a ffe ctive and c o gnitive
s tyle s of learning.
In an attempt to di s c over whe ther or not there were dif­
ferenc e s in the s elf- c onc epts of over- a chi e vers and under - a chie vers
in reading, Lumpkin matche d group s on chronological age, mental
age, s ex, and home bac kground (Lumpkin,
1966 ).
The s tudy re veal e d that ove r - a chievers p o s s e s s e d signifi cantly rnore p o s itive s elf-c oncepts .
The s e s ame over- a chieving
elementary s chool children als o s howe d a hi gher level of adj u s t ­
ment and de c lared a liking for reading .
Lumpkin' s s tudy also state d that under -a chievers had a
p r e dominantly ne gative perception of s elf.
pre s sed fe elings of c onfli ct,
a
The s e students ex-
de sire to b e different as s e en by
thems elve s and were c onsidere d by teachers to have a high problem
tendency.
Two of Lmnpkin ' s ( 1969) recommendations are as follows:
l.
That re s earch ba s e d on intensive c a s e study approach
.
be made which would explore all pha s e s of the child's de ­
velopment within hi s s o cial milieu, utilizing all available
techniques for determining s elf-concept fa ctors which con ­
tribute to the a djustment or lack of adj'..lstment of children,
and designed to asc ertain methods for
m.aking
a
b etter a djustment. .
assisti.ng
thern in
15
4.
That pra cti c e s b e e nga ged in which pr ovide incre a s e d
unde r s tanding· o f the child who exp re s s e d aggre s s ive , withdrawing, and non - achieving behavior as a r e s ult of his
c oncept of hims elf [p. 420].
Looking at Lumpkin1 s findings and r e c omme ndati ons , it
s e ems s afe to c onclude he ha s a well founde d concern for re s ea r ch in the affe ctive area s of reading.
S ybil R icha r ds on ( 1 9 6 9 ) rep orts that children with ne ga ­
tive s e lf-concepts me e t many challenge s found at s choo l with
11 r e s i s tanc e, reluctance, or apathy (p.
1 08 ].11
Ri chards on s tate s,
11 The y are afrai d to include thems elve s in new le a rning s whi ch trey
s ens e may c onfirm their fe elings of inade qua cy and 'Nill only b ring
them furthe r di s app roval [p.
1 08 ].11
While thi s quote ha s many
othe r ramifi c a ti ons; it doe s p oint out the gr eat ne ed fo r teache r s
to deal with s tudents1 pr oblems before they de al with the lack of
the ability to u s e dec oding skills (p.
1 08).
Healy ( 1 9 65) in a s tudy dealing with attitude s a s a r e s ult
of young childrens 1 initial reading exp erience s , p ointe d out that,
A significant diffe rence -.va s found betwe en experimental
and c ontr ol subj e cts in total reading achievement gain s and
in number of b ooks read during the fiTs t s e1ne s te r at the
junior high level.
Changing the attitude of children toward
r ea ding at the fi fth grade level appears to inc r e ase achieve ment and encoura ge rnore reading [p.
271 ].
16
Healy1s exp eriment also s howed how "Experimental subje cts achieve d mor e and read more .
Change s in attitude s
•
p e r s is te d in junio r high and influenced achieve ment and re ading
habits [p . 2 7 2 1" . "
It
(Se e Tables 1 - 3).
i s ve ry si gnifi cant to note the number of children,
fifty - five, affe cte d by other than traditional reas ons given for failure.
Caus e s one and· two both deal with forms of i mm aturity
(pers onality and phys i cal).
A ve ry inte r e s ting part o f Healy ' s r e s ear ch r e vealed
childrens' unplea s ant memo ri e s of fir s t gra de .
Students ' com-
ments included, "Days s e eme d a thous and yea r s long, " "We had
t o write a milli on things , "
" I wa s always having t o s tay in to
fini sh work at r e c e s s and afte r s chool,
17
"My teache r tie d me to
my s eat, 11 and 1 1 The words us e d to crawl ar ound the page like a
bunch o f worms [p . 2 70- 2 71].
11
The s e s tatements by fifth grade
s tudents give an unde r s tanding into their attitude about re ading and
future lea rning.
17
TAB LE 1
Cau s e s o f Reading Failure
Cau s e s
1.
Numbe r
of
B oys
Numb e r
of
Girls
Entrance in s chool before
s ixth birthday
23
8
2.
Vis u o - p e r c eptual immaturity
19
5
3.
Moto r dis abilitie s
3
2
4.
Inappr opriate ins truction
2
1
18
TAB LE
2
B e ginning of S chool Year
Group
R e ading Attitude s
Numb e r
Like d
Neutral
Di s like d
I
33
8
10
15
II
35
8
14
13
19
TAB LE 3
End of School Year
Group
Reading Attitude s
Numbe r
Like d
Neutral
Dis like d
-
I
28
15
8
5
II
30
16
10
4
20
Summar y
In the attemp t t o document the gene ral r e s earch that
p r ove s a need for further study in the area of the affe ctive domain
i n reading, the prec e ding studi e s s e em pertinent.
Thei r pertinence
r e volve s on the ass umpti on that good r eade r s , achieve r s in lear n ­
ing, have characte risti c traits whic h can b e identified and facto r e d
by. reading teache r s.
1.
Twe nty - five p e r cent o f the varianc e 1n r eading corn ­
p r ehension r emains unexplaine d in Holme s s ub s trata rnodel and
te chnique
2.
(Athey,
19 69).
The re i s a ne e d for further s tudy into child's develop­
ment as r elate d to s o cial milieu
3.
(Lumpkin, 19 66).
New learning is diffi cult for students who fe el inade ­
quate and who faile d in the pas t
5.
(Richar ds on,
19 69).
Changing attitude s toward reading foste r s future
reading patte rns
6.
19 66).
Mo r e s hould b e known about agg r e s sive , withdrawing
and non - a chieving b ehavior
4.
(Lumpkin,
(Healy, 1965).
Reading failure can be r o ote d in ear ly traumati c e n­
c ounte rs with s chool
(Healy,
19 65 ).
The following five points a.r e p r e s e nted in thi s s ummary,
not b e cau s e the y app ear in the b o dy o f Part I, but be cau s e they
fu:!"ther identify the affective doma.in in reading and lend credence
to
the c ontention that more study is neede d to
prove the
ability to
21
identify and us e the affe ctive factor s in r eading instructions .
1.
Goo d reade r s are intelle ctually oriente d (Gate s ,
1936;
Gra zow, 1954; Witty, 1950).
2.
B ette r r eade r s exhibit highe r a s pir ations (Ketcham,
3.
B e tte r r eade r s exhibit drive fo r achievement (Baue r ,
4.
B etter r eade r s exhibit mo r e curio sity (Maw
5.
B e tte r r eade rs exhibit more p o sitive attitude s toward
1966).
1956).
&
Maw,
1962).
s chool in gene ral (Carte r ,
Gr off,
1954; Grazow,
1954; Healy,
1965;
1962; Ketcham, 1966).
Studie s Relate d to Teache r Attitudes and Reading Instruction
R e s e a r c h on the attitude s of teache r s and their e ffect on
learning ha s r eveale d very us eful information fo r this s tudy.
From. an article by Sybil Richards on ( 1969), the follovv'ing
quotation foc us e s the intent of this p r e s ent study:
At the s ame time the refle cted app rais als of significant
a dults are u s e d a s additional data in the c hild1s s elfc oncept.
B e caus e the child1 s environment is r e s tricted
and be cause adults appe ar so wis e a.nd p owe rful, the re­
fle cted apprais als have
child1 s ideas and
a
powerful influence upon the .
feelings about
himself.
Even when
such
appraisals a r e e r r oneous, they have a las ting effect upon
22
the child1 s s elf-c oncept [ p. 108].
Ri chards on (1969) goe s on to s ay:
A ne gative c oncept of s elf can be change d, although slowly,
under two c onditi ons:
(1) warm and a c c epting relations with
othe r s and (2) fr e e dom fr om anxiety arising from threat
of de - enchantment.
Fo rtunately the tza.che r is in almost
c omplete c ontrol of the s e c onditions in the cla s s room [p . 109].
In c la s s r ooms whe re tea che r s 1 c01nments c onvey reproofs
and c riti cism ins tead of prais e a nd enc oura gement, the r e s ult will
be anxiety and unea sine s s .
Thi s in turn r e duces children1 s c on -
fidence i n the ir own abiliti e s (Withal, 1969; Flanders ,
1969).
He r e ­
in s e ems to lie the s e c r e t to tea che r - motivate d lea rning .
.Quellmalz (1965) c onducted a s tudy dealing with n10tiva tion.
She claims that a r e s tructuring of curri culum and mate rials
will not s olve the p r oblems of turne d - off learners.
n1ain p r oblem to be motivation.
She s ee s the
He r s olution, a s indicate d by he r
s tudy, is reinfor cement.
The lite rature in the field of te a cher - attitude s cons tantly refe r s to what the tea che r can do in the cla s s r oom.
Thi s r e curring
theme s e ems to indi cate how greatly tea che r s influenc e the total
d e velopment of a p o sitive s e lf- c oncept (E riks on, 1950; Kunz, 1969).
In another stu dy related to the cla s s r oom teacher and s elf­
c on cept, Staine s (1965) used
experirnent group .
two
gr oups, the c ontrol group and the
The contl·ol gr oup tea cher
was
not
awa re of the
23
The expe riment gr oup
s elf - concept a s a major goal in the cla s s .
teacher made a p oint of analyzing the s elf - ratings of the s tudent s .
The c ontr ol gr oup tea c he r attemp te d t o t e a c h s o that he r s tudents
might positively c hange their feelings about thems elve s .
gr oups we r e made up of high achieve r s .
a si gnificant de c r e a s e in s e lf - traits .
s howe d ju s t the opposite .
B o th
The c ontr ol gr oup s howe d
The expe rimental group
The e xpe rimental teache r's effort posi -
tively to reinfo r c e pe rformance, s tatus , and potential re sulte d in
a si gnifi cant inc r e a s e in s e lf - traits .
A s tudy c onducted by Davi d s on and Lar,g
( 1965)
als o tried
t o s how how the s e lf - c oncept i s influence d in a c las s r o on1.
Their
s tudy attempte d to c o r r elate the relationship between children' s
p e r c eption of their teacher 1 s feeling towa r d them and the children' s
p e r ception of thems elve s , a cademi c a chie vement and cla s s room
behavio r .
The results s howe d a p o sitive c o r r elation on all thr e e
mea s ur e s .
The inve s ti gator s c on clude that the teache r's feelings of
a cceptance and app r o val are pi cked up by the s tudent and s e en
him a s p o sitive apprai s aL
Thi s a c cepta-nce
by
by
the tea cher leads
t o ha v'i.ng the s tudent want to a chie ve mo r e for fur ther approval.
Willi s ( 1969) c onducte d a s tudy whi ch involved two group s,
one labele d Lea s t Effi.cie nt (LE) and the se con d group :.M o s t Effi cient
(ME) .
The results indi cate that the tea c he r s provided si gnificantly
more ve rbal respons e for the behavior of the
lv:(E than
the
LE
24
child in their cla s s r ooms .
The LE s tudents we r e s ubje cte d to a
" s ys tematic extinction o f the behavi or that the LE child m o s t ne eds
to d e ve lop s o cial c ompe tence
[p . 110].
r!
Willi s c onclude s that tea che r s may transmit their expecta tions r e ga r ding the learning effi ciency of s tudents .
claim s ,
Thi s ,
Willi s
may b e done b y the way the y respond to the s tudents ' at­
tempts to inte ract with them.
The numb e r of tea che r s who would sub s c rib e to making
their cla s s ro oms more humc>.n and s ens itive to the needs of c hild r e n i s unknown.
B ut how do tea c he r s b e c ome awa r e of thi s pos -
s ible need fo r change ?
T obin ( 1969) s u r veye d a gr oup of teache r s
who had been exp o s e d t o an unu s ual in - s e r vi ce pr ogram:
ity training.
The s e s s ion wa s an attempt to p r epare teache r s to
teach children of migrant worker s .
with ( 1)
sensitiv-
T obin ' s s tudy c on c e rned its elf
Tea che r attitude s toward a war rn,
acc epting type of cla s s ;
(2) Teache r attitude s towa r d s pe cifi c clas s r oom practi c e s identifi ­
able with demo crati c training; (3) Authoritarian - dem.o c r ati c attitudes;
(4) Teache r ' s se lf - pe r c eive d ability to effe ct c hange .
Tobin ( 1969),
thr ough a que s tionnai r e ,
how the s e goals had been c a r ried out.
attempte d to s e e
From the r e s p ons e s he
wa s led to the s e conclu s i ons :
( 1) Mo s t worksho·p pa rti cipants intende d to rnake change s
in the ir cla s s e s c onsi s tent with the workshop obj ectives of
impr ove d human r elations in the cla s s room. and the de veloping
25
of a mor e p o s i tive s en s e of s elf in childr en.
(2) The
s chool situation tends to inhibit the p r o c e s s e s of change
( 3) In the fa ce of the p r e s s u r e s of
and teache r gr owth.
the s chool situation,
chang e s can be made by tea cher s
with s trong de te rmination and c onvicti on but,
average tea che r ,
fo r the
the s e pre s s ure s appear to be too much
[p . 120].
One of Tobin ' s r e c omme ndations ,
able e vidence ,
a s deduce d fr om avail -
wa s that a s ens iti vity training exp e rience b e inco r -
p o rate d into the profe s si onal p r epar ati on o f all p r o s pe ctive tea che r s .
Summa ry
The author fe els the following gene r ali zations can be of­
fe r e d a s the re sult of the pre c e ding studie s a s s tate d in this s e c ­
ti on:
1.
Teache r s c ontribute to the s elf- concept of a s tudent
in a way akin to parents and maybe e ven mor e signi fi c a ntly
( Ri c ha r ds on,
2.
1969).
T ec-.che r s affe ct the lon g - te r rn de velopment of s e lf­
c oncepts (Ri chards on,
3.
1969).
T e a c he r s can b r ing ab out p o s itive change in the ability
of the s tudent to learn by tea ching to the s elf-in1age of the s tu ­
dent, ( E riks on,
4.
1950; Kun z ,
1969).
A conscious ef£ort i s nece s sary to b e able to teach to
the s tudent's s el:f i n1age (El'ikson,
1950; Kunz,
1969; Staine s , 1 9 65 )
.
26
Childr en pe r c e i ve what tea che r s ' attitude s towar d
5.
them a r e b y ve rbal inte raction in the cla s s r oom ( Willi s ,
1969).
Childr en are motivate d to do mor e work by p o s itive
6.
r einfor c ement ( Withal,
1965 ; Quellmal z ,
1960; Flande r s ,
1969; Davids on &: Lang,
1965).
In-s ervi c e p r o grarns can make tea che r s awa r e of the
7.
need to te ach to the s elf-image of s tudents ( Tobin,
1969) .
Studi e s R elate d to Student Self.:.C onc ept and Reading Ins tr uction
Studi e s p r e s ente d in the following s e ction show ( 1) That
s elf- c oncept plays an imp o rtant r ol e in learning exp e rienc e s (2)
That s elf- c oncept plays an important role in r eading instruction.
For the purp o s e of thi s s tudy,
" s elf - image,
11
and
11 s elf - e s teern,
the terms "se lf - conc e pt,
1
1
" a r e inte rchangeable and define d
a s follow s :
The te rm s elf- c oncept refe r s t o all o f the per ceptions ,
idea s ,
and fe eling s which each pe r s on develop s about him ­
s elf--his phys ical characte r i s ti c s , mental abiliti e s , and
hi s a c ceptance by,
1969,
p.
and influence up on othe r s [ Ri chards on ,
108].
Once an atmo s pher e that include s a c c eptanc e and free dom
f r om anxiety ha s been s tructured,
a
s elf-c oncept will r e sult (Richardson,
ver y s low in1provement in
1969).
In this atn1o s phere of a c cep ta nce and r elief from anxiety,
the s tudent will be rid o{ negative c o n1n1ents.
Staines' ( 1965 )
27
exp e r iment in whic h one tea cher empha s i z e d thi s as a maj or goal
p r ove d that s tudents did impr o ve their s elf- c oncept.
Staines ( 1 9 65 )
did s tate that the s elf i s a fa c tor i n all lea rning exp e rienc e s .
S tudents in the cla s s r oom o f juni o r hi gh s chool and high
s chool are g oing thr ough s tage s of later adole s cence .
"At this
s tage of development - -b e tween ab out fifte en and ei ghteen year s of
a ge - - the individual tends to b e keenly c onc e r ne d with hi s s elf-image
[ R o s enbe r g , 1 9 6 5 , p. 2 0 ] .
"
a r e a s king thems e lve s a r e :
S ome of the que s tions the s e s tude nts
What a m I like ?
what b a s i s shall I judge mys elf?
On
B e caus e the s e ve ry important
que s tions a r e in the minds of the s e s tudents ,
be ve ry dama ging.
How good am I ?
c ontinual failure can
A s tudent s ea r ching for answe rs to,
""What am
I like ? " may be told in many ways by s i gnifi cant adults that he i s
a failur e .
Thi s s tudent will s oon make failur e hi s own s elf-ima ge
( Ro s enb e rg ,
1 9 65 ) .
Fror�J.m - Reichmann ( 1 9 60 ) ha s sugge s te d that anxiety i s
manife s te d b y:
centrati on,
( 1 ) inte r fe r ence with thinking p r o c e s s e s and c on ­
( 2 ) a fre quently obj e ctle s s fee ling of unce r tainty and
helple s sne s s ,
(3) intell e c tual and emotiona l pre oc cupation, and ( 4 )
blo c king of c mnmuni cation.
R o s enb e rg ( 1 9 65 ) in hi s s tudy of 5 , 0 24 high s chool juni o r s
and s eni o r s fr om ten . hi g h s cho ols in New Y o r k State ,
one r e s ult o f anxiety the fa cto r of vulnerability.
elude s Htat
a
identifi e s a s
Ro s enb e r g c on -
p e r son ¥.�rith low s elf- e s te em, ( po o r s elf-conc e pt) would
28
11be inordinately sensitive to any evidence in the experience of his
daily life which testified to his inadequacy, incompetence, or worth­
lessness [p. 110]."
Four specific areas of vulnerability manifested by people
with low self-esteem (self-concept) are:
(1) much more likely to be sensitive to criticism, to be
deeply disturbed when they are laughed at, scolded , blamed,
criticized, etc.; (2) much more likely to be bothered if
others have a poor opinion of them; (3) much more likely
to be deeply disturbed if they do poorly at some task they
have undertaken; ( 4) much more likely to be disturbed when
they become aware of some fault or inadequacy in them­
selves [Rosenburg, 1965, p.
I 09].
The research literature suggests that good readers have
more positive self-concepts than poor readers (Hallack, 1958; Lock­
hart, 1965; Lumpkin, 1966; Malmquist,
man
&
Allenbrand, 1965).
1958; Seay, 1960; Zimmer-
Not only do better readers exhibit more
positive self-concepts, students in grades one through nine who are
better readers show feelings of adequacy and personal worth, selfconfidence and self-reliance.
ers.
The opposite is true for poor read-
These poor readers tend to be characterized by immaturity,
impulsiveness, and negative feelings concerning themselves and
their "World (Blackrnan,
1967).
1955; Bodwin, 1957; Schywart, 1967; Toller,
29
Under-achievers who are gifted have the unique problem
of not being able to identify with authority figures, or to create
warm relationships with teachers or peers (Gowan, 1955; Fliegler,
1957) .
Summary
l.
Low self-concepts make future learning repulsive to
the learner (Richardson, 1969) .
2.
Self-concepts improve in an atmosphere of acceptance
and freedom from anxiety (Richardson, 1969) .
3.
The self is a factor in all learning experiences
(Staines, 1965).
4.
The ages fifteen to eighteen, early adolescence, repre­
sent a crucial time in the growth of a self-concept {Rosenberg,
1965).
5.
Anxiety in learners is identifiable, ( Fromm -Reichmanr.,
6.
Anxiety leads to identifiable traits of vu.lnerability
1960) .
. (Rosenberg, 1965) .
7.
lack,
Good readers have more positive self-concepts (Hal­
1958; Lockhart, 1965; Lumpkin, 1966; Malmquist, 1958;
Seay, 1960; Zhnrn-ern1an
8.
&
Allebrand, 1965) .
Poor readers have· noticeable traits of poor self­
concepts (Blachna.n, 1955; Bodwin, 1957; Schywart,
1967).
1967; Toller,
30
Studies Related to Home Life and Reading Instruction
The purpose of this section 1s to document studies that
show that the hOl'ne environment has a relationship to the ty-pe of
achievement accomplished by reading students.
The comm ents and appraisals of significant adults in a
young child' s life are very influential.
A child has a li mited en-
vironment and from this limited · environment the child draws conelusions as to how other people see him (Richardson, 1 969). Kunz
( 1 969) echoes Richardson.
Kunz also sees the significant adults in
a child ' s life contributing to the child' s self- image.
by two people (Vickery,
1 955; McKinley,
The findings
1 960) who researched ·
whether there i s a definite correlation between child rearing pra c._,
tices and reading achievement, are inconclusive.
Vickery found
that parents of good readers had significantly different child rearing
attitudes from parents of poor readers.
Parents of good readers
favored to a high degree attitudes which reflected permissive
child rearing attitudes.
However, McKinley found no appreciable
relationship between maternal child rearing attitudes and children' s
reading performance.
A more conclusive study by McGinnis ( 1 965) shows that
parents who r es ponded to a pencil and paper inventory did have
definite differences in child rearing practices.
are set out i n detail to give
Parents
of
s upe rior readers:
a
Her conclusions
full view o£ this r elevant study.
31
1.
express attitudes which are less dictatorial and more dem­
ocratic than parents of inferior readers.
2. foster independence more than <,;lependence.
include outside influences rather than exclude outside in-
3.
fluences.
4.
place less emphasis upon the deification of parents.
5.
place more emphasis upon group thinking and group
participation.
6.
conve y attitudes which encourage their children to voice
ideas and points of view rather than attitudes which discourage
freedom of discussion.
7 .
e mphasize the attitude that their children can discus s any
topic vvi.th them without shame, ridicule, or reproach.
8.
manifest attitudes which suggest that they refrain from
attempting to hurry the growth and development of their children.
9.
1 0.
appreciate the concept of reading readiness.
emphasize the value of comm unication and development of
language skills.
1 1.
hold attitudes that refrain from r·estricting children in
ways which retard growth and development.
McGinnis 1 s ( 19 6 5 ) study stated that the opposite views of
what is representative ·of parents of superior readers were held by
parents of inferior re aders in varying degre es.
McGinnis concludes that parental attitudes do affect
32
differing backgrounds which have either a positive or negative ef­
fect on future lear ning.
Carrillo ( 1957) found poor readers to show lack of inde­
pendence, avoidance of leadership opportunities, and a poor attitude toward responsibility.
Carrillo' s findings are consistent with
the findings presented by earli er cited studies which describe
learners with a poor self-concept.
Finally,
Tabarlet (1958 ) found fifth grade children, two or
more years retarded in reading, to be inferior to normal readers
in interpersonal skills, social participation, satisfactory work and
recreation, and adequate outlook and goals.
The findings of Tabar-
let would seem to parallel McGinnis' findings.
Summary
1.
The ho me constitutes the environment from which the
child draws conclusions about his ov,rn self-worth (Kunz, 1969;
Richardson, 1969) .
2.
Parental attitudes to child rearing practices do pro­
duce a positive or negative effect on future learning
(McGinnis,
1965) .
3.
Deficie ncies in personalities that have their basis in
the early hom.e life are found in poor readers ( Tabarlet, 1958 ;
Carrillo, 1957) .
Studies Related to Grades and R eading Instruction
_
The purpos e . of this section is to establ ish a basis for
33
negating the anxiety brought about by competition for grades in the
r eading classroom.
In a study conducted with college students to compare a
graded and non-graded class, Reid (1 970) used a control group and
an experimental group.
The control group was evaluated by the
traditional marking system of A B C D F.
The experimental
group was only evaluated on a P ass- Fail system.
Reid could find
no significant difference in achievement, attitudes or values.
How-
ever, Reid did state that he observed an atmosphere in the Pass­
Fail graded class which was more relaxed and free of grade­
oriented tensions than he found in the regularly graded class.
·The
by - product of the Pass-Fail grading, according to Reid, seemed to
be that it resulted in the instructor' s perception of increased rap­
port between himself and his students.
Melby ( 1966) stated he felt grades should be set aside be­
cause they put too much emphasis on limited goals and do not put
emphasis on future learning.
Melby also felt that grades too often
r einforced failure whereas e ducators should be developing the p o s i ­
ti ve self- concept o f the c hild which promotes not drop-outs, but
future learners.
Haskell ( 1 9 67) felt that the goal of a P ass-Fail system was
to
free the student fr om a.n arbitrarily-fixed grade and substitute a
self-motiva ti on that would lead
hhn
into an attainment level that he
might not reach under the pressure imposed by a letter grade.
34
Haskell als o reported that the P ass- Fail system was no t installed
in his school without first checking with c olleges which students
would possibly be entering upon c o mpletion of high scho ol.
The
answer s received fr om the colleges enc ouraged and welcomed the
experiment in the Pass-Fail system.
Kingston (1966) r eported that resear ch seemed to show
that parents and students prefer red a traditional report system
(Mo r r is, 1952 ; Yauch, . 1961; Richardson, 1960; Kingston
1 9 66 ).
&
Wash,
This seemed to indicate that there is a false tr ust in the
teacher ' s ability to truly and accurately assess the amo unt o f learn­
ing which has o c curred and what seems to be the future of learn­
ing.
Kingston ( 1 966) also pointed o ut that a study by Anderson
(1966) suggested our gr ading systerrJS tend to reflect c omparisons
between children and that the reference point has been academic
growth.
Since the reading classroom has students r outed to it be-
c ause of low ability in r eading, any grading system based upon a
c ompar ison o f students' reading achievement inevitably means the
bulk of the grades will be C ' s, D ; s o r F ' s.
Reading specialists
all seem to agree that r emedial work should be highly individual i zed.
The establishment o f identical goals for all students, there-
fore, should be avoi ded at all c o sts (Kingston, 1966) .
B ecaus e the re ading teache r is for c ed to give a grade , he
mus t; adrniniste r a diagnosti c exam to establish
a
po int of reference
35
to gauge progress.
Since the reading process and the reading
disability is so complex the reading teacher often does not have a
true point of reference.
Then, because he is forced to grade, he
will subjectively assign a grade to satisfy the system (Kingston,
1966).
Many times the assignment of grades is based on the co­
operativeness or lack ·of cooperativeness shown by the reading student.
Since many poor learners are behavioral problems, the end
r esult is a poor grade based more on negative attitudes toward
r eading than real progress toward remediation of a reading prob­
lem (Kingston,
19 6 6) .
B oyd (19 6 5 ) suggested an alternative to traditional" reporting practices.
She suggested that more school personnel use phone
conversations with parents, correspondence, parent- teacher inter­
views and the systematic transmission of samples of s tudents'
work home to parents.
Summary
1.
Research on non-traditional grading syste ms is scarce
(Kingston, 19 6 6 ) .
2.
Non-graded classes allow for free dom from anxieties
brought on by grades (Reid,
3.
student
and
4.
1970) .
Non- graded classes· allow for greater rapport between
teacher (Reid,
1 970) .
Grades may emphasize limited goals (Melby,
19 66) .
36
The Pass- Fail syste m may c r ea te more self - motiva ­
5.
tion in the student ( Haskell, 19 67).
6.
Some colleges welcome the Pass-Fail system ( Haskell,
7.
Students and parents seem to prefer traditiona l grad­
19 67) .
ing systems (Kingston
&
Wash, 19 6 6; Mor r is, 1952; Yauch, 1 9 61;
Richar dson, 19 60) .
8.
·
Identical goals for all reading students as a point of
r eference for grading is undesira ble (Anderson, 1 9 6 6 ) .
9.
Diagnostic reading tests may not r esult in a reliable
point of r eference for grading (Kingston, 19 6 6 ) .
Chapter SuiTLrnar y
In general, the literature in the areas of affective lear ning
showed that the student does lea r n with more than his mind.
The
litera ture als o revealed that there is mor e study needed to unde r ­
stand how education can use the affective factors to br ing more
learners to grea ter achievement in r eading.
The litera ture showed that teacher attitudes in the class ­
r oom influenced the student' s lea rning. · Students who did not have
an ability to cop� wi th failure were further retarded in learning
when a teacher ' s low opinion
of
them was comm•J.nica te d.
Studies indicated - that an a tmospher e of r elaxation and free­
dom from an.,�ie ty allowed the student to dea l with himself and the
growth of
hi s
self- concept.
Young students, a ges fiftee n thr ough
III.
The· Progr am
O verview
The R eading P r ogr am was known as Reading Labor atory I
and II .
It consisted of two semester courses designed to improve
the reading skills of ninth- gr ader s reading below grade level.
The pr ogr am had an enrollment of 140 students, ages
fourteen to sixteen years.
There were 104 boys and 36 girls.
The
classes had only five Spanish sur named students, no Negroes, O r i ­
e ntals, o r A merican Indians.
The students wer e progr ammed into the reading classes by
their eighth- gr ade teacher s.
The eighth-gr ade teachers used the
students1 reading scores, supplied by the school ' s reading special ­
i st, t o deter mi ne how far below gr ade level they wer e.
The stu­
dents were then gr ouped by the counselors into six different classes
which were divided according to the number of years the students
were below gr ade level.
Two classes had students reading from
non - reader to fifth- gr ade level; one class had students reading
from fifth- gr ade to seventh- gr ade level; one clas s had students
r eadi ng anywhe r e f:rom fifth- gr ade to eighth- gr ade level.
The means of distributing the stude nts was a function of
the school office and the author had no say in the student ' s plac e­
me nt.
During the year many students who had dropped clas se s
from their regula r schedule b ecause of conflicts with thei r teachers
38
39
entered the author' s clas s.
These students were not classified as
r eading students but as student helpers.
Thei r entry was always
cleared by the office with thei r own teacher and the author.
These
students were always made to fee l a part of the class although
they were given some nominal job to fulfill their student helper
status.
During the year the author had a total of twenty student
helpers spread throughout his six classes.
Two times during the year the office found eighth-grade
students who did not fit into their regular schedules because of age
and behavior problems.
The office again asked the author to en-
roll these two students, both boys.
D uring the second semester, the author began a policy of
lend-lease.
Because so many students were poor readers, the
regular schedule was frequently too much of a burden for then1.
B ecause of this, a great many of the author' s students started to
ask, sometin'les to demand, to be released ten1porarily from their
other classes to come to the Readin g Laboratory.
problem until two things were done.
posted.
This was a
First, a sign - up sheet was
This pern'litted son'le control over the student' s where-
abouts and also made the Reading Laboratory open to students during one lunch period.
Secondly, the author contacted the teach-
ers of the restless re ading students and supplied them wi th passes
which were to be used only after. the
period had pass ed.
fi :r s t
fifteen minutes of the
This fiftee:n minute wai ting period was
40
nece s s ary becaus e yard and hall monito r s complained about too
many s tudent s wandering the halls claiming they were on their way
to the Reading Laboratory.
Mos t of the boys in the Reading Laboratory als o took
cour s es in wood and metal s hop.
The i ndus trial ar ts teacher s did
not :mind if they came to the s hops at tin1es other than their s che �
duled clas s time.
The policy s ettled on was that s tudents could go
to metal and wood s hop when tho s e teacher s s igned pas s es and if
s ome reading had been accompli s hed the day prior to the r equested
p ermi s s ion.
This r eading requi rement was not eas ily checked, but
becaus e of the nature of the Reading Laboratory, the author did
not demand proof.
O nce thi s policy of allowing s tudents to leave Reading Lab­
oratory was s tarted, other teacher s began to allow a similar policy, though on a s maller s cale.
The Theatr e Arts teacher , the
Ar t teacher , two �1ath teacher s , three E ngli s h teacher s and the
Teen I s s ues teacher often allowed Reading Laboratory s tudents to
come back to their clas s e s .
Conver s ely,
it
was decided by the
teacher s i nvolved that the s tudents could als o leave their clas s es
to come to the Reading Labor atory any tim.e thi s was found to be
des i r able.
Another s our ce that contributed to the s tudent population
Reading Laboratory I and II was rather unusua l.
in
A s eventh- grade
geography te acher as ked the autho r to allow s ome of her s tuden ts
41
to come to R eading Laboratoryi
In this way, s ome ninth-grade
s tudents who were not as poor readers as the s eventh-graders
c ould s it and read with the s eventh-graders from the s eventh-grade
geography text.
The reading s es s ions were to las t fifteen minutes ,
which was about all the time the two s tudents could remain quiet,
a nd then free reading from any material in the room was allowed.
Due to the unique building hous ing the R eading Laboratory,
the room was s maller than a regular s ized cla s s room, only meas uring approximately twenty feet by thirty-s ix feet.
However, the
E nglis h teacher in the adj oining room had the use of an unus ually
large room for thi s cam.pus and agreed to make her room available for any overflow of reading s tudents .
Connecting doors be-
tween the Reading Laboratory and her clas s room made it pos s ible
for s tudents to pas s from one room to another without having to go
outs ide.
This agreement for us e of the larger room was als o
pra ctical becaus e of the many films the Reading Program utilized
during the year.
Since the author wanted the program to appear entirely
novel to his s tudents compared to any of their pas t reading clas ­
s e s , a " money" reward s ys tem was inaugurated at the beginning of
the s chool year.
The s ys tem was geared to make s tudents want
to read by rewarding them with mime ographed money.
The s tu-
dents 1 efforts were re warded freely with five, ten, twenty and
fifty dollar note s .
The notes carri ed the name of the author
with
42
dollar signs ornamenting the fac e of the bills .
The value of each
note was printed in the c enter in large numbers and in the corners in small numbers.
When the Pr-ogram Direc tor felt that
the student' s efforts deserved it, he handed over a certain amount of currency.
The student could, in turn, use the cur-
r ency to buy free time.
Free time sold for a dollar a minute.
With this free time went only o:rie stipulation: that the teacher
co uld put o ff the request for free time if something like a fire
drill, assembly or gr ol:1P testing was taking place.
For use during free time, the author kept many back is­
sues of Sports Illustrated and Mad Comics.
Also available were
Flash - X machines, high interest tapes and filmstrips, word games,
passes to the library and tickets to the films which were shown in
class at least once a week.
As the semester went by, the students
began to introduce new aspects to the total reward system.
Some
classes started a bank which they christened, 11:-The Bank of Knowl­
e dge " .
Two classes went so far as to elect a president and vice­
pre sident of the bank.
S o me classes demanded money rewards for
word games completed weekly and instituted raffles for posters
which hung on the walls of the classroom.
A s the money ac cumu­
lated, a system of writing checks was introduced by one enterprising student.
For a period of time, the students in the program were
given rnoney rewards for carrying a paperback ar ound with them.
43
When the P rogram Dire ctor saw one of his .stude nts re ading or
c arrying a pape rback book, the student was imme diate ly given
some play money as a reward.
The reward system did have c e rtain fixed amounts of mon­
e y that could be e arne d for various activities.
If a s tudent re ad a
magazine arti c le and re corde d the sele ction in his daily activity
she e t, he was give n five dollars. · Two workbook e xercise were
worth fifte e n dollars.
The entire class could e arn five dollars a-
pie ce if eve ryone arrive d on time to class and did not disturb the
roll- taking for the fi rst fe w minutes of class.
Whe ne ver the Pro ­
gram Dire ctor pre se nte d a story to the class on a Tac h- X machine ,
he would interrupt it periodi cally to ask questions and would then
pay script for volunte e re d corre ct answe rs.
In general, the re ward s yste m was a de vice that atte mpted
to do more than j ust ve rbally ple ad vvith stude nts to apply themselve s
to the diffi cult proce ss of improving their reading skills.
In order to overcome the never-e nding battle vvith students
who forgot pencils and pap e r and work from previous days, the
Program Dire c tor supplie d each student -\vith a manila folde r whi ch
was ke pt in the classroom.
This folde r containe d activity she ets
on whi ch the stude nt was aske d to re c ord what he was doing e ach
day in class.
The informa tion reque s te d was the date, a sirr1ple
refe renc e to the work atte mpted ( e . g. Cycle News ) and how the
student like d the Inaterial read.
Although some ve ry pe r ce ptive
44
statements were made in the comment sections of the activity
sheet, the usual cominents were simply " good" or " bad. "
Accord-
ing to the rules set up by some of the students, the Program Director was allowed to see the sheets only when the student was
The better comments usually made for very worthwhile
present.
criteria for improving future lessons.
The activity sheets also
made available for the student his owri daily 1esson plan.
As the
student continued to do his own work, or participated in whatever
the class was doing, the actual pattern for learning took shape.
For example, whe n the student was stymied for further work to
improve his skills he was referred back to other actiirities already
entered in his activity sheet.
This sheet and its completeness
was also a means of earning money under the reward system alr eady described.
Self- C oncept
In o rder to improve attitudes towar d reading,
the pr ogram
had to r elate to the interests of young students going through the
later adolescent
period o f life.
(
This period o f adolescence is
marked with doubt, with ·inner searching for answers to identity
q uestions such as " What am I? 1 1
"Who am
I?
11
" How wo rthy am I?
11
Because the Reading Laboratory dealt with poo r readers who already had good reason to feel they were not successful in school due
to their gene rally poor academic pe rformance, the P rogram Di re ctor tried
to
structure
all
wo rk around rea chable goals.
Reading
45
wa s us ually geared to the ba s al level of the s tudent.
the ba sic s ight words were introduced.
Many times
The Dolch Li s t words
were us ed in word games , s pelling contests, and generally re­
viewed in private interviews with s tudents .
The P ro gra m Director tried always to deal with what wa s
already a proven failure.
If a s tudent could not read at all o r
very poo rly, the P ro gra m Director empha s ized lis tening t o ree
c ords , putting together collages, or open di s cus s ion.
Many times
a s s igning s mall hous ekeeping ta s ks around the cla s s room enable s tu­
dents to feel s ucces s ful in cla s s .
The tra ns i tion from s uch s eeming­
ly minor tas ks to reading s kills work wa s not acco mpli s hed by the
teacher but by the s tudent .
It wa s crucial that, at the moment the
student s tarted to s how interes t i n the total program, the P rogram
Director immediately s tepped in and began to introduce material
that could be cons idered reading per s e.
The P rogram Director wa s hard put, however, to think of
enough activities that empha sized s ucce s s for thes e types of s tu­
dents .
During the s umm.ers of 1 9 61 and 19 62 the Pro gram Director
worked a s
a
relief couns elor at a delinquent boys 1 home.
The boys
at the ho me were wards of the court who had been arres ted for
running away fro m home , using narcotics , s tealing auto s , or extreme mi s behavior at home.
The P rogran1 Director found it
di fficult to adj us t to thes e boys be c aus e they co uld not be ha ndled
46
with the same approach as highly motivated, succ essful high school
students.
The solution seemed to be· to gain these delinquent boys'
r espect by being something " special " in some area.
To show ath­
letic powers seemed to be one means to win these boys' respect.
When the P rogranJ. Director was faced with one hundred
forty poo r readers in the Fall of 19 7 0 , many of the qualities exhib­
ited by the delinquent boys were present in the reading group.
One
common factor which was especially evident to the Program D irector
was the very low self- esteem these students had of them.selves,
which seemed to stem from their awareness of constantly needing
special reading or special mathernatics or other special classes.
The Program D irector decided to make his class " special, " but
special because his approach to his students was special.
It was
to stand o ut as a special program which treated its students as
human beings o f great worth.
The students were not to consider
themselves as special students because they were poor readers or
because they were behavioral problems, but because they lj.ad a
tremendous self- worth that should be praised constantly.
No doubt,
this approach could have fallen apart if a very affected, inconsistent approach was used.
a gan1.ble.
The possibility of failure did represent
However, the gamble was taken because it was felt that
e ven if the pro gram' s approach ( that of being special because
it emphasized human worthines s )
did not work, the only harm
47
to r esult would befall the teacher and not the students.
The tea-
cher would have to think of another · way to teach reading and the
students would not have suffered under a har mful situation.
The special treatment by the teacher took many forms.
The students were often complimented by the teacher for new clothes
or especially br ight outfits.
When students tried to show respect
to peers such as saying, " Excuse me, " or " Please, 1 1 this effort
was always rewarded with extravagant praise by the Program Director.
Many times the Program D irector would make sure the
daily morning announcements over the public addres s system or
the bulletin distributed to homerooms in the mor ning contained
some compliment or thank -you to the students in the Reading Laboratory.
The Program Director also checked bulletin boards,
newspapers, intermural athletic results, music and theatrical pro ductions, :photography Club activities, Aviation Science Club activities, or proj ects turned out by the wood and metal shop.
This
was done in the hope that the Program Director would find his
students 1 r.. ames and would be able to compliment these students
when he next saw them.
P ossibly, one of the most fl attering and ego-satisfying
experiences for students was simply to acknowledge their name and
p resence as they walked past tlie Reading Laboratory.
Needless to
say, the P rogram Director did have many students pas s whom he
did not know, but a sincere " Hello" made these students feel as
48
accepted as the rest.
In the role of football coach , trac k coach and English
Department Chairman, the Program Di rector addressed the student body on numerous occasions.
A most effective means of
making the students want to learn in the Reading Laboratory was
to proj ect the image to the student body that was proj ected in
class.
The P rogram · Director settled on the fo llowing method:
The addresses to the student body were always prefaced by a
short and appropriate congratulatory statement.
The statement
included somethi ng to the effec t that the student body had shown
tremendous spirit i n such and such an activity and they were to
be proud of their ac complishment.
This positive note was ap-
predated by the students and greatly enhanced the colle ctive
self- image of the student body.
Another interesting phenomenon was observed during the
s chool year:
The faculty began to show an increased interest in
c omplimenting students.
The c yclical effect of one flattering
c onunent leading to another flattering comment was most rewarding to note.
The author felt the school also benefited
greatly from a new administration that recognized the need for
extra effort on the p art of the fac ulty to make the students feel
a sense of accomplishn1ent and · not failure.
also did m.uch
to
The administration
reawaken the fac ult to its responsibility to re­
duce failur e in the class r oom.
49
The Teacher
Any program can promise many benefits and hope to ac­
complish a great deal, but it seems that a program is only going
to be suc cessful because the person who is in charge of the program is suc c essful.
It is this pe:rson who must c arry on the day-
to- day routine which will ultimately cause the program to suc ceed·
· or fail. The suc cess of the Reading Program was partially due to
the amount of time the Director put into
the p rogram, but the
major factor was the attitude that the Direc tor brought to the p rogram.
The Reading Program demanded an individual who above
all else, liked to teac h slow students.
The slow student was not
what most teachers hoped to deal with in a c lass for several reasons.
First, a great deal of work was involved in prepa:r ing les­
sons.
Then too, the work done by slow stude nts in class did not
begin to c ompare with the very exc iting work produced by ac hieving
students.
Also, slow students c ould be very rude and unapprecia-
tive of the teac her' s many hours of work.
Furthermore, poor
. ac hievers could not always bring recognition to the teacher hoping
to improve his position within a school.
Above all else, poor
learners were usually very difficult behavioral problems.
It was
not always true that a poor student would give his teac hers a dif­
fic ult time, but it did seem true · that the s tudent who did
sc hool would not �vant
to
sit still
learners also s e e1ned to have
a
any
not
like
length of time to learn.
high rate of absenteeisn1 which
Poar
50
c ould frus trate a teache r who wa s not able to tole rate a deviation
fr om the pla nne d l e s s on or unit.
The image that the P r ogram Dir e ctor s tr ove to maintain
wa s that of a s ignifi c ant adult ve r y happy to be with hi s s tudents
e ve r y day,
all year.
The mo s t us eful trait the P r o gram Di r e ctor b r ought to the
Reading Lab oratory wa s hi s abilHy to be fleXible when s chedule
changes b e came nece s s ary.
The s e s che dule change s allowed the
s tudents to take a dvanta ge o f unusually exciting e vents on campus
that had not been planne d fo r ,
e vents s uch a s the time a speaker
s howe d up two days e a r li e r than exp e cted.
Since the s tudents .
knew that the s peake r wa s on campus and that she wa s an ex- drug
addi ct p r e s ently wo rking for Synonon,
hear ab out and s ha r e he r expe rience s .
the y we r e m o s t anxious to
Jus t b e cau s e the Reading
Lab o ratory le s s on plan for the day call e d for inte rviews and s ight
vo cabulary drills wa s not enough r e a s on to s kip the mo re rewa r d ­
ing exp e ri ence of li s tening t o a human being talk ab out the tr e ­
mendous challenge it wa s to o ve r c ow�e he r a ddicti on.
This flexibility had to extend its elf to e ve ryday cla s s room
p r oblems .
P oo r le arne r s we r e not alway s r e a dy to come in and
sit dovvn to work,
e specially when the work wa s calle d " r e a ding ' ' .
The tea cher had to b e r ea dy for the b a d days ,
whole cla s s o r only a few individual s .
whe the r with a
If the P r o gram Dire ctor
did not s en s e them in time , the s e bad days us ually ende d in ve rbal
51
blasts b etween student and teacher .
The tense atmosphere would
then spread to the r est of the class and the learning for the day
was gone.
Some days the Pr ogram Director had to realize that
the students wer e too highstrung or too tired to attempt any learn­
The Director could have threatened dir e consequences if work
ing.
was not pr oduced.
The obvious effect would have been to return
to previous negative attitudes such as "Why try to succeed because
I ' ve
already proven that in eight years
I
cannot learn and there
does not seem to be any reason to expect something better now. "
The P r ogram D irector attempted to use the bad days as
learning situations to show his students that maturity, or growth
toward maturity, was based on how well a person learned to be
consistent in his daily life.
Sometimes this instruction was given
on a one- to- one basis, sometimes to a small group and once or
twice it even involved a whole class.
Admittedly, this was not
r eading instr uction, but it fulfilled the needs of the students at the
time.
To ignore the fact that his students were in a bad mood and
to try to pursue some r eading instr uction would have been fooli s h
and certainly very limited in its positive results.
Since it was the
maj or goal of the Reading Laborator y to foster better atti tudes
toward -r eading, the forcing of r eading instr uction at such a time
would only ser ve to further the students' dislike of reading.
Some of these bad days wer e started by an unpopular de· cision n1.ade in a pr evio us class , with a conse quent exchange of
52
heated words between student( s) and teacher.
Some very bad days
were experienced when group testing or assen1blies were scheduled,
especially awards assemblies.
Students with poor learning habits
often could not see why they had to sit and watch other students be
r ewarded fo r go od grades or other achievements.
· Ano ther type of
assembly the Reading Laboratory students did not like to attend
was one dealing with future scho oling.
Anytime they had to sit
and listen to the high school counselor talk abo ut their schooling
after graduation from j unior high, there was near revolt.
The
Program Dir ector found that to excuse certain students from these
assemblies o r to suggest that they spend the time in the library
or
the school office, often helped them o ver the problem.
Different times of the day and the week also had to be
taken into consideration when planning classes.
Students tended to
be very active after lunch and nearer the end of the schoo l week.
Because of this, certain activities could be expected to be more
effective than others.
More difficult class activities were kept to
a minimum during the last three classes of the day.
O f course,
there were days when all strategy failed and the Director simply
did the best he c ould to bring about even minimal positive results.
It was because o f his belief that so much success with
students depended upon whether ·they felt that their teacher was
sincerely interested in them as individuals, that the Program Direc­
·
tor vigorously sought to s tay in c ontact with students outside the
53
regular s c hool day.
In the role of fo otball coach and tra ck coach ,
the Program Direc tor wa s made mo re available to s tudents and
they we re able to s ee a non-a cademic s ide of him.
An iinportant
as pect of this s ituation wa s that the P rogra m D irec to r wa s able to
e xtend his s trong c onvic tions about re c ognizing indivi dual worth to
area s outs ide the cla s s room.
This wa s a per io d when athletics
The attitude
was be ginning to c hange its very traditio nal ways.
of unque s tioning obedience to the coach was changing to allow a
wider applica tion of the philo s ophy of individualis m.
When the Pro-
gram Director (a s coa ch) ignored s haggy exteriors (long hair, a
p o or family) and pla c e d an individual in a particular athleti c po s i­
tion, the Rea ding P ro gra m its elf began to grow in s tature in the
students ' e yes .
S tudents c ould readily s ee that the Director 1 s
p hilo s o phy applie d to all groups of s tudents in and o ut of cla s s ,
and not j ust to po or readers in the Laboratory.
Home Life
It wa s truly felt that the s tudent who wa s fa iling at s chool
nee de d to have his home life affecte d in s ome way to bring about
succe s s in reading.
Pres uming that the home c ontained the mo s t
significant a dults in the s tudent' s life, the Dire ctor believed that
reading would po s sibly improve if the pa r ents were given
a
rea s on
to c ongratulate their child for s ome s uc c es s in reading.
Mo s t of
the . Reading P 1·ogram.' s s tudents had been poor readers for a long
time and parents would naturally fe el, if they
did
not c ome right
54
out and say it, that their son or daughter was an embar r assment
to them.
Students are very per ceptive and c an easily see when
p arents or other adults are pleased or not pleased with their wor k.
With this thought in mind, the following technique was employed:
The Reading D irector was required to se-nd reports to
parents ever y ten weeks.
ing two printed forms:
The school provided the choice of us-
a progr ess report which indicated 1 1 D1 1 or
failing wor k in the past ten weeks, and a c ommendation for m
whi ch lauded the student for his good wor k.
wer e the only forms used
oy
Commendation forms
the Reading Director.
One c ommen-
dation was sent to the home of every student in Reading Labora­
tory because there was some reason to consider the students as
deser ving the commendation.
No pr ogress report forms were
e ver sent sinc e these could only have enfor ced more feelings of
of failure in the student' s v-iew of himself and in the parents view of
the student.
The usual c omplaint hear d from other teac hers was that the
commendation was c heapened by the excessive use of it by the P rogr am
Director in the Reading Laborato ry.
This critic ism was met wit..� the
logic that these students were in Reading Laboratory because they
wer e already failures and neither the P rogram Director nor anybody
else had to write a formal notice home of thei r continued fa ilure.
Since the failure was already evident and grades were not e mphasized
in the Reading Labor atory, · why should not the s uc cessful aspects of
55
the s tudent' s p r o gr ess be formally noted, especially, if such p r aise
would bring p ossi ble future success.
The commendations were fille9. out j ointly by the P rogram
Di recto r and the student in private sessions held during class, eith ­
e r at the teacher ' s desk o r the student' s desk.
The student was
asked to read what the P r o gram Di rector had already written in the
c omment secti on. These comments r anged fr om " excellent attitude
towar d reading i mp r ovement" , to
basic vocabulary " .
11
Jeff is trying very hard in his
When the student had looked over the commenda­
tion, the P r o gr am Directo r then asked fo r any fur ther co mm ents so
they too could be included in the commendati on.
that what was written already was enough.
Most students said
At this remark, the stu­
dent was p r o dded by the Director with questions li ke, " D o you feel
you have wo rked a lot on r eading in a particular textbo ok ? 1 1 , o r " Do
you want to say anything about how much time you spent reading in
the Reading Labo r atory every day fo r the past ten weeks ?
11 •
After a
little p r odding, additional student comments sometimes resulted.
the most p art, students were honest about their progress.
For
However ,
if the student o ffered a gro ss exaggeration: the Director simply pared
the comment down to a mo r e belie vable si ze.
Along with using this commendation te chnique, the P r o ­
gram Directo r provide d fo r extra parent- teacher - student contacts.
The Director sent home letters to parents indicating what hours
we re available to meet with the Directo r , '.vhy the Directo r wanted
56
to meet with the parents, and s upplied a form to be returned to
school by the student which would r eserve a time and day for this
parent confer ence
• .
The hours ar r anged fo r these meetings were in the evening and the meeting place was the Reading Labo rato ry.
When the
p arents and student ar rived they were given every r eas on to relax.
C o ffee was available and ash trays for s mokers were supplied.
The interview began by talking about how the student had performed
in the Reading Laborator y.
The Director indicated every positive
aspect of the student' s activities.
Next, the D irecto r gave the
parents a list o f Dale Vocabular y words.
Thi s list identified one
thousand basic wo rds in the E nglish language.
The li st, ho pe-
fully, was something the parents and students could work ';vith to gether at ho me.
Along with the Dale Vocabular y
List, the Direc-
tor also gave the parents a list of publications which wer e used
in the Reading Labo rato ry.
This list contained addr esses for o r -
der ing magazine subscriptions and the appr oximate cost o f a year ' s
subscriptio n.
The D irecto r made the point to the parents and stu-
dent that increased r eading would help the vocabulary: of the student
and that incr ease
would take place 1nore readily if very at-
. tractive r eading n1ater ial was made available in the home.
Grades
The Reading Director
wa s
to be a very difficult assignment:
for ced to deal w-i th wha t seem.ed
to evalua te poo r r eade rs with
57
the traditional A B C D F grading system.
T he hope of the Direc-
tor was that the class could be evaluated on a Credit/ Non-Credit
basis, but the scho ol district' s administratio n did no t feel the Cre dit/Non- Credit approach to grading was acceptable.
Because of
this decisi on, the Director had to find some way to eliminate the
possible pressure and continued label o f failure that traditional
grades could produce.
The solution seemed to be two - fold.
First, the Director
informed the students tmt grades would be very easy to earn be­
cause effort to improve was all that was required to earn a good
grade, and secondly, good grades were the only kinds of grades . that
would be given i n the Reading Laboratory.
Students were con-
stantly reassured that gra des were not the main concern o f the
Reading Laboratory o r its Director.
T he students were also told
that if there was any concern at all o ver grades, it came fr om
the students, because the Director was the last person who cared
what grades were earned.
When grading periods arrived, the Director too k the same
approach to marking grade cards as he ·did 'commendations.
The
students were called up to the teacher' s desk and asked to display
the manila folder which contained the a ctivi ty sheet which recorded
all the student' s wo rk.
Also , the folder revealed all written work
the student had accom.plished since the last gra ding period.
One type o f written work the students could present to the
58
Program Director was the Jo urnal.
This was a short writing as-
signment given every week in which the student was expected to tell
about a personal experienc e that was important to him.
Subj ects
would range from new girl friends or boy friends, to movies seen,
trips taken, foo tball games corrdng up, o r any o ther particular
The students were guaran ­
things that the student wanted to tell about.
teed that the D irector would no t read these j o urnals unless the student
r equested that he do so .
Many students would c omplain that the Jour­
nal was hard to write because they could not think of anything to say.
If that was the case, the student was allowed to c opy any material from
any book or magazine that he cho se.
The number of times the stu­
dent copied did not matter because the usual result was to have a charge ­
over to original writing after a couple of months o f copying.
Another written item that might be placed in the manila folder was a short form o f a book report.
Whenever students finished
r eading a magazine, a bo ok, or any material in the Laboratory, they
would have a very sho rt form to fill o ut.
The form a sked fo r the
title o f the publication, the number of pages read, the date, and the
na. me o f the student.
This short form would then be depo sited in
the manila folder which would be examined at grade time.
The num­
ber of forms had no c orrelation to the type of grade received, but
grading time was a good time to investigate the pro gress being
n1.ade
and to indicate to
the
D irec to r how much effort would have to
be put into giving the student individual help.
59
Rationale of C a s e Stu di e s
The purpo s e of the following fourte e n ca s e s tudi e s wa s to
p r e s ent a c omp o s ite picture of the type of s tudent who participate d
in the r e ading p r o gram c onducte d by the autho r during the s chool
year 1970 -71.
It was hop e d that from the s e c a s e s tudie s of randomly
s elected s tu dents the r e ade r would s e e the multitude of fa cto r s that
influen c e d thei r p o o r r e ading, and the dive r s ity in student population
that was dealt with by thi s p r o gram.
The individuali zati on of ins tru c ­
tion which the p r o g ram wa s attempting wa s the means by whi ch the
dive r gent backgrounds , r e ading le vel s and dive r sifi e d pe r s onality
ne e d s of the s tudent we r e dea lt with.
Thr ough 'the p r e s entation of grade p oint average s a chie ve d
o ve r the thr e e yea r s i n j unior high s chool, the author intended to give
the r e a de r an i dea of the p e r fo rmanc e of the s tudent in all a cademic
e ndeavor s .
The grading s ys tem u s e d by the s choo l wa s the usual
A B C D F.
c la s s e s .
The s tudents were g r oupe d homo geneously in almo s t all
The gen e r al s ys tem i s known a s tra cking.
exi s te d as follows :
Thr e e tra cks
above ave rage s tudents were track one , ave rage
s tudents we r e tra ck two , and s tudents who were belo\v ave rage or who
we r e behavioral p r oblems or \Vho p e r fo rme d p o o rly in their s choo l
work were tra ck thr e e .
The author ' s cla s s e s w e r e c onside red tr a ck
60
thr e e .
Howeve r , the year thi s r eading p r o gram b e gan a ll tra cking
wa s officially dropp e d fo r the ninth grade Engli s h and re ading cla s s e s .
The advanta ge o f not calling the r e a ding c las s e s Track III may have
done s omething fo r the s tatus of the p r ogram and in turn fo r the s elf­
concept of the s tudents in i t.
Thi s factor would s e em to be minimal
however .
The parent inte rviews we r e p r e s e nte d to give the re ader
an idea of the home backgr ound of the s e s tudents .
Information in thi s
s e ction a s well as in all the othe r s e ctions wa s p r e s ente d in as obj e c ­
tive a manne r as p o s s ible.
The author guar ded against inse rting any
value judgment s , whi ch c ould e a s ily s lip into this fo rm of data c olle c ting, in the hope that the r e ade r would b e pre s ente d with a s ac curate
a picture of the home and family as p o s s ible without a ctually being
the r e .
The int e r views i n gene ral we re a tremendous source of in-
s ight into the type of goals upheld by the home for the s tudent.
Par ­
e nt s in gene ral we r e ve r y agreeable about spe aking to the inte rviewer
O ftentime s , the parents expre s s e d great c oncern for the i r chil d ' s
ability.
During the inte r view the parents we r e a s ked, dir e c tly or
indi r e ctly, que s tions whi ch ·would r e ve al the type of r e ading ma terial made available to the ir child.
Such que s ti on s as " What
maga zine s and ne wspap e r s were pur cha ? e d or sub s c rib e d to ?
i f any, kinds of encyclope dias we r e available ?
di ctionarie s available ?
What,
Were ther e any
Did the farnily u s e the public lib r a r y and
did the family membe r s have lib r a r y cards ? " .
Since the only
61
lib r a r y available for thi s immediate area wa s a mobile library,
whi c h wa s n�ade mor e fun of than u s e of,
the gene ral library us ­
a ge wa s minimal among the s tudents s ampl e d.
Another fa ct which came di re ctly fr om the inte rview wa s
the kind of employment of the fathe r and whether the mothe r als o
worked.
The inte rviews als o pr odu c e d info rmation as to the length
of r e s idence in the a r e a ,
fo rme r home s o c cupied and the numb e r
o £ s chools attended b y the s tudent.
A ve ry important que s tion
whi ch was always a s k e d wa s what the parents had hea r d about the
Reading P r o gram and what the y thought the p r o g ram had done for
the i r child.
Many time s the parents felt that the J!rogram had -
been a he lp and that it had pr ovide d individual attention fo r their
child which the child had not r e c eive d befo r e .
Whe the r the
pr o -
gram a ctually p r ovi de d a s much individual help a s the par ents felt
it di d,
i s for the reade r to de cide.
The autho r is of the opinion
that in comp a ri s on to pas t s chool c ontracts ,
the
to do muc h mor e individually for the s tudents .
tively s p eaking,
pr o gram did s e em
The r e for e ,
r e la -
the parents w e r e c o r r e ct in the c onclus ion they
drew.
The s tudents ' attitude s towa r d thems elve s ,
grade s ,
the
r eading tea che r and the home wa s include d to give the reade r an
idea of the fe eling s of p oo r r eade r s in the s e s ignificant area s .
The mo s t traditional s ign for thi s s e ction would have been to p r e ­
s ent a c ompa ri s on of the s tudents ' attitude s before the Rea ding
62
P r o gram and afte r the Reading P r o gram, b ut s e ve ral r e a s ons
made thi s an unde s irable c our s e of a ction.
that the p r og ram,
in order to s u c c e e d ,
The fir s t rea s on wa s
had to provi de a totally
diffe r ent learning envi r onment ri ght fr om the s tart that p o o r reade r s would find fully attra ctive .
If the autho r attempte d to colle ct
data o f thi s natur e at the be ginning of the yea r , he might p o s s ibly
have rai s e d a b a r ri e r to the deve lopment of tr ust between hims elf
and the s tudents .
The fa c t was that the autho r did a ttempt thi s
type o f data colle cting on a s mall s cale at the be ginning of the
s chool year 1970-71.
Howe ve r ,
only ne gative e ffe cts r e s ulte d.
Students whom the author attempted to sample only gave answe r s
t o que s tions after much c oaxing .
E ven afte r thi s c oaxing ,
dents refus e d to answe r many of the que s tions .
the s tu -
Thi s p o o r rea ction
c oupled with the author ' s alte rnative c our s e of going di rectly to the
s tudents ' forme r s e venth and eighh grade teache r s to obtain a gen­
e ral picture of the s tudents befo r e they entered the p r ogram,
led
the autho r only to s u r ve y the attitude s of the s tudents thems elve s
at the end of the �pro g ram.
Teache r s urveys were to s e r ve a twofold purpo s e .
marily,
Pri -
the autho r hope d that the tea che r rea ctions would be an -
othe r a c curate s ou r ce for s ee ing the s tudent a s he wa s .
S e c ondly,
the tea che r surve ys · indi cate d , in a general s en s e , the level of
expe ctancy teache r s had for the s e s tudents .
Teache r s urve ys include d an apprai s al o f the s tudent by a
63
s e venth,
eighth,
and ninth grade tea che r .
The s e surve ys attemj±e d
to indi cate what the s tudent wa s like befo r e ente ring the p r o gram
and what the s tudent wa s like by the time the prograrn fini s hed.
A gain, in no way doe s the author fe el j u s tifi e d in claiming a cau ­
s al r elations hip b e twe en any diffe r e nc e s note d by the teache r s in a
s tudent after hi s expe rience in the Reading P r o gra1n.
The s e sur -
ve ys s imply add one mo r e factor to the total pi cture of the learr.e r
who i s repre s entative of the s tudents in the
p r ogram.
Attendance figu r e s we r e gathe r e d and p r e s ente d in an at­
tempt to s how how s tude nts met the chall enge of s chool on a daily
ba si s .
The autho r felt that the attendance fi gure s would p o s s ibly
refle ct the de s irablene s s of s cho ol to s tudents who in gene·ral have
not found a great deal o f s u cc e s s at s choo l .
A s indi cated i n the
r e view of lite rature , bette r reade r s exhibit hi ghe r a spirations
( K etcham,
1966) and mo re p o s itive attitude s towa r d s chool in gen-
e ral ( Healy,
1965) .
If the s e poor reade r s c ould begin to exhibit
a b e tter attitude to mor e r e gular attendanc e ,
p o s s ibly they would
be gin to improve in the i r gene ral a ca demi c a chie vement.
Again,
whethe r m o r e :r e gular a ttendance r e fle cte d a di re ct causal relati on ­
s hip with the Reading P r o gra1n cannot be pr oven.
Attendance figure s we re s upplied in the following ca s e
s tudi e s for the s eventh,
eighth and ninth grade s .
T he s e figure s
give an indi cation a s to the amount of in s truction the s tudent wa s
e xp o s e d to in the yea r s prior to the s tudent' s ninth grade yea r .
64
When the ab s ente e i sm had an obvious cau s e q UCh a s i llne s s ,
in the family,
e c onomi c r e a s on s o r tr uancy,
death
the author ha s noted
the caus e .
The ave rage daily attendance figure s fo r thi s j unio r hi gh
s choo l showe d that a s tudent mi s s e d on the ave r a g e ,
five to s ix
s chool day s a year .
Reading s c o r e s we r e p r e s ente d to s how what level of r e a d ­
ing the s tudent h a d rea ched b efo r e entering the ninth g rade Reading
The s e c ond r ea ding s co r e given was an indication of
P r o gram.
what the s tudent a c compli s he d in r e ading imp r ovement during only
the ninth grade yea r .
Whe the r the autho r ' s p ro gram cau s e d the
impr ovement o r la ck of imp r ovement indicate d,
cannot be pr oved
s ince the author di d not attempt any s trict c ontr ol s on the reading
g r oup s .
The fa cto r s whi ch c ould have contribute d t o r ea ding de -
velopment over the enti r e year would have been too nume r ous to
a c count for .
T he
pr o gram wa s de s i gned to allow s tudents to
learn '\Vhen they we r e r eady to learn, and the author is the fir s t to
r e c o gni ze that r e a ding de velopment can and doe s take pla c e out ­
s i de the four walls o f a r eading cla s s r o"om.
The r eading s c o r e s wer e obtaine d fr om the Nels on Reading
Te s t,
Form A and B.
Since the g ene ral reliability of fhi s te s t i s
s e t forth i n the te s t · manual,
the author did not wish to s pend a
g r eat deal of tin�e clrill e nging or s upporting its validity.
be noted that the te s t had
a
unique fa ctor built into it.
It s hould
The grade
65
norms we r e s eparated by two tenths of a s chool year for each
c or r e ct answe r .
Thus , i f a s tudent s c ored 3 8 c o r r e ct answe r s on
the vocabular y p o r tion of the te s t,
vo cabulary e quivalent of 6 . 0 year s .
he wa s c on s idered to have a
I f that s ame s tudent took the
s ame Nel s on Reading T e s t , but a diffe r ent form and s c ored 3 4 c o r ­
r e c t answe r s ,
diffe renc e .
hi s grade level would be 5 . 6 ,
almo s t a half year ' s
Gene ral c r iti cism o f u s in g only one te s t a s the c r i -
te rion for reading imp rovement needs i s evident he r e .
I f the s tu ­
dent for s ome r ea s on had a parti cularly bad day when the s e cond
te s t wa s taken,
the r e sult of mi s s ing only four words would mean
he wa s a half ye ar be hind his s ta r ting p oint of 6. 0 .
I n the par a -
g r ap h c ompr ehens i o n p o r tion of the N e l s on Reading T e s t i t wa s
worthy to note that alm.o s t all the paragraphs dealt with s now c on diti ons .
Thi s wa s · a s ignifi cant handi c ap s ince s now fo r the north -
e rn portion o f the Lo s Angele s C ounty wa s extremely unc ornmon.
The r eade r of thi s s tudy mus t make a reas onable j udgrnent a s to
how important the s e r eading s c o r e s a c tually we r e .
The c a s e s tudi e s c ontained s tandardi ze d a chievement
s cores.
The autho r had hop e d t o p re s ent Lor ge s c ore s fr om the
s ixth grade and ninth g rade for each s tudent as the s e s c o r e s would
have given on a p e r centage b a s i s the ve rbal non - ve rbal reas oning
ability of each s tudent.
available ,
s c or e s .
B e caus e the s e s c o r e s we re not always
s o me ca s e s tudie s c ontain o ther s tanda r di z e d te s t
The i ntent i n p r e s e nting the s e s co r e s wa s to s how yet
66
anothe r fa cet of the varied abiliti e s of the s e s tudents and to fur the r c omplete the appraisal of what a re ading p r o grarn on the
s e c ondary level mus t conside r .
67
Obj e ctive s of ca· s e Studie s
The following fourte en s tudi e s w e r e not intended to be
fully develope d c a s e s tudi e s such a s mi ght be found in the patient
file s of a p s ychologi s t .
Ca s e s tudie s of thi s type would not fall
within the s cope of thi s pape r .
Ins te a d,
the obj e cti ve o f the s e
s tudie s was to indic ate· the attitude s of each s tudent at the conclu ­
s i o n of the ninth grade towa r d g r ade s ,
tea che r s ,
and s e lf,
and to
indicate the type of influence exe rt e d by the home on r e a ding habits
and abili tie s .
The a c cumulation of data wa s o r gani zed unde r five he ading s .
The fir st divi s ion,
1 1lntr o du cti on" ,
p e rtinent background informati o n ( health,
was meant to p r e s ent
r e ading s c ore s ,
ment o f fathe r and / or mothe r ) ab out the s ocial,
e ducational backg r ound of the s tudent .
Life ' ' ,
employ­
e c onomi c and
The s e c ond divis i on,
" Home
wa s to give information ( numb e r of library car ds in family,
numb e r of dicti onar i e s ) fr om which c onclus ions c ould be dr awn r e l ­
ative t o the type o f home influence s that might affe ct the s tudent ' s
r e ading habits .
The thi r d divi s ion,
1 1 A cademic A c hie vement and
Grade s " , was to pr e s ent data ( tea che r and s tudent surve y,
Point Ave r age s ) ,
Grade
a s to the p o s itive or negative attitude s students
had towa r d s chool and grade s .
· A fourth divi s ion,
atternpte d to give information ( s tudent s ur vey,
" Self- Concept " ,
teacher survey) a s
to whethe r the s tudent h a d a p o sitive o r ne gative attitude towar d
68
s elf.
The c onclusions dr awn in thi s s e ction we re ba s e d on the
u s ually a c cepte d p remi s e that s tude nts exhibit their inne r s e lf­
c oncept thr ough ove r t b ehavi o r in clas s .
( S e e Chapte r II, Student
Self- C on cept and R elate d Studie s , p . 2 8 ) .
The re fo r e , in this divi s ion, the re lati onship b etwe en the
te ac he r surveys and the· s tudents 1 attitude s was in"lpo r tant .
Finally,
the fifth divi s i on, ' ' Attitude T owa r d T e a che r s ' ' , include d information
( student and te a che r s ur ve ys , attendance figure s ) to enable c onclus ­
i ons r e ga r ding the s tudent' s p o s i tive o r ne gative attitude s towa r d
tea c he r s .
The " Summary and C onclus i ons I I s e ction of each cas e
s tudy wa s c ons tructe d b y r eviewing the info rmati on gathe r e d unde r
the p r e c e ding five heading s .
When c e r tain fa cts made a s tudy dif­
fe r ent fr om the othe r s , o r whe n a deviati on from an expe cte d patte rn
o c cu r r e d , the s e we r e note d.
Conclu s i ons we re 2.ls o dr awn fr om
the ob s er vati ons of the P r og rarr.., Di r e ctor of the R e ading Lab o r atory,
who attempte d to avoid any pe r s onal value judgements .
69
Ca s e Study N o .
I.
1
-
B etty
Intr oduction
B etty,
a g e fifte en, wa s an attra c tive young lady who got
a long well with he r p ee r s .
She wa s incline d to have tantrums
B etty' s mo s t violent ve r ­
when she felt s he had b e en aggrieve d.
bal outbur s ts were us ually dir e cted at b o ys and s ometime s led to
She wa s o c c a s ionally
p hysi cal blows deli ve r e d with he;r pur s e .
emotionally dep r e s s e d,
mal life .
but thi s did not appear to affe ct he r nor -
B e tty appa r ently like d he r family.
She did hous eke e p -
ing cho r e s a r ound the hou s e and help e d to p r epare meal s .
Her
health s e eme d to b e good as s he showe d no s i gns of p r e s ent or
past illne s s .
B etty live d at home with he r fathe r ,
olde r s i s te r .
her mothe r and one
He r fathe r had s uffe r e d a heart attack e arly in
Mar ch of 1 9 7 1 .
B efor e thi s tin1.e,
he had been a ma chini s t in an
After the heart atta ck he wa s c onfine d to bed.
airplane fa cto ry.
B etty ' s mothe r worke d in a chemi cal fa cto r y and als o s old ladie s '
c cs meti c s fr om he r home .
B etty ' s ninth gra: de s c o r e s on the Nels on Reading Test,
Form s A and B we r e a s follows :
Date
Voc ab ula r y
Paragr aph C omnr ehension
T otal
4 - 2 - 70
4. 8
2. 5
3. 8
7-26-71
5. 3
2. 8
5. 0
3
1. 2
RESU LTS
.
5
•
70
B etty ' s Lorge s co r e s we r e a s follow;:> :
Date
Grade
9 - 67
6. 0
4
15
10
3-71
9. 0
6
5
5
II .
Non- Ve rbal o/o
Ve rbal o/o
Ave rage o/o
Home Life
Student Surve y - Attitude Towa r d Home
Key:
! - s trongly a gr e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - strongly di s ag r ee
1.
I like home and my family.
2.
Our family ha s made r e a ding ve r y
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
ing mate rial f o r me .
1
2
3
4
5.
My family u s e s the library a l ot.
l
2
3
4
6.
My family tr eats m e a s a n e qual.
l
2
3
4
7.
I can voice my opinion and
l
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
important t o me .
3.
I read a lot now b e c au s e :t learned to
r e ad a lot at home .
4.
Our family ha s a lway s s uppli e d r e a d -
I
will b e
li s tene d t o b y m y family.
8.
My family allow s me to que s tion their
de ci s ion s .
Summa r y and C onclusions o f Home Life
B etty s e emed happy with he r home and able to get along
with all the xnemb e r s of he r family.
Although she claime d that
he r home had p r ovide d a good T eading backg r o und, the home wa s
71
The only
not well s upplie d with books o r othe r reading mate rial .
The home
maga zine s hown to the inte r viewe r wa s a comic b ook.
a l s o had an old s e t of encyclope dia s and an old di ctionary.
B etty
did not s e em to be ve r y inte r e s te d in reading and he r attention
s pan with r e ga r d to silent reading wa s ve ry limite d in the Reading
Laboratory.
B etty' s s ur vey indi cate d s he felt that her home had made
reading impo rtant to he r and supplie d reading mate rial.
the inte rview r e vealed ve r y fe\v books in B e tty ' s home,
Although
B etty did
indic ate s he u s e d the lib ra r y a great deal m__o r e than in previous
year s .
The conclu s i on would s e em to be that B e tty1 s home wa s
not a po sitive influence for he r r ea ding , but the influence wa s b e ­
ginning to change for the b ette r .
III.
Academi c A chi evement and Grade s
S tudent Survey - Attitude Towa r d Gra de s
Key:
1 - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - di s a g re e ; 4 - s tr ongly dis agree
1.
I like the grade s I r e ceive d in r e a ding.
2.
I think grade s a r e ve ry im-portant b e -
1
2
3
4
cau s e they p r ove how well I have done .
1
2
3
4
3.
My par ents like when I get good grade s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I don ' t c a r e if I get p o o r grade s .
1
2
3
4
5.
If grade s vve r e eliminate d,
1
2
3
4
be happi e r .
I would
72
I liked reading becau s e the tea che r did
6.
1
not empha s i ze g r a de s .
2
3
4
Grade P oint Ave rage
Grade
1 s t S eme ster
2nd S emeste r
7
1. 2
1. 0
8
1. 0
1. 2
9
1. 5
2. 0
Tea che r s 1 Surve y
Key:
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 - many time s ; 4 - always
8th
7th
1.
2.
9th
Was inte r e s ted 1n
s chool wo rk.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Did a cademi c wo rk.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Sutnmary and C onclu s i ons of Aca demi c A c hi evement and Grade s
B etty s howed s he a gr e e d with the p r e s ent s y s tem of grade s
by her re s pons e s on the attitude s u r ve y.
Her s u c c e s s in s chool,
indicate d b y he r Grade P oint Ave r a g e , wa s not outs tanding .
He r
teache r s r ep orted that s he wa s not a higrly motivated s tudent.
B etty' s p e r fo rmanc e in the Reading Lab o rato r y wa s consi s tent with
the s e ob s e r va tions .
B e tty had many good intentions ,
r e s olve to fini sh her work.
j e ct s .·
The refo r e ,
She had diffi culty with a c a demi c s ub ­
it s e emed that de s p ite her p o s itive attitude
towa r d the p r e s ent grading s y s tem,
thi s
s y s tem.
but little
The r e fo r e ,
s he did not pe rform well within
it would s e e m c o r r e ct to a s s ume that
73
B etty di d not have a p o s itive attitude towa rd s cho ol.
IV.
Self- Concept
S tudent Survey - Attitude Towa r d S elf
Ke y:
! - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a g r ee ; 4 - s t r ongly di s agree
I fee l
l.
I
am a p e r s on of worth a t lea s t
l
2
3
4
I am a failur e .
l
2
3
4
3.
I fee l I do not have much to b e p r oud o f.
l
2
3
4
4.
O n the whole ,
l
2
3
4
5.
I am able to do thing s a s well a s mo s t
1
2
3
4
o n an e qual plane with othe r s .
All in all ,
2.
I a m inclined t o fee l that
I a m s ati s fi e d with mys elf.
other p e ople .
Tea che r Survey
Ke y:
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
8th
7th
l.
9th
Was a beha vi o ral
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
c o r r e cte d.
1
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
3.
A cted out in cla s s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
4.
Showe d a p o s itive attitude towa r d s elf.
l
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
5.
Showe d r e s p e ct for pee r s.
1 2
3 4
l 2
1
z. 3 4
6.
Sent t o the o ffice .
1 2
3
1 2
1
2
p r oblem.
2.
Was defensive when
4
3
4
3
4
74
Sunun ary and C onclusions of Self- Conc ept
B e tty' s attitude s urve y indi cated she ha d a s tr ong p o sitive
s elf- c oncept, but he r te a che r s di d not c oncur .
She wa s als o ob s e r ve d in the Reading Lab o rato ry a s a s tu ­
dent who did not exhibit a s trong s e lf- c oncept.
He r r elations wi th
pee r s we re always ve r y s traine d since B etty wa s s o unp r e dictable
in he r moods .
B e tty' s few clo s e friends s e eme d to b e p o s itive in­
fhlenc e s fo r he r p e r s onality growth.
B e tty' s te ache r s rep o rted that B etty wa s a behavio r al p r ob ­
lem.
Mi sbehavi o r in cla s s was a problem B etty ha d had fr om the
s e venth through the ninth - grade s .
In the Reading Laborato r y B etty
s ometim e s s e eme d to b e ove r coming the p r oblem, but he r effo rts
to improve we r e inc on s i s tent.
In s unun a ry , B e tty wa s s een by he r te a che r s as a p r oblem
s tu dent who wa s defe nsive when c o r r e cted and was s ometime s s ent
to the office to be di s cipline d.
He r tea che r agr e ed that s he did
not always show a p o s itive attitude toward s elf and wa s not always
· r e spe ctful of he r pe e r s .
Sinc e a de fens i ve a ttitude might indi cate
an anxiety ab out one 1 s s elf-image, it would s e em B e tty did not
have a s t r ong s e lf - concept.
Howeve r , s ince she viewed he r s elf
in a p o s itive light and s ince he r p e r form o:=m c e in the R e ading Lab o r a ­
to ry showe d signs of imp r oving the conclusion would s e em to be
that B etty believe d in he r s trong s e lf -ima ge .
Howe ve r , in he r
a ctions she indicated that s he s till had times of anxie ty, a s i gn of
75
a p o o r s elf - c on c ept.
V.
A ttitude s Towa r d Teache r s
.
Student Surve y - Attitude Towa r d Teacher of the P r ogram
Ke y :
! - str ongly a gr e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - strongly di s agree
l
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
" lo s e r " in Clas s .
l
2
3
4
The tea che r liked tea ching reading.
l
2
3
4
l.
The teacher wa s friendly towa rd me .
2.
The tea che r made me fe el a s i f I wa s
welc ome in hi s clas s .
The tea che r neve r put me down a s a
3.
4.
Attendance Figur e s
Excu s e d Ab s ence s
Grade
Unexcus e d Ab s en c e s
7
5
l
8
4
5
9
2
0
Tea che r Survey
Key :
1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ome time s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7th
1.
2.
8th
9th
Sho""vved r e s p e ct fo r
teache r s .
l
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
S ought individual help .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
Summa ry and C onclusion s of T eache r s
B etty wa s us ually friendly towa r d the Program Di re cto r ,
but often s trained the s e good r elations b y he r m.oo dine s s .
S ome
76
days the r e wa s little that c ould be s ai d to B etty becaus e s he
w ould b e c ome ver y diffi cult to handle if cor r e cted.
Her tea che r s s e em e d to indicate she wa s not always re spe ctful.
He r lac k of trying to s eek individual help fr om te ach-
e r s might indicate that s he did not trus t tea che r s enough to a s k
f o r thei r help .
The attendanc e figur e s demons trated a marke d de c r ea s e in
unexcus e d ab s enc e s in the ninth g ra de .
The c onclus ion would
s e em to be that B etty did not have a negative attitude towa r d
tea che r s .
71
Ca s e Study No. 2 - Al
I.
Intr oducti on
Al was age fifte en up on c omple_tion of the Reading Lab or a ­
tor y.
He wa s a tall, thin b oy who s uffe r e d fr om diab ete s .
was a c cepted b y a limite d numbe r of p ee r s .
He
Al app e a r e d ve ry de ­
vote d to hi s r e ligi on and o ften sp oke about hi s r e li gious work.
While in the Re ading P r o gram, Al s howe d a g re at de s ire to im ­
p r o ve , but app e a r e d to b e anxious ab out ve ry minor e r r o r s in
r e a ding and writing.
Al live d at home with hi s fathe r and mothe r , and one olde r '
b r othe r and s is te r .
His fathe r was a ma chini s t and hi s mothe r a
The family moved to the j unio r high s chool di s trict
hous ewife .
e i ght yea r s ago fr om anothe r ar e a of Los Angeles County.
The
fathe r and mothe r we r e b oth from the s outhe a s t Unite d State s .
The a ve r a ge c o s t o f home s in the a r e a i n whi ch Al live d wa s $21, 0 0 0 .
A l wa s r e taine d in the fou r th grade .
The r e a s on wa s not
apparent, but s tanda r di z e d te s t s c o r e s and teache r s ' cornments
indicated p o o r p r o gr e s s in ac ademi c w o rk up to the fourth- grade .
Al ' s ninth - g r ade r ea ding s co r e s on the Nels on Reading T e s t,
Form A and B we r e a s follow s :
Date
Vo cabular y
P a ra graph
Compre hension
Total
11 - 5 - 7 0
7. 5
6. 0
6. 7
7 - 2 8 - 71
6. 9
5. 1
5. 9
. 9
-. 8
RESU L TS
-
.6
-
II.
Hom.e Life
Student Surve y - Attitude Towa :r d Home
K e y:
1 - s trongly a g r e e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - di s a gree ; 4 - s tr ongly
di s agree
1.
I like home and m y family.
2.
Our family ha s made r ea ding ve ry
-1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
ing mate rial fo r me .
1
2
3
4
5.
My family use s the lib rary a lot.
1
2
3"
4
6.
M y family tr eats m e a s a n e qual .
1
2
3
4
7.
I can voi c e my opini on and I will be
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
impo rtant to me .
3.
I read a lot now be cau s e I lea rne d
to read a lot at home .
4.
O u r family ha s always supplie d read -
l_i s tened to by my family.
8.
lvfy family allows me to que s ti on their
de c i s i on s .
. Summar y and C onclus ions of Hon1.e Life
Al' s home had a great deal of r e ading mate rial vi s ible .
family s ub s c ribe d to the Los Ang ele s Time s , Look Ma gazine and
othe r publi c ations .
the home .
The r e we r e large shelve s full of books in
A s e t o f encyclopedia s and two di ctiona ri e s we r e
als o available .
The
79
B e c aus e
o f all thi s
lib r a r y m a y ha ve b e en
r e a s on,
Al ' s
r ea ding mate rial,
the
family ' s
th e lib r a r y.
o f the
Whate v e r the
c o n s i d e r e d unne c e s s a r y .
family di d n o t u s e
use
Al he l d the
only
lib r a r y c a r d .
Al ' s
r e a ding hab i t s
in the
R e a ding
He wa s
fami li a r i ty with r e a di n g mat e rial.
a n d attemp t e d to
r e a d· s ome thing
Lab o r at o r y r e fl e c t e d hi s
v e r y fond o f r e a ding
e v e r y day h e wa s
in the lab o r -
ato ry.
The
ti v e
c onclu s i o n would s e em t o b e
influe n c e o n hi s
III .
that Al l s
home wa s
a posi-
r ea d i ng habit s .
Gra d e s
Student S u r vey
K e y:
- Attitude
1 - s tr ongly a g r e e ;
T owa r d Gra d e s
2 - ag r e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly
di s a g r e e
1.
I like the grade s
2.
I
think g ra d e s
c au s e
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
when I g e t g o o d g r a d e s .
1
2
3
4
get poor
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
are
the y p r o ve
3.
My P a r ents
4.
I d on' t c a r e i f I
5.
If g ra d e s
like
we r e
I . r e c e i v e d in r e a din g.
ve r y imp o rtant b e -
how well I ha v e
elimi nate d ,
d one .
grade s.
I wo ul d b e
happi e r .
6.
I like d r ea ding b e ca u s e the t e a c he r di d
not e mpha s i ze
grade s .
G r a d e P oi nt A ve r ag_�;
G r a de
1s t Seme s t e r
2nd S e me ste r
7
2. 0
2. 0
8
2. 0
2. 6
Grade
9
1st Seme ster
2nd S eme s te r
2. 7 .
3. 1
Tea cher s ' Surve y
K e y:
1.
1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
s chool work .
2.
D i d a cademi c work.
8 th
7th
W a s inte r e sted in
9th
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1 2
3
4
Summ i: n y and Conclus ions o f A cademi c A chie vement and Grade s
Al indi cated he was plea s e d with the p r e s ent grading s y s tem.
Thi s wa s evident in the Reading Lab o rato r y.
Whenever Al did work,
he wa s concerned with grade s he would r e c eive .
All thr e e of the teache r s s urve ye d s aw Al diffe rently.
There
did not s e em to be a r elati ons hip between A l ' s Grade P oint A ve r a ge
for the diffe rent g rade s and his tea c he r s ' s u r ve y.
In fact, when Al
r e c ei ve d hi s highe s t Gra de P oint Ave r age , the final s eme s t e r of the
ninth- grade , he wa s given hi s lowe s t rating b y a tea cher fo r a c a demi c work attempte d.
Why thi s wa s so wa s not e vident since A l ' s
Grade P oint Ave r a ge would be conside r ed high.
Although Al did s e em to ne ed grade s '!:: o s u s tain his acaden"li c
e ffo rt, a s wa s s hown b y hi s traditional views on the survey, hi s per formance in the Reading Lab o ratory s e emed to indicate he c ould a dapt hims e lf to an almo s t non - graded s i tuati on.
E ven though the
Reading Labo rato r y guarantee d a hi gh grade , Al s till r e a d e ve ry day
.
and j oine d in with all R eading Labo r atory ac tiv-itie s .
Since Al' s attitude sur vey indicate d n o deviation from a s tand a r d appr oa ch to grade s ,
and s ince Al ' s Grade P oint Ave rage wa s a
little ab ove a ve ra g e , and hi s teache r s did not unanimou s ly grade him
l ow o n the tea che r s ur vey, the c onlcusion would s eem to b e that Al had
a p o s itive attitude towa r d s chool.
IV.
Self- Concept
S tudent Sur ve y - Attitude Towa r d S elf
Key:
1.
1 - s tr ongly a gr e e ; 2 -a g r e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - strongly di s a g ree
I feel I am a p e r s on of worth at lea s t on an
e qual plane with othe r s .
1
2
3
4
am a failur e .
1
2
3
4
3.
I fe el I do not have much to b e pr oud o f.
1
2
3
4
4.
On
1
2
3
4
5.
I am able to d o things . a s well a s mo s t othe r
1
2
3
4
2.
All in all, I am inclined to fe el that I
the whole, I am sati s fi e d with mys elf.
p e opl e .
Teacher Survey
Ke y:
1 - neve r ; 2 - s ome time s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7 th
1.
Wa s a beha vi o r a l u r oblem. 1
2.
W a s defens ive when cor -
8th
9th
-
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
re cted.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
3.
Acted out in clas s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
4.
Showe d a p o s i tive atti 1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
L
tude towa r d s elf.
5.
Showe d r e s pe ct fo r pe e r s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
6.
Sent t o the o ffice .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1 2
3
4
Summar y and C onclus ions of Self- C on c e12t
A l ' s s e lf- c onc ept wa s s tr ong.
"I fee l I am a pe r s on of wo rth . . . " .
Al agreed wi th the s tatement
The r e was unanimous agree ­
ment among the thre e te ache r s that Al wa s not a b ehavioral pr oblem.
Al ' s p e r formance in the Reading Labo rato ry indi cate d he was able to
s u s tain hi s philos ophy o f life d e s pite othe r s tudents ' opini on s .
Al ­
though he di d not fit in with mo s t othe r s tudents , who we re inclined
to criti ci ze hi s r e ligious b e li e fs , Al remaine d unchanged.
Al wa s not a behavi o ral pr oblem in the Re ading Labo rator y
nor in any o the r clas s e s tau ght b y the thr e e tea c he r s s urve yed.
Since the re s e emed to b e almo s t unanimous agre ement
among all the s our c e s cited that Al demons trate d hi gh s elf - e s teem,
the c onclusion would s e em to be that A l had a strong p o s itive s elf­
c oncept.
V.
A ttitude Towa r d Teache r s
Student Surve y - A tt� tude Towa rd Teacher of the P r o gram
Ke y:
! - s tr ongly agre e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - dis agr e e ; 4 - s trongly
dis ag r e e
1.
The teache r wa s, friendly towa rd me .
2.
The tea che r made m e fe el a s i f I wa s
welc orr�e in hi s c la s s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
83
3.
The tea che r neve r put me down a s a
4.
"lo s e r " in c la s s .
1
2
3
4
The tea c he r like d teaching r eG!:ding.
1
2
3
4
Attendance Figure s
Grade
Excu s e d Ab s en c e s
Unexcu s e d Ab senc e s
7
0
1
8
11 ·
1
9
0
0
T e a cher Survey
Ke y:
! - neve r ; 2 - s ometitne s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7 th
1.
2.
8th
Showed r e s p e ct for
tea c he r s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3 4
1
2
3
4
S ought individual help .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3 4
1
2
3
4
Summ a r y and C onclus ions o f T e a che r s
Al was a s tudent who caus e d ver y few p r oblems in c la s s .
Hi s c oope ration in cla s s s e emed to have b e en inte rpreted a s
of r e s pe ct for teache r s .
I n Al' s ninth - grade yea r ,
a
s ign
the teache r s
s urveyed claime d A l s ought ve r y little individual help although the
o the r two tea che r s claimed he s ought a great deal o f individual
help .
Al did s e eni · to be able to talk to and deal with teache r s
on a friendly, p e r s onal ba s i s .
In the Reading Labo ratory, Al wa s
not he s itant ab out a s king favo r s of the P r o gr am. Dir e cto r .
On a
84
numb e r of o c c a s ions Al went on trip s with the Dire ctor a s hi s
gue s t.
Al ' s attitude surve y indi cated he liked the Reading Lab o ra ­
tory 'pr o gram, and wa s c on s ide r e d b y the thre e teache r s s ur ve ye d
to b e r e spe ctful and ready to s e e k individual help .
The attendance
figure s indicate d Al did not tr y to s tay away from s chool and the
Reading Lab o rator y ob s e r vati on agr e e d with all thi s information.
The conclusion s e emed to be that Al had a p o s itive a ttitude towa r d
teache r s .
Ca s e Study No . 3 - Ste ve
I.
Int r o ducti on
S te v e , age fifte en, wa s not c ons ide r e d to be gene rally well ­
like d b y hi s pe e r s .
b or s .
Hi s cir cle of friends s e em e d limited to hi s neigh­
He s e emed to b e in good health, but s uffe r e d fr om what s e eme d
to b e a s li ght curvature of the spine .
Thi s curvature might have been
due to poor p o s ture o r phys ical defe c t .
He did n o t often s e em t o be
happy although he di d j oin in mo s t clas s a c tivitie s .
Steve often c om­
mente d to the P r o gram D i r e c tor that he felt mor e time in the R eading
Lab or atory s hould be de voted to writing and spelling .
Hi s favo rite
b ooks we re gho s t s to rie s and mur de r mys terie s .
S te ve lived at home with hi s mothe r and father and one
o lder b r othe r .
S te v� 1 s father wa s a s e lf- employed remode le r and
Steve and hi s olde r b r othe r worke d a s appr e nti c e s in the bu s ine s s .
On the o c c a s ion o f the fi r s t inte rview, hi s fathe r a s ke d that Steve be
given early relea s e from s chool so he c ould work with him.
During
the summe r Ste ve put in ei ght hours e ve r y day with hi s fathe r .
S te ve 1 s ninth- grade re ading s co r e s were a s follow s :
( Ne l s on Reading T e s t, Forms A and B ) .
Date
11 - 14 - 7 0
Vocabular y
9. 4
P a ragraph Comprehens ion
6. 1
T otal
8. 2
Date
Vo cabulary
8 - 14 - 71
RESU LTS
Paragraph Comprehension
Total
10. 5
9. 1
10. 8
1. 1
3. 0
2. 6
The following s tandardized s c or e s are p r e s ented a s a s ub ­
s ti tute to the Lorge s co re s .
The autho r found this n e c e s sary to do
b e cau s e many s co r e s inc luding the Lorge s c o r e s we re mi s sing
f r om Steve ' s s chool cumulative folde r .
S tanda rd ( 9 / 6 7 ) -
!TED ( Spring
II.
1
WM
PM
TR
6. 0
5. 6
5. 6
5. 6
Gr .
Vo c .
C om.
9. 0
39
Gr .
71) -
USI
192
26
Home Life
Student Survey - Attitude T owa rd Home
Key: ! - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - ag r e e·; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s trongly di s agree
1.
I like home a n d m y family.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
ing mate r ial fo r me .
1
2
3
4
5.
Ivfy family· us e s the lib r a r y a lot.
1
2
�
4
6.
1'Ay family tre ats me as an e qual.
1
2
3
4
2.
Our family ha s made r e a ding ve r y
impo :rtant t o me .
3.
I r e a d a l o t now b e caus e I learned to
r e a d a lot at home .
4.
Our family ha s a lway s supplie d read­
0 (
7.
I can voice my opinion and I will
be lis tened to by my family.
8.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
M y family allows me t o que s tion their
de c i s i ons .
Summar y and C onclus ions o f Home Life
S te ve 1 s attitude s u r ve y indi cated hi s family wa s partially
helpful in de veloping reading ha bits .
He wa s re latively a good
r e a de r and it would s e em that the s upply of reading mate rial at
home help e d hhn .
F r om the inte rview,
it wa s made e vi.dent that
the parents had not made r e a ding very impo rtant to Ste ve ,
a s the y
s eemed to be m o r e inte r e s ted in talking about Steve 1 s future in hi s
fathe r 1 s r emodeling busine s s than they we re about hi s reading .
The father a n d mothe r claime d almo s t c omplete ignorance
ab out . the Reading Labo ra to r y.
The y did rememb e r s e eing the
c omplimenta r y noti c e s s ent home , b ut had no idea of the c onne c tion betwe en the Reading Lab orato r y and the noti ce s .
Steve hims elf wa s ve ry helpful in the inte rview.
parents had their s a y ab out S te ve 1 s wo rking ability,
them s e lve s .
After hi s
they excu s e d
S te ve then b e gan to answer que s ti ons about his read-
ing habits with a genuine enthusiasm that he had rar e ly s how at
any
p r e vious time s .
T he family s ubs c;rib e d to the Lo s Angele s
Time s ; National Ge o g ranhi c s ; Field and Stream; Sports Afield; and
Outdoor Life .
The r e we r e no encyclope di a s and only one di ctionary
88
in Steve ' s home .
III.
Academi c Achie vement and Grade s
Student Surve y - Attitude T owa r d Grade s
_
K e y: ! - str ongly agr e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s a g r e e
1.
I like the g rade s I r e ceive d i n reading.
2.
I think g r ade s ar e ve ry imp o rtant be caus e
1
2
3
4
they p r ove how well I have don e .
1
2
3
4
3.
My p a r e nts like when I g e t g o o d grade s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I don ' t c ar e i f I get p o o r gr ade s .
1
2
3
4
5.
If grade s we r e eliminated ,
1
2
3
.4
1
2
3
4
I would b e
happie r .
6.
I like d r e ading b e ca u s e the tea c he r di d
not empha s i ze grade s .
Grade P oint Ave rage
Gr ade
1 s t S eme ster
2nd S eme ster
7
2. 4
2. 7
8
1. 7
I. 7
9
3. 1
2. 5
Teache r s ' Survey
_
Key:
1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ometim. e s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7th
1.
9th
W a s inte r e sted in
s chool wo rk.
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
2.
Did a cademi c work.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Sunh'TI.ar y and Conclusions of A cademi c A chievement and Grade s
Steve ' s a ttitude survey indi cate d that he would like to s ee
g rade s eliminate d.
Thi s fit s into Steve ' s total p e r s onality,
fo r he
was ve r y bla s e ' about s chool and exhibited a " take it or leave it"
Whe n s omething inte re s te d S te ve he wa s ve r y eage r to
attitude .
lea rn,
howeve r ,
he rar ely s howed an a ggre s s ive ,
Steve,
it for grade s .
enough to know,
a s hi s s ur ve y indi c ate d,
howeve r ,
c ompe titive spir -
wa s r e alistic
that gr ade s did count.
Steve 1 s te a che r s 1 s urve ys showed that he wa s not ve ry
motiva te d to work and s uppo r te d wha t was ob s e r ved in the Reading
Labo r a t o r y.
Ste ve wa s a rathe r unique s tudent in that he c ould
find life mildly amu � ing and c ould s i t back and laugh at it once in
a
while .
IV.
Self- C oncept
S tudent Sur ve y - Attitude Towa r d Self
Ke y:
! - s trongly a gr e e ; 2 - ag r e e ; 3 - di s agr e e ; 4- s tr ongly
dis a g r e e .
1.
I fe el
I am a pe r s on of worth at lea s t
on a n e qual plane with othe r s .
1
2
3
4
I am a failure .
1
2
3
4
3.
I feel I d o not have much to b e p r oud o f.
1
2
3
4
4.
O n the whole , I a m s ati s fi e d wi th mys elf.
1
2
3
4
2.
All in all , I am incline d to fe el that
90
I am able to do things as well a s mo s t
5.
2
1
othe r p e ople .
4
3
T eache r Survey
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ome tim e s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
Key:
9 th
7th
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
c o r r e cted.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
3.
Acted out in clas s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
4.
Showed a p o s itive attitude
towa r d s elf.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
5.
Showe d r e s p e c t for pee r s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
6.
S ent to the offi c e .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1.
W a s a b e havioral p r oblem
2.
Wa s defens ive when
.•
S umma r y and C on clusions o f S elf - C oncept
S te ve wa s not c onside r e d a behavio ral pr oblem in Reading
Lab or atory,
an ob s e r vation that wa s s uppo rted by his s e venth and
ninth - grade tea che r s .
Steve ' s s e lf- c onc ept s urvey indicated he had a str ong s elf­
image and for the most pa rt,
p r oj e c te d thi s ima g e to hi s tea che r s .
Steve had an aloofne s s about him that s eemed to be an attitude
born of hi s ve r y c onfident s elf-itna ge .
hirr.L o r ar ound him c ould b other Ste ve .
his
Little that [l..i s p e e r s did to
He sp oke up when he felt
opinion s hould be hea rd and allovve d little r oom fo r c ornp r omi s e .
91
Oftentime s ,
r a c e p r oblems of Ame rica were . di s cus s e d in the Read­
ing L ab or ato r y.
Although Ste ve ne ve r s eemed to change his atti ­
tude towar d the p r oblem s throughout t4e whole yea r ,
he did b e gin
to s how mo r e tol e r ance for othe r pe ople ' s views .
V.
Tea che r
S tudent Survey - Attitude Towa r d Tea che r of the P ro gram
Key: ! - s t r ongly a gr e e ; 2 - agre ·e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s a g r e e
1.
The tea che r wa s friendly towa r d me .
2.
The tea che r made me fe el a s i f I
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
" lo s e r " in clas s .
1
2
3
4
The teacher like d tea ching r eading .
1
2
3
4
wa s wel c ome in hi s cla s s .
The tea che r ne ve r put me down a s a
3.
4.
Attendanc e Figur e s
Grade
Excus e d Ab s en c e s
Unexcu s e d Ab s enc e s
7
5
3
8
?
?
9
2
0
Tea che r Surve y
Key: 1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7 th
9th
1.
Showe d re spect for tea che r .
1 2
3
4
1
2
3
4
2.
S ought individual he lp .
1 2 3
4
1
2
3
4
Summ ary and C onclus ions of Attitude T owa r d Teache r s
S te ve indi cated he ve ry much e nj oyed the Reading Labo r a ­
tory.
Sinc e he wa s net known fo r hi s displays o f emotion this strong
a g r e ement can b e s e e n a s a very p o s itive attitude .
It wa s surpri s ­
ing that he ans we r e d thi s way be cau s e he had b e en one of the R e a d ­
ing Labor ato r y ' s leading c r iti c s .
Steve felt i t wa s too e a s y and
did not s upply the writing and spelling s kills 1 le s s ons o ffe r e d by a
" re gula r " Engli s h cla s s .
The a ttendance fi gur e s a r e mi sleading be cau s e the y did
not indicate d that Ste ve ' s ab s ente eism fr equently o c cur r e d on days
when g r oup te s ting would take pla c e .
many inc omplete te s t s c or e s .
Hi s cumulative folde r shows
During the ninth - gr ade he mana ged
to mi s s all o r parts o f gr oup te s ts .
for days of announce d g r oup te s ting.
Ste ve e ven s tated he had plans
In R e a ding Lab orato r y when
S te ve wa s given the choice betwe e n writte n or o ral evaluation he
would cho o s e o ral evaluation.
Ca s e S tudy No.
I.
4
-
Jim
Intr o duction
Jim wa s fifteen yea r s old and had ve ry poor p e e r r e ­
lations .
fun of,
Jim had phy s i cal qualiti e s whi ch fellow s tudents made
such a s e nla r g e d facial feature s and p o o r coordinati on .
His mothe r told the inte r vi ewer o f a short, but violent,
o f c onvulsions in 1 9 6 3 .
Jim al s o ha d had spe cial training clas s e s
which hi s mothe r claimed we r e detrimental t o him.
6 3 o n the B enet I . Q .
s ame te s t .
hi s tory
Jim s c o r e d
( 1 9 6 2 ) and two yea r s later s c o r e d 64 o n the
Jim had attende d four elementar y s chools ; two be fo r e
s p e cial training s tarted and two afte r ,
although the family had not
mo ve d in the pa s t ten yea r s .
Jim live d a t home with hi s mothe r and fathe r ,
old e r b r othe r ,
one old e r s i � ter and one younger s i s te r .
one
Hi s
fathe r wa s a ma chini s t and hi s mothe r worke d in a machine s ho p .
Their home wa s lo cate d among home s c o s ting a n ave rage o f
$28, 000.
Jim ' s ninth- grade r e<?�ding s c ore s o n the Nels on Read ­
ing Te s t,
Form A and B we r e a s follows :
Vo c abular y
Date
P a r a gr aph Con1.p r ehens ion
T otal
1 0 - 19 - 7 0 >!<
4. 8
4.. 8
5. 0
8 - 1 8 - 71
8. 6
6. 2
7. 9
RESULTS 3 . 8
1. 4
2. 9
Jim ' s Lor ge s c or e s we r e a s follow s :
Date
Spring ,
' 71
Gra de
Verbal %
Non- Ve rbal%
9. 0
8
8
>;< Thi s te s t' s vali dity wa s doubtful.
Ave rage %
8
At the r e que s t of the mothe r ,
the te s t wa s admini s te r ed b y the olde r s i s te r without the inte r viewer being p re s ent.
II.
·
Home Life
S tudent Surve y - Attitude T owa rd Home
Key:
1 - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - ag r e e ; 3 - di s ag r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly
di s ag r e e
1.
I like home and m y family.
2.
Our family has made r eading ve r y
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
ing mate rial for me .
1
2
3
4
§.
My fanrily u s e s the lib r a r y a lot.
1 2
3
4
6.
My family treats me a s an e qual
1
2
3
4
7.
I can voi ce m y opini on and I will be
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
impo r tant t o me.
3.
I r e a d a lot now b e c aus e I learned to
r e a d a lot at home .
4.
Our family has always s uppli e d r ea d -
li s tened to b y my family.
8.
My family a1�ows me to que s ti on their
de cision s .
Summar y and C onclusions of Home Life
Jim indi cate d on hi s s urve y that he like d hi s home and family
ve ry much.
Jim,
hi s olde r s i s te r ,
younge r s i s te r and his moth-
er wer e the only family memb e r s p r e s ent at the inte rvi ew.
Be­
c aus e Jim had b e en in spe cial e du cation clas s e s in elementar y
s chool,
the r e might have b e e n forme r home v-isits by te a che r s ,
whi ch had o ffende d the male memb e r s o f the family.
men c ame into the hous e ,
When the
Jim ' s mothe r attempted an intr oduction ,
but they walke d away and igno r e d the extende d hand of the inte r viewe r .
A c ompa ri s on o f Jim ' s attitude surve y and what Jim' s
mothe r told the inte rvi ewe r clearly s howed a c ontradition.
claimed the lib rary wa s u s e d a lot,
Jim
but Jim ' s mothe r said no
one ha d a lib rary c a r d or eve r u s e d the lib r a r y .
Jim claimed
he had b e en s uppli e d r eading mate rial, but Jim ' s mothe r s ai d
the r e we r e only a few b oo ks ,
one old s et of encyclop e dia s ,
and
a sub s c r iption to the Her c:ld Examine r .
The influence of home i n Jim ' s r eading ,
s ur ve y,
s e eme d to b e all p o s itive .
Howeve r,
a c co r ding to hi s
the c ontradi ctions
not e d ab o ve along with what s e eme d to be a negative attitude
towar d e ducato r s by the
n1.en
in the family ,
may have been a
negative influe nce on Jirn ' s reading imp rovement.
III.
A cademi c A cr..i e vement and Gr ade s
Student Sur ve y
·-
Attitude Towar d Grade s
96
Ke y:
1 - s t rongly a gr e e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - di sa g r � e ; 4 - strongly di s a gr e e
1
2
3
4
c au s e they p r ove how well I have d one .
1
2
3
4
3.
M y par ents like when I get good grade s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I don' t c a r e if I get p o o r grade s .
1
2
3
4
5.
I f grade s we r e eliminate d,
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
l.
I like the grade s I re ceived in r eading.
2.
I think grade s a r e ve ry impor tant b e _
I would be
happ ie r .
I like d r e a ding be cau s e the tea che r did
6.
not empha s i z e g r a de s .
Grade P oint Ave rage
Gra de
1 st Seme s te r
2nd S eme s ter
7
1. 5
1. 7
8
1. 1
1. 0
9
1. 5
1. 8
Tea che r s ' Sur ve y
Key:
1 - neve r ; 2 - s ome time s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
8th
7th
1.
2.
9th
W a s inte r e s te d in s chool
work.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Did a ca demi c work.
1 £._ 3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Summa r y and C onclu s i ons o f Aca demi c Achi e vement and Grade s
Since Jim had s uc h a lea r ni ng di s ability,
s chool "\V Ol"k '.Ve r e under s tandably poor .
hi s g rade s and
He s eemed to have a
97
sinc e r e inte r e s t in s cho ol and wa s always ve ry quie t and attentive
_
in the R e a ding Lab o ratory.
He wa s frequently ob s e r ve d looking
at and r e a ding diffe rent publi cations w� thout the tea cher helping to
dir e c t hi s choi c e .
He a l s o a c c ompli shed work i n reading textb o oks
without a great deal of dire ction.
The teacher surve y s ,
teache r ,
except for that o f the eighth grade
s eemed to indi cate the .tea che r s unde r s tood Jim ' s learning
disability and did not exp e ct a great deal fr om him.
IV.
Self- Concept
Student Survey - Attitude Towa r d S elf
Key:
1.
1 - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s ag r e e ; 4 - strongly di s a gr e e
I feel I am a per s on of worth at le a s t
o n a n e qual plane with othe r s .
2.
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
.l
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
All i n all, I am incline d to fe el that
I am a failu r e .
3.
1
I fee l I do not have much to b e
p r oud of.
4.
On the whole ,
5.
I am aple to do things a s well ·as m o s t
I am s ati s fi e d with mys elf.
,
othe r p e ople .
Tea che r Survey
Key:
l - neve r ; 2 - s ome time s ; 3 -many tinle s ; 4 -a lways
7th
1 . . Was
a.
beha. vi o ral pr oblem.
1
2
3
8 th
4
1
2
3
9 th
4
1
2
3 4
2.
Was defens ive when c o r r e cted.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
3.
Acted out i n clas s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
4.
S howe d a p o s i tive at-
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
tude towa r d s e lf.
5.
Showe d r e s p e c t fo r p e e r s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
6.
S ent to the offi c e .
l
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1 2
3
4
Summar y and c onclus ions of Self- Concept
Jim ' s re s pons e s to all the s ur ve y s tatements showe d him
to have a s tr on g s elf - ima ge .
Howe ve r , Jim ' s answe r t o item num -
b e r fi ve of the S tudent Survey was not reali s ti c .
B e caus e J im had
a l ow I . Q . and physi c al handi c ap s , he wa s not able to do things a s
well a s hi s pee r s .
The te ache r s surve ye d found Jim not to be a behavi o r al
p r oblem.
In the R e ading Lab o r atory,
dent and ne ve r caus e d any tr ouble .
Jim wa s a c o op e r ative s tu ­
After the ei ghth - grade te ach-
e r had c o mme nte d on items two , four and five of the Teache r s '
Surve y,
s he was furthe r que s ti one d by the P ro g r arn Dire ctor and
r e ve aled that s he had had no p r i o r knowle dge that Jim ' s I. Q .
only 63 ( B enet,
1 9 64) .
wa s
Thi s igno rance s e eme d to le s s e n the im -
p o rtance of he r re s p on s e .
Jim ' s s u r ve y indi cate d he ha d a s trong s e lf ;;.;.; imag e .
The
tea che r s ( i gno ring the eighth- grade teache r ' : s r e s pons e s ) generally
a gr e e d he wa s not a b ehavio ral pr oblem, s ho"\ve d a p o s itive attitude
The s e r e sults le d to the
towa r d s elf and r e s p e cte d hi s pe e r s .
c onclusion that Jim ha d a str ong s e lf - image de s pite hi s handicaps .
He a l s o s e emed to have le arned to adapt to the r e gular cla s s r oom
without cau s ing unus ual b e havi oral p r oblems .
Attitudes Towa r d Teache r s
V.
S tudent Survey - Attitude Towa r d Teache r of the P r o gram
Key:
! - s tr ongly a gr e e ; 2 -a gr e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - s tr on gly dis a g r e e
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
" lo s e r 1 1 i n cla s s .
1
2
3
4
The tea che r like d tea ching reading.
1
2
3
4
1.
The tea che r wa s friend! y to me .
2.
The tea che r made me fe el as if I
wa s wel c ome in hi s cla s s .
The tea che r never put me d own a s a
3.
4.
Attendance Figur e s
Grade
Excus ed Ab s ence s
Unexcus e d Ab s ence s
7
7
2
8
1
0
9
2
0
Tea che r Survey
Key:
! -neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ,
3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7 th
1.
_
2.
9th
S howe d r e spe ct for
teache r s .
.
8th
S ou ght individual help.
1
2
3
4
1
l
2
3
4
1 2 3 4
2
3
4
1 2 3 4
1
2
3
4
1 00
Summar y and C onclusion s of Atti tude Towa r d T ea che r s
Jim' s attitude s u r vey did not s eem c ontradicte d b y any thing r e c o r de d o r ob s e r ved in the Reading Lab o rator y.
He was
ve r y ' friendly with the P r o gram Dire ctor and e ven commente d once
o r twic e that he wa s ve r y happy that he had the Reading Lab ora ­
tory t o look forwa r d to e ve ry day.
Jim' s attitude, s ur ve y indicate d he wa s p o sitive about the
Reading Lab o ratory P r o gram.
la r attendanc e at s chool.
His attendance figur e s s hovve d r e gu -
The tea che r s surve ye d indicate d that
Jim alway s r e s p e cted teache r s but s e ldom s ought individual help.
The ob s e r vations of Jim in the Rea ding Lab o rator y we r e c ons i s tent with the ab ove finding s .
The r e fo r e ,
the c onclus ion would
s e em to b e that Jim had a p o s itive attitude towa r d teache r s .
.L \..1 �
C a s e Study N o .
I.
5 - Jeff
Intr oduction
Jeff wa s ,
yea r s old.
a t the c onclusion o f the ninth grade ,
Relatively s pe aking,
Jeff wa s mor e phys ically mature
than hi s p e e r s and excElled in athleti c s .
r eme dial vis ual aid.
fifte en
Jeff had a long his tory of
Jeff' s parents had had him attend a reading
c ente r run by a private firm.
Thi s firm claimed Jeff had a mus -
c ular p r ob lem with hi s e ye s whic h did not allow him to deve lop a
Jeff c laimed thi s s cho ol to be a " real wa s te " o f time .
focal p oint.
When que s tione d,
thi s pr oblem.
doing e y e ,
the par ents we re vague a s to who fir s t diagno s e d
The p a rents r eporte d that a docto r r e cently had · Jeff
body c o o rdination exe r ci s e s .
Although Jeff wa s phy s i cally b i g and had been r elatively
bigge r than hi s pe e r s thr oughout e a rlie r grade s ,
he had many
note s o f emoti onal immaturity r e c o r de d in hi s cumulative folde r .
One r e cur r ing p r ob lem noted in the re co r ds wa s that he c ri e d a
g reat deal b e c au s e he felt alone .
the WIS C at age 9 .
Jeff s c o r e d an I. Q .
o f 1 0 1 on
J e ff went to public s chool fo r the fir s t t hr ough
fourth grade s ( re co mm ende d for retention in fourth grade) and a
B apti s t day s chool fo r fou r th and fifth - g rade .
Jeff was r e taine d
in the thi r d - g r a de .
Jeff live d 2.t · home with hi s m.other ,
e r s i s te r s .
fathe r and two young -
One y ounge r s i s te r wa s s che duled to enter the Reading
Lab orator y the following yea r .
Jeff' s fathe r
wa s
a foren1.an in
a
.L V i.J
Jeff' s family had r e cently moved fr om an area
printing c ompany.
whe r e hou s e s c o st an a ve ra ge of $21, 000 to $ 2 8 , 0 0 0 .
Jeff' s r eading s c o r e s a r e a s follows a c co rding t o the
Nels on Reading Te s t,
Form A ( 1 971) and the Gate s Reading T e s t
U970 ) .
Paragraph Comprehension
Vocabulary
Date
4-3-70
4. 8
8 -1 8 - 71
4. 3
RESU LTS
( Rate 5 . 8)
. 5
T o tal
3. 1
4. 6
3. 3
3. 8
•
2
•
8
Jeff' s Lor ge s c o r e s we r e a s follow s :
Grade
Date
9. 0
Spring ' 71
II.
Ve rbal o/o
11
Non - Ve rbal o/o
Ave rage %
25
45
Home Life
S tudent Survey - Attitude T owa rd Hon1e
Key: 1 - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s agree
1.
2.
I like home and m y family.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
mate rial for me .
1
2
3
4
My family us e s the lib r a r y a lot.
1
2
3
4
Our family has made r eading ve r y
important to me .
3.
I r ead a lot now b e cau s e I learne d to
r e a d a lot at horne .
4.
5.
Our family ha s always s upplied reading
103
6.
My family treats rne a s an equal .
7.
I can voi ce m y opinion and · I will b e
li s tened t o b y my family.
8.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
My family allows m e to que s tion the i r
de c i s i ons .
Summary and C onclu s i on s of Home Life
Jeff appe a r e d to b e ve r y fond of his family.
a great r e s p e ct fo r hi s father .
He showe d
When J e ff answe r ed the s tatement,
1 1 My family treats me a s an e qual 1 1 , he s tr ongly a g r e e d and added
that the family as a g r o up cho s e their new home and the area .
Je�f did not fe el his opinion wa s always li s tened to.
Jeff1 s family had many b ooks , maga zine s { Cycle,
Reade r • s Dige s t ) ,
in the home .
Time ,
two s ets o f enc yclopedias and two di ctionaries
Jeff di d not r e a d a great deal.
the lib r a r y but not a lot.
The family us e d
Hi s mother and s is te r claimed they had
e nough r e a ding mater ial a r ound home .
Jeff' s r ea ding ability s e eme d s eve r ely impai r e d by a p r ob lem o f undete rmine d o ri gin.
D e s pite thi s p r oblem,
Jeff wa s al -
ways reading the more inte r e s ting publicati ons de aling with motor c ycle s .
Jeff p refe r r e d to r e a d in a g r oup o f two o r thre e of hi s
b e s t friends .
III.
Grade s
St�dent Sur vey - Attitude Towa rd Gra de s
. Key: 1 - s trongly a g r e e ; · 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s a g r e e
.L V "±
1.
I like the grade s I r e c eived i n read�ng.
2.
I think grade s a r e very imp ortant b e cause
1
2
3
4
they p rove how well I have done .
1
2
3
4
3.
M y r:a r e nts like when I g e t good g r a de s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I d on ' t c a r e i f I get p o o r grade s .
1
2
3
4
5.
If g r a de s we r e e liminated,
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
I would b e
happie r .
I like d r eading b e caus e the teache r did
6.
not empha s i ze g rade s .
Grade P o int Ave rage
Grade
1 s t Seme s te r
2nd S eme s te r
7
2. 1
2. 5
8
2. 3
2. 0
9
2. 8
2. 7
Teache r s ' Surve y
Key: 1 - neve r ; Z - s on1etirne s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7 th
1.
9th
Wa s inter e s te d in
s chool work.
2.
8th
Did a cademi c work.
.1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
Sumrnar y and C onclus ions o f Academi c Achievement and Grades
Jeff wa s s een: b y ·t.u s othe r teache r s very much the s ame
way a s he appe a r e d in the Reading Lab o r atory.
Jeff wa s inte r e s t -
e d mo s t o f the time in s chool but hi s inte r e s t did not always cen-
ter ar ound s chool work.
Hi s de s i re to do a c a demi c work wa s no t
J e ff u s ually did what was ne c e s s ar y to get b y .
inte ns e .
It would
s eem Jeff' s bigg e s t p r oblem wa s that he wa s never able to me et a
challenge .
He s e eme d to b e able to do things ve r y well at tin1.e s
but would give up ve r y qui ckly when extra e ffort wa s ne c e s s ary.
In the entire time the P r o g r am Dire ctor c o a c he d J e ff in tra ck and
football Jeff really only performed to hi s utm o s t twi c e .
Thi s attitude
would s e e m to have b e e n refle cte d in hi s r e ading ability as w ell.
IV.
Self- Conc ept
Student Surve y - Attitude T owa r d Self
K e y:
1.
! - s trongly a g r e e ; 2 - ag r e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s trongly di s agree
I fe el I am a pe r s on of wor th at
lea s t on an equal plane with othe r s .
2.
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
On the whole , I am sati s fie d with rny ­
s elf.
5.
3
I fe e l I do no t have much to b e proud
of.
4.
2
All in all, I am incline d to fe el that
I am a failure .
3.
1
I am able to do thing s a s well a s m o s t
othe r pe ople .
Teache r Survey
1 - neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
K e y:
8th
7 th
1.
Was a b ehavi o r al pr oblem.
2.
Was defens ive whe n
9th
1
2
3
4
1
2
3 4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
l
2
3
4
1
2
towa rd s elf.
1 2
3
4
1
5.
Showe d r e spe ct for peer s .
1
2
3
4
6.
Sent to the office .
1 2
3
4
c o r r e cted.
3.
Acted out i n cla s s .
4.
Showe d a p o s itive attitude
2
3
4
4
1 2
3
4
3
4
1
2
3
4
2
3
4
1 2.
3
4
1
2
3
4
1 2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
3
4
1
2
Summa ry and C onclu s i on of S elf- Conc ept
Jeff indi cated on hi s attitude surve y that he had a s tr ong
s elf-ima g e .
The fact that h e wa s r ate d b y hi s teache r s a s s ome ­
time s being a behavioral p r oblem wa s not s urpri sing.
Jeff s e emed
to have a c e r tain type of deafne s s when it came to modulating his
voice in cla s s .
athle ti c field.
Jeff wa s
as
boi s te r ous in cla s s a s he wa s on an
What wa s mo s t diffi cult to a c c ept as a normal acti on
of J e f£1 s wa s hi s s u dden mo vement from one p o s ition in the clas s r o om to anothe r .
I f J e ff s aw a maga zine on the r a ck that he
wante d, he would run to the rack with little r e ga r d fo r othe r s tu ­
dents o r de sks in the way.
V.
Teache r
S tudent Surve y - Attitude Towa rd Te ache r of the P r o g r am
Key:
1 - s tr ong agr e e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - di s agr e e ; 4 - s trongly di s agree
1.
The teache r wa s friendly towa r d me .
2.
The teacher made m e fe e l as i f I wa s
welc ome in hi s cla s s .
3.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
The teache r ne ve r put me down a s a
1 1 lo s e r " in cla s s .
4.
The tea c he r liked teaching r e ading .
Attendance Figure s
Excus e d Ab s e n c e s
Grade
Unexcu s e d Ab s enc e s
7
10
1
8
10
1
9
0
0
Teache r Survey
Ke y:
1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7th
1.
9th
Showe d r e s p e ct fo r tea che rs .
2.
8th
Sought individual help .
1 2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
2
Summa r y and C onclus ions of Attitude s To,.var d Teache r s
Jeff w a s ve r y p o s itive about items one and thr e e only.
It
wa s h<n d to unde r s tand why Jeff did not fe el as p o s itive about being
wel c ome in the R e a ding Lab o rato r y.
Half way thr ough the ye a r ,
J e ff had
cla s s .
a
c onfli ct with a tea che r and was a dvi s e d to find anothe r
Jeff a s ke d the P r o gram Dire cto r to take him into the
Re ading Lab orato r y a s a s tudent aid.
ing Laborato r y twi ce a day.
P o s s ibly,
Thi s me ant Jeff had R e a d J e ff felt the ac ceptance a s
a s tudent aid wa s s omething he de s e r ve d.
VVhateve r the r e a s on,
the s tudent sur ve y along with the tea c he rs ' s ur ve y indi cated Jeff
did not always find te a che r s ,
e a s y to app roach.
including the P r o g ram Dir e ctor,
Jeff s eeme d to have found s choo l much mo re
attra ctive in the ninth g rade than he did in the s eventh and ei ghth
grade s .
Hi s attendance figure s fo r the ninth grade indi cated he
ne ve r mi s s e d s chool while he did not mind mis s ing ten days in
both s e venth and ei ghth g r ad e .
1U '1
C a s e Study No .
I.
6
-
Ron
Intr oduction
Ron wa s age fifte en at the c onclu s ion of the ninth grade.
He parti cipate d in football and wr e s tling and wa s a c cepted by hi s
Hi s health s e emed to b e good.
peer s .
tribute t o c onve r s ations ,
He did not r ea dily c on -
and the P r o gram Dire ctor did not have a
great deal of s uc c e s s in c ommuni cati ng with · Ron at fir s t.
the year ,
Late in
Ron felt he c ould work mor e freely with the Dir e ctor
and c omm uni cations imp r oved.
Ron, a n only child,
live d at home with hi s mothe r and
The home in whi c h they live d wa s l o c ate d among other.
fathe r .
home s ave r aging $ 2 8 , 0 0 0 in pric e .
Ron' s fathe r worked a t an air ­
plane fa ctory.
Ron had attended a private Catholi c s chool in the fifth and
s ixth grade s .
The family then moved to the juni o r high s cho ol
a r ea in tirne fo r Ron to enroll in the s eventh grade .
Ron' s ninth grade reading s co r e s o n the Nels on R ea ding
T e s t,
Form A and B we r e a s follows :
Date
Vo cabular y
Pa !"agraph C ompr ehens ion
Total
1 1 - 5 - 70
7. 5
7. 2
7. 2
7 - 28 - 7 1
9. 0
8. 3
8. 7
1. 5 .
1. 1
1. 5
RESULTS
Ron' s L o r g e S co r e s were a s follo;,v s :
110
Date
Spring, ' 7 1
II.
Grade
Ve rbal o/o
9. 0
17
Non - Ve1·bal o/o
Average o/o
52
33
Home Life
S tudent Survey - Attitude Towa r d Home
Ke y:
! - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s a g re e ; 4 - strongly di s a g r e e
1.
I like home and my family.
2.
Our family has made reading ve ry
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
ing mate rial for me .
1
2
3
4
5.
My family us e s the lib r a r y a lot.
1
2
3
4
6.
My family tr eats me as an e qual.
1
2
3
4
7.
I can voic e my opinion and I will
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
important to me .
3.
I r e a d a lot now b e caus e I lea rne d
to read a lot at home .
4.
O u r family ha s always s uppli e d read -
be li s tene d to by my family.
8.
M y family allows me to que s tion their
de c i s ions .
Summa r y and C onclus ions· of Hon1.e Life
·
Ron indicated on his attitude survey that he wa s happy with
his
home and fanlily,
ing from hi s home .
but that he did not r e c eive empha s i s on read­
· He did s e ern to c ontra di c t p r evious r e spons e s
when h e claim. e d he r e a d a lot b e caus e he had learned t o read at
_ hOlne .
111
The ma ga zine s in Ron1 s home we r e B e tte r Homes and
Gar dens ,
R e a de r 1 s Dige s �,
Outdoo r a n d Surfe r .
The family s ub -
s cribe d to all o f the abo ve , plus the He r ald Examine r newspape r .
During the inte r view, i t wa s ob s e rved that mo s tly pape rba ck nove l s we r e found in the home .
The hous e als o had a set of encyclo -
p e dia s and a di cti ona ry.
The s e fac ts s ·e em to lead to the c on clus ion that,
although
R on felt hi s home wa s not a p o sitive influence on hi s r.eading ha ­
bit s ,
the r e we r e r ea s ons to c onclude that the home did offe r s ome
po sitive influence .
III.
A ca demi c Achi e ver.nent and Grade s
S tudent Survey - Attitude Towa r d Grade s
Ke y:
1 - s tr ongly a g re e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s a g r e e
1
2
3
4
caus e they p r o ve how well I have done .
1
2
3
4
3.
My par ents like when I get good grade s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I don 1 t care if
1
2
3
4
5.
I f grade s we r e eliminate d, I would be
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1.
I like the g rade s I re ceive d in r e a ding.
2.
I think grade s a r e ve r y important b e ­
I get p oo r grade s .
happie r .
6.
I like d r ea ding b e c au s e the tea che r
did not e mpha s i ze grad·e s .
Gra de Point A ve rage
112
Gra de
1 s t Seme ster
7
2. 1
3. 0
8
2. 4
2. 5
9
3. 8
3. 1
.2nd Seme s te r
Teacher Surve y
Key:
1 - neve r ; 2 - s ome time s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
8th
7th
1.
2.
9th
Was inte r e s te d in s chool
work.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3 4
Did a c a demi c work.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3 4
Surruna r y and C on clus ions of Academi c Achi evement and Grade s
R on' s r e s p on s e s to items five and s ix on the attitude
s tudy made R on' s attitude towa r d grade s unus ual .
he would like t o s ee grade s eliminated,
Since Ron a greed
it wa s difficult to unde r ­
s tand why he di s a g r e e d with the R e a ding Labo rato r y' s lack of emha s is on grade s .
R on ' s othe r r e sp ons e s refle cte d a traditional
view towa r d grade s .
Ron maintaine d a high Grade Point Ave rage thr oughout
hi s three yea1· s in junio r high s cho ol.
Hi s highe s t Grade Point
Ave rage wa s in the fir s t s eme ster of the ninth grade when he
earned a 3 . 8 ave ra g e .
Ron wa s ohs e rved in the R e a ding Lab oratory a s almo st
always inte r e s te d in r e a ding.
. s po rts ,
and surfe r maga zine s .
He e spe cially enj oye d moto r cycle ,
1 13
From the data gathe r e d, the c on clus ion would s eem to be
.
that Ron had a p o s itive attitude towa r d s chool.
I V.
S elf- Conc ept
Student Survey - Attitude Toward S elf
Key:
1.
! - s tr ongly agre e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s agr e e ; 4 - strongly di sagr e e e
I fee l I am a pe r s on o f worth at lea s t
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
of.
1
2
3 . 4
4.
O n the whole , I a m sati s fi e d with mys elf.
l
2
3
4
S.
I am able to do thing s a s well a s m o s t
1
2
3
4
on an e qual plane with othe r s .
2.
All i n all, I am inclined to fe el that
I am a failu r e .
I fee l I d o n o t have much to be proud
3.
othe r p e ople .
Teache r Surve y
Key:
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ometim e s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
8th
7 th
l.
Wa s a b ehavioral pr oblem. 1 2 3 4
2.
Wa s defe nsive when c o r -
..
1
2
3 4
1 2 3 4
r e cted.
l 2 3 4
l
2 3 4
l 2 3 4
3.
A cte d out in cla s s .
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
4.
S howe d a p o s itive· at­
1 2 3 4
1
1 2 3 4
titude towa r d s elf.
�- - -
9th
5
•
. .
.
Showed re spect for
pe e r s .
1
2 3 4
2 3 4
l 2 3
4
1 2 3 4
114
6.
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
l
2 3 4
Ron s aw hims elf a s having a p o sitive s elf- attitude .
Ron' s
S ent t o the offi c e .
Summar y and C onclusions of S elf - C onc ept
teache r s al s o rep o rte d that he almo st always shovve d a p o sitive
s elf- attitude .
Ron wa s als o note d by hi s te a che r s to always have
showed r e s p e ct for hi s p e e r s .
He wa s furthe rmo re neve r cons ide r e d a b ehavi o ral prob�
b y hi s teache r s or by the P r o gram Di r e cto r .
The facts s e emed t o indi cate that Ron did have a po sitive
s e lf- c oncept.
V.
Attitude Towa r d Teache r
S tudent Survey - Attitude Towa r d T e a cher of the Program
Ke y:
1 - strongly a gr e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - s tr ongly dis agr e e ; 4 - disagree
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
" lo s e r " in cla s s .
1
2
3
4
The tea che r like d teaching reading.
1
2
3
4
1.
The tea che r wa s friendly towa r d me .
2.
The teacher made m e f e e l a s i f I wa s
welc on1e in his cla s s .
The tea che r neve r put r.ne down a s a
3.
4.
Attendance Figu r e s
Gra de
Excus e d Ab s ences
Unexcus ed Ab s en c e s
7
0
0
8
3
0
0
1 15
Tea che r Survey
Ke y:
1 -ne ver ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7th
8th
9th
.
1.
2.
Showe d r e s p e ct for
teache r s .
1
S ought individual help .
1 2 3
2 3 4
4
1 2 3 4
1
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
2 3 4
Summ a ry and C onclus ions of Attitude Towar d Tea che r
Ron ' s attitude s u r ve y indicate d he a g r e e d vvith the way
the Reading P r o gr am wa s ope rated.
He did not, fo r s ome reas on,
s tr ongly agree that he wa s ma de to fe el wel c ome in the Reading
P r o gram.
Ron' s atten dance figu r e s indi cate d r e gula r attendance ove r
the three yea r s in j uni o r high s chool.
Ron' s tea che r s indicate d that Ron always r e s pe c te d teache r s , but s eldom s ought indivi dual help .
The s e fa cts s e e me d to p oint to the c onclusion that Ron
had a p o sitive attitude toward tea che r s .
116
Ca s e Study No.
· I.
7 - Chri s
Intr oduction
Chris wa s age fifteen when he completed the ninth grade .
Chris move d into the j unio r high s cho ol a r e a in the Fall of 1 9 7 0 .
A s the year p r o gr e s s e d, h e b e gan t o make friends and wa s gene r ally a c c epte d b y hi s pe e r s .
B e caus e o f a kidney ailment
he had
had since age four , he wa s s low to involve hims elf in s chool acti viti e s .
B y the time bas eball s e a s on arrive d, though, he had r e -
c eived hi s do cto r ' s p e rmi s s ion to e nte r a ctive sports .
. to
A c c ording
hi s par ents , thi s was the fir s t time in a long while that he had
be en all owe d to parti cipate in active , or gani z e d sports .
One of Chris s maj o r inte r e s ts wa s his guitar and the
musi cal ·gr oup to wh..i ch he belonge d .
appearance s at the 1ocal danc e s .
Thi s gr oup made fr equent
Chris als o s ang fo r the group .
I n Chri s 's cumulative folde r ther e we r e a great many days
of
ab s e nte eism r e c or de d be caus e of hi s kidney ailment.
One teach-
e r ' s c omment in the cumulative folde r state d that he had four op e rations for thi s ailrnent.
Early s chool yea r s were mar r e d by
bladde r functions thcc>. t we re ir r e gular and cau s e d incontinen c e .
The
cumulative folde r indi cated time away from cla s s wa s always ne ces s ary for Chris s o he c ould take medi c ation.
He had been r etaine d
in the thi r d grade .
C hris 1i ve d at horn.e with hi s mothe r , fathe r , one older
:. b r othe r , one olde r s i s te r and one younge r b rothe r .
Thcir . home
1 17
among home s that c o s t, on the ave rage, $ 2 5 , 0 0 0 .
wa s
Chri s 's
fathe r wa s an a e r o s pa ce engine e r and his mothe r wa s a hous ewife .
B oth pa rents we re ve ry c once rne d about Chris s reading ability.
During the inte r view, b oth mothe r and fathe r talke d about the Read ­
ing Laboratory P r o gram and the good things it had done for Chri s .
Howe ve r , they b oth s aid the y would like to s e e the cla s s i c s of
lite rature introdu c e d thr ough the Reading Laboratory.
Chri s 's ninth grade reading s c o re s on the Nels on Reading
T e st,
Forms A and B , we r e as follows :
Date
Paragraph C omprehension
Vocabulary
Total
1 1 - 4- 7 0
8. 5
6. 3
7. 5
7 - 27 - 7 1
7. 3
5. 5
6. 8
-1. 2
-. 8
-. 7
RESU LTS
Chri s 's e arly L o r ge s c o r e s we r e unavailable .
The follow-
ing repres ente d only the ninth grade r e sults .
Date
Spring ' 7 1
II.
Grade
Verbal o/o
9. 0
21
Ave rage o/o
Non -Ve rbal o/o
25
29
Home Life
Student Survey - Attitude Toward Home
Ke y:
1.
2.
! - s tr ongly agre e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a gre e ; 4- str ongly di s a gree
I like home and my family.
1
2 3 4
1
2 3 4
Our family ha s made r eading ve 1· y
important to me .
3.
I read a lot now b e caus e
I
learned
1
2
3
4
reading mate rial for me .
1
2
3
4
5.
My family us e s the library a lot.
1
2
3
4
6.
My family tr e ats me as an e qual .
1
2
3
4
7.
I can voi c e m y o pinion and I will
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
to read a lot at home .
4.
Our family has always supplie d
be li s tene d to .b y my family.
8.
My family allows me to que s tion
the ir de cis ions .
Summa ry and C onclus ions of Home Life
Chri s 's s ur vey indicate d he wa s happy at home .
Hi s fam­
ily s e eme d to be a c ohe s ive unit that e nj o yed e a ch othe r ' s c ompany.
During the s chool yea r , Chris gave the Di re ctor no rea s on to believe
hi s home wa s a cau s e of any unhappine s s to him.
Chr:is indi cated hi s home pr ovi ded him with ample r e ading
mate rial, that he learne d to r e ad a lot at home and that hi s family
made r e ading in1po rtant to him.
tha t
During the inte rview it wa s note d
the home did have a large book colle ction and that the par ents
e mphasi zed how much the y ca red ab ou t go od reading habits for their
c hildren.
The home c ontaine d many mag� zine s , novels , encyc lope d ­
ia s , and dictionarie s .
The family sub s cribe d t o Life , Sports Illus ­
trate d-c. B oy ' s .Lif� , and the Lo s Angele s Time s newspape r .
1 19
The c onclusion appeared to be that the home p r ovide d a
p o s itive influence for Chri s to impr ove hi s reading.
III.
Academi c A chie vement and Grade s
Student Survey - Attitude Towa r d Grade s
Key:
! - s tr ongly a gr e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - str ongly di sagree
I.
I like the grade s I r e ceive d in r eading.
2.
I think grade s a re ve r y .important b e·-
1
2
3
4
caus e the y p r ove how we ll I have done .
1
2
3
4
3.
My par ents like when I get good grade s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I don' t c a r e if I g e t p o o r grade s .
1
2
3
4
5.
If grade s we r e eliminated, I would b e
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
happi e r .
6.
I like d reading beca•.1s e the teacher did
not empha s i z e grade s .
Grade Point Ave rage
l s t S eme s te r
Gra de
2nd S eme ste r
7
2. 5
2. 7
8
2. 5
2. 8
9
3. 0
3. 3
Teache r s ' Survey
Key:
"
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many .f....1me
s ; 4 - always
9th
1.
9th
Wa s inte r e sted in
s chool work.
1
2 3 4
1
2 3 4
120
2.
Did a ca demi c work.
1
l 2 3 4
2 3 4
Summary and C onclusions of Academi c A chie vement and Grade s
Chris 's attitude survey indicate d nothing unusual ab out hi s
attitude toward the p r e s ent grading s ys tem.
He did indicate read-
ing wa s liked be cau s e the teacher did not e mpha s i z e grade s .
When
Chri s fir s t ente r e d the Reading Lab o ratory, he wa s quite s keptical
that he would r e ceive a high grade jus t for showing effort to improve .
B y the end o f the c our s e , he wa s very much i n favor of
the p olicy.
Chri s , afte r he trans fe r r e d to the junio r high s chool, attained hi s highe s t grade ave rage fo r j unio r high s chool.
Hi s pre -
vi ou s Grade Point Average s were s lightly ab ove ave rage , but in tre
ninth grade he r e c eive d 3 . 0 and 3 . 3 a ve rage s .
A c ontradi ction
appeared in the fa ct that, although the tea che r s s urveye d did not
agree that Chris wa s always inte re sted in s chool wo rk, the Dire c ­
to r ob s e rve d just the opposite while in the Reading Lab orato r y.
Chri s wa s anxious to s u c c e e d a.nd c on s i s tently did individual read­
ing o r j oine d in with cla s s activitie s .
The c onclusion would s e em to be that Chris had a p ositive
attitude towa rd s chool, but hi s daily attitude in cla s s rooms othe r
than the Reading Lab oratory did not impre s s teachers that he wa s
working to hi s full potential.
I V.
S e.Jf- Conc ept
Student Sur vey - Attitude Towa r d S elf
1 21
Ke y:
1 - s tr ongly a g re e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 -dis agr e e ; 4 - s trongly di s agree
I
1.
feel I am a pe r s on of worth at lea st
on an e qual p lane with o thers .
1
2
3
4
I am a failure .
1
2
3
4
3.
I
feel I d o not have much to b e proud of.
1
2
3
4
4.
On the whole , I am s ati s fied with mys elf.
1
2
3
4
5.
I a m able to d o things a s well a s mo s t
1
2
3
4
2.
All in all, I am incline d to fe el that
othe r p e ople.
Tea che r Survey
Ke y:
1 -ne ve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
9th
9th
1.
Was a behavioral pr oblem.
2.
Wa s defens ive when c o r r e cted. 1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
3.
Acte d out i n clas s .
1 2 3 4
1
4.
Showe d a p o s itive attitude
toward s elf.
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
5.
Showed r e s p e ct for p e e r s .
1 2 3 4
1
6.
S ent to the offi c e .
1
1
2
3 4
2 3 4
1 2 3
4
2 3 4
2 3 4
1 2 3 4
S urn...rnary
.
and C onclus ion of S elf- Con cept
On hi s attitude s ur vey, Chris s aw him s e lf a s having a
po sitive s elf- concept, · gene rally c onvinced of his abilitie s and as ­
S'l:!.red
that he wa s a pe r s on of worth.
The tea che r s surve ye d claime d he wa s not a totally
1 22
c oope rati ve s tudent and that, when correcte d, wa s s omewhat de fensive .
ing.
Howeve r , he wa s neve r s ent to the o ffice for dis ciplin-
Thi s was surprising becau s e in the Reading Lab o ratory Chri s
wa s c on1pletely c o operative and did not react defensively when
c o r r e cted.
The tea che r s claimed Chri s did not s how a pos itive atti tude all o f the time .
They did indicate he r e s p e cted his pee r s .
Howeve r , in the Reading Labora tory Chri s appea r e d a s an individ ­
ual with a s tr ong p o sitive s elf c oncept who always respe cte d hi s
pee r s .
Chris might have s eeme d defe ns ive when corre cted b e caus e
h e wa s a new s tudent and could have been confus e d o r fri ghtene d
by 1-.d. s new s u rr oundings .
Although he wa s s ometilnes c onside r e d
a behavi oral p r oble:i:n, the fa ct that he wa s neve r s ent t o the office
and did not a ct out i n clas s would s eem to lead to the c onclusion
that he had a positive a ttitude towa rd s elf.
Although thi s s elf
c oncept wa s not fully develope d, Chris did believe in hi s own
Thi s would s e em to indi cate he wa s on hi s way to
worthines s .
developing a s tr onge r po sitive s elf c oncept.
V.
Tea che r
Student Sur vey - Attitude Towa r d Tea che r of the P r ogram
Ke y:
1.
1 - s tr ongl y a g r e e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - strongly disa gree
The tea che r wa s friendly towa rd me .
l
2
3
4
The teache r made me fe el a s i f I wa s
2.
1 2 3 4
welc ome in hi s clas s .
The teache r ne ve r put me down a s a
3.
4.
' !los e r " in cla s s .
1 2 3 4
The tea cher liked tea ching re ading .
1
2 3 4
Attendanc e Figure s
Excus e d Ab s ence s
Grade
Unexcus e d Ab s ence s
Unavailable in r e c o r ds
7
8
7
0
9
3
0
Tea cher Surve y
Key:
1 -ne ve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - alwa ys
9th
9th
1.
Showe d r e s p e c t fo r teache r s
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
2.
Sought individual help.
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
Summa ry and C onclus ions of Tea che r s
Chris a gr e e d that he like d the Reading Lab o rator y' s ap ­
p roach to tre ating s tudents .
Hi s la c k of s trong agr e ement with item
number one on hi s attitude sur vey might have s ome c onne ction
·with the teache r s ' s urveys whi ch indicated that he fre quently
s ought indiv-idual he lp .
A s a trans fe r s tudent who s e eme d to have
diffi culty in app r o a ching new te a c he r s he might not have felt ve ry
clo s e to the P r ogram Di r e cto r at fir s t.
yea r he di d l:e gin
tc
Howeve r , late r in the
appr oach the Dir e c tor on a mor e c a s ual
1 24
basis .
The conclus ion would s e em to be that Chris did have a
p o s itive attitude towa r d tea che r s but hi s newne s s to the s chool
p r obably r e s traine d him from dis playing his p o s itive attitude .
Cas e Study- No. 8 - Dwight
I.
Intr oduction
Dwight wa s fifte en yea r s old at the c ompletion of the ninth
grade .
Dv-vi ght had many athle ti c abiliti e s and becau s e of hi s hei ght,
s ix foot, two inche s , he almost exclus ively dwelled on the hope of b e Thi s profe s s ional sports
c oming a p r ofe s s ional b a s ke tball playe r .
goal p r e o c cupied hi s reading, conve r s ation, and free time .
Dwight wa s well like d b y hi s pe e r s .
rie d when he wa s nine .
Dwight' s mothe r remar -
Dwight wa s le gally ad opted by hi s stepfathe r .
Dwight' s mother did not work.
Hi s fathe r wa s a p r ope rty
man at a movie s tudi o and wa s a partne r in a s enio r citizen mobile
home park.
The hou s ehold wa s made up of Dwight' s mothe r , fa -
the r , two younge r br othe r s , and one younge r s i ste r .
Dwight ' s ninth g rade r ea ding s co r e s o n the Nel s on R eading
T e s t, Fo rm
A
and B , are as follows:
Date
Vocabular_y
Paragraph C omp rehens i on
Total
1 1 - 4 - 70
6. 1
4. 0
5. 2
8-18-71
5. 4
4. 8
5. 1
8
-. 1
RESU LTS
-7
•
Dwight' s L o r ge s c o r e s we r e a s follows :
Ve rbal %
Non- Verbal o/o
Ave rage o/o
6. 0
6
11
9
9. 0
19
27
23
26
26
14
D2.te
Grade
9 / 67
5 /71
RESU LTS
II.
Home Life
Student · Survey - Attitude Towa r d Horr1e
Key: ! - str ongly a g r e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - disagree; 4 - s tr ongly dis agree
1.
I
2.
Our family ha s rm d e reading ve ry
lik e
home and my family.
important to m e.
3.
read a l ot at horne .
lot.
I c an voi c e
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1ny opinion and I vrill b e
lis tened to b y m y family.
8.
1
My family treats m e a s an
e qual.
7.
4
My family u s e s the lib rary
a
6.
3
Our family has always s upplie d
reading mate rial for me .
5.
2
I read a lot now b e caus e I learned
to
4.
1
My family allows m e to que s tion their
de cis i on s .
Dwight indi cate d by hi s answe r s on
the
attitude survey that
hi s reading habits we r e not fully d� velop e d by his family.
The
family had s ome reading rnate rial available fo r Dwight at hmne .
The r e
was
an old
set of
enc y clop e dia s in the horne and s ome sports
b ooks .
The newspaper wa s pur cha s e d e ve r y day.
Dwight indic -
ate d he was very happy with hi s home life .
In the Reading Lab oratory he was a very indu s trious r eadThi s wa s unde r s tandable since hi s
er of all sports mate rials .
life r e volve d ;;Lr ound athletic s .
Dwight' s reading ability appear s to b e poor but he had a
g o o d attitude towa r d attempting to improve .
III .
Academi c Achie vement and Grade s
Student Surve y - Attitude Towa r d Gra de s
Key: ! - s tr ongly agree ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s trongly di sagree
1.
I like the grade s I re ceive d in reading.
2.
I think gra de s a r e ve ry imp o rtant b e cau s e the y pr ove how •Nell I have done .
3 . My par ents like when
X
get good grade s .
4.
I don ' t care i f I get poor grade s .
5.
I f grade s we r e eliminate d,
I
1
2 3 4
1
2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3
4
would b e
happie T .
1
2 3 4
1
2 3 4
I like d reading b e caus e the teache r did
6.
not empha s i z e grade s .
Grade Point A ve r age
Grade
-
1st S eme ste r
2nd S ern e s te r
-
7
2.
3
2. 6
8
2. 5
2. 8
9
3. 1
3. 5
Teache r ' s Sur ve y
Key: 1-ne ver ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -rnany time s ; 4 - always
7 th
1.
2.
8th
9th
Was inte r e sted in s choo l
wo rk.
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
Did acadenli c work.
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
S umma ry and Conclu s ions o f A ca demic Achi evement and Grade s
As Dwight ' s Gra de P oint A ve rage indi c ate d, he achie ve d
de s pite his p o or re ading ability.
Thi s o ve rachie vement i s synlbol ­
i c o f his de sire to always imp r ove .
Dwight' s r e spons e s on the attitude s ur vey are cons i s te nt
with the fa cts .
B e cause he did well in the tra diti onally grad e d cla s s ­
r oom, it would s e em only natural he would agree with the s ur vey
s tatements .
With the exc eption of the eighth - grade tea che r , the teach­
e r s s urveyed s aw Dwi ght as
a
s tudent who wante d to le arn.
Dwight' s p e r fo rmance in the Reading Laborator y was c on ­
s i s tent with hi s overall academi c achieveme nt.
Dwight was a s tu ­
dent who wante d to do well.
IV.
S elf- Conc ept
Student Surve y - Attitude Toward Self
Key: 1 - str ongly agr e e ; 2 - ag r e e ; 3 - di s agre e ; 4 - s trongly di sagree
1.
I feel I am a p e r s on of wo rth at
1
2
3
4
I am a failur e .
1
2
3
4
3.
I fee l I do not have much to b e prou d of.
1
2
3
4
4.
On the whole , I am s ati s fi e d with mys elf.
1
2
3
4
5.
I am able to do things as well a s m o s t
1
2
3
4
lea s t on an e qual plane v.rith othe r s
2.
All i n all, I am incline d to fe el that
othe r p e ople .
Teache r Survey
Ke y:
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - alwa ys
7 th
9th
8th
1
2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
c o r r e cted.
1
2
3
4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
3.
Acte d out in cla s s
I
2
3
4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
4.
S howe d a p o s itive atti tude toward s elf.
1
2
3
4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
5.
Showe d r e spect fo r pe e r s .
l
2 3 4
1 2
...,
:>
4
1
2
3
6.
S ent to the o ffi c e
1
2 3 4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3 4
1.
Wa s a b ehavioral problem.
2.
Was defens ive when
Dwight s aw hims elf a s
a
p e r s on of worth.
Thi s s tr ong
s elf- c oncept i s what Dwight exhibite d alm o s t all the time in the
Reading Labo ratory.
On the tea che r sur ve y s , the eighth:.. grade
teacher wa s the only one vvho savv Dwi ght le s s than ve r y s ure of
him s e lf.
The other two tea che r s s urve ye d a gr e e d with Dwight' s
4
a s s e s sment o f hims e lf.
Dwight ' s r eaction to item numb e r four wa s consis tent with
hi s de s ire to imp r o ve .
He had told the Di re ctor on diffe rent o c -
ca s i ons that he wa s s ur e the way to b e s uc c e s s ful wa s ne ver t o b e
e nti rely s ati s fi e d with your progr e s s .
Dwight ha d no r e c o rd of being a di s cipline problem in
cla s s .
V.
Thi s was a gr e e d to b y the tea che r s s urve ye d .
Attitude Toward Tea che r s
Student Surve y - A ttitude Toward Tea che r o f the Program
Key:
! - s tr ongly agr e e ; 2 - agre e ; 3 - di s a gree; 4 - s tr ongly di s agree
1.
The tea che r wa s fri endly towa rd me .
2.
The tea cher m.ade me feel a s if I wa s
welc ome in hi s clas s .
3.
2 3 4.
1
2
1
2 3 4
1
2 3 4
3
4
The teache r neve r p ut me down a s
" lo s e r " i n cla s s .
4.
1
The teache r like d te aching re ading.
Attendance Figure s.
Excu s e d Ab s ence s
Grade
Unexcus e d Ab s ence s
7
5
-0-
8
2
-
9
0
-0-
Tea cher
Ke y:
0
-
Su.rve y
1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 - many time s ; 4 - always
151
7th
8th
9th
l.
Showe d r e s p e c t fo r teache r s .
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
2.
S ought individual he lp.
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
Summa ry and C onclus ions of Attitude Towa r d Teache r s
Dwight wa s s e en a s a s tudent who got along with hi s teache r s .
His r e s p ons e s o n the attitude s u r ve y indi cate d thi s wa s true i n the
Reading Laboratory.
The P r o gram Dire ctor often found Dwi ght
e a g e r to ente r into a conve r s ation.
Thi s s ame ability to communi -
cate wa s note d b y the s e venth and ninth - g ra de teache r s .
The
ei ghth- grade tea che r did not fe el Dwight re spe cte d him or s ought
individual he lp .
The fa ct that the tea che r grade d Dwight down on
the abo ve statemen ts may indicate a p e r s onality c onfli ct betwe en
Dwight and the teac.he r .
The P r o gram Dire cto r found Dwight to have an exceptional
attitude towar d a cademi c a cr.ievement, but wa s ne ve r able to pin ­
point hi s p r oblem with reading .
All things being equal,
s een to have a chance to c ontinue to suc c e e d in s cho ol.
Dwight is
Ca s e Study N o .
I.
9
-
Mike
Introduction
Mike wa s fifteen yea r s old when he c onclude d the ninth
grade .
Mike had ve r y p o o r peer r e lations .
He wa s physi cally
s mall and did not s eem to be able to s u s tain phys ical a ctiviti e s
for any length of time .
Howe ve r ,
hi s health r eport showe d no
r e co r d of any p r e s ent or p a s t ailments .
Mike lived with hi s s tepmothe r ,
t e r s and two half- s i s te r s .
r e al fathe r ,
two r eal s is -
Hi s father wa s a spare parts analys t
for an ele ctr oni c s firm.
The inte rvi ew wa s c onducted with Mike 1 s s tepmothe r since
hi s fathe r wa s not at home .
s top and talk,
Hi s s tepmothe r did not find time to
but c ontinue d to load the di s hwa s he r a s s he s p oke .
When Mike ' s s tepmothe r wa s a s ke d ab out what s he knew of the
r eading p r ogram,
s he s aid s he had hea rd nothing ab out
. ...
1 �.
The
inte rviewe r noti c e d }.1ike did not u s e the word " Mothe r , 1 1 but addr e s s e d hi s s tepmothe r a s "Pat.
n
S 01ne new furniture wa s de -
live r e d the s ame day a s the inte r view and Mike r e fe r r e d to it a s
" their nevv furnitur e " be cau s e "they" j us t r e ceive d s ome money.
Late r hi s s teprnothe r s aid " they got" Mike when he wa s e le ven
yea r s old.
Carolina ,
When a s ke d if the family r e cently move d fr on1 North
( :N1ike 1 s cumulative folde r had N o r th Car olina a s the place
fron1 which he tran s fe r r e d) the s tepmothe r s aid the 1 1 ki d s " might
have , but
1 1 '\Ve1'
live d in Florida .
The s e s e c 1ningly c ontradictor y
s tatements we r e not explaine d . to the inte r viewe r ,
no r did the
cumulative folde r give any meaningful explanation.
Mike ente r e d
hi s fir s t Califo rnia s chool during the s ixth g r a d e ,
the s chool ye ar
1 967 - 68.
Mike ' s ninth - grade r eading s c o r e s on the Nels on R e ading
T e st,
Form A and B we r e as follow s :
Date
Paragraph C omprehension
Vocabular y
Total
1 1 - 4 - 70
6. 7
8. 7
7. 1
7 - 28 - 7 1
8. 5
6. 2
7. 8
1. 8
-2. 5
RESU LTS
•
7
Mike ' s Lor ge s c ore s we r e a s follow s :
Date
Spring,
II.
71
Grade
Verbal o/o
9. 0
21
N on - Ve rbal o/o
A ve r age o/o
43
31
Home Life
Student Surve y - Attitude Towa r d Home
Key:
1 - strongly a gre e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 -' di s a g r e e ; 4 - str ongly di s agree
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
mate ria l fo r me .
l
2
3
4
M y family u s e s the lib r a r y a lot.
l
2
3
4
1.
I like home and my family.
2.
O u r family ha s made reading ve r y
impo rtant t o m e .
3.
I read a lot now b e cause I lea rne d to
read a lot at home .
4.
5.
Our family .ha s always s uppli e d reading
6.
lv1y family tr eats n"le a s e qual.
7.
I c a n voi c e m y opinion and I vvill
b e li stened to by my family .
8.
3
1
2
1
2
3
' 1
2
3
4
4
M y family allows me to que s tion their
de c i s ion s .
4
Summar y and C onclusions of Home Life
Mike indi cate d on hi s attitude surve y that hi s family did
not make r eading important to him.
did not use the lib r a r y a lot.
He als o indi cated hi s family
Howeve r ,
in spite of thi s ,
Mike
claime d that hi s home s uppli e d enough reading mate rial for him.
From what wa s ob s er ve d during the inte r view and fr om
what information wa s s upplied b y Mike ' s s tepmothe r ,
Mike ' s claim
that hi s home s uppli e d him with r e a ding mate rial wa s true .
wa s a s et of encyclopedias ,
The r e
a dictiona r y , a sub s cription t o P opular
S cience and a s ub s cription to the He rald Examine r newspape r .
Als o note d b y the inte r viewer we re a s s orte d magazine s in the 1i v-'
itig r oom.
The conclu si on would s e e rn to be that };fike ' s home wa s not
totally a negative influen c e in the de velopment of hi s reading habits .
The lack of motivation from the family to r ea d would b e a negative
influence ,
but the p r e s en c e of b o ok s would be a p o s itive influence
for b e tte r reading habits .
III .
A ca de mi c
A chie vement and Grade s
·----
§tudent _ Surve y - Atti.tude Towa r d Grade s
! - s tr ongly a g re e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s agree
Key:
l.
I like the grade s I r e c e ive d in r ea ding .
2.
I think grade s a r e ve r y important b e -
1
2
3
4
caus e they p r ove how we ll I have done .
1
2
3
4
3.
My p a r e nts like when I get good g rade s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I don 1 t c a r e i f I get p oo r grade s .
1
2
3
4
5.
If grade s we r e eliminated,
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
I would
be happie r .
I lik e d reading b e c aus e the tea c he r did
6.
not empha s i ze g ra de s .
Gra de P oint Ave rage
1 s t Sem e s te r
Gra de
2nd Seme s te r
7
1. 7
1. 9
8
1. 8
2. 5
9
2. 6
2. 8
Te ache r s 1 Survey
K e y:
1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 - many time s ; 4 - always
7th
1.
2.
8th
9th
W a s inte r e s ted in s chool
work.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
D i d academi c work.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
S ummar y and C onclusions of Academi c A chie ve:ment and Grades
As the s tudent s u r vey indi cated..
c ons cious .
Mike wa s highly grade
Thi s wa s evident in the Reading Labo ra to r y b e caus e
he wa s always c once rned ab out what grade he wa s going to get.
He s e emed to r ea d only when he thought a good grade would re s ult.
Mike ' s tea che r s saw him a s b eing inte re s te d in s chool
work.
Thi s inte r e s t in s cho ol work was a l s o a fa ctor in motiva -
ting hi s daily work in the Reading Lab orato r y.
His reading habits
gradually imp r oved a s a re sult of hi s appli cati on to s chool work.
Mike wa s ver y rewa r d oriente d and thought up s e ve ral new
ways of ea rning mone y ( s c ript) u s e d in the Reading Lab o rato r y.
The imp r ovement in Mike ' s Grade Point Ave rage from
s e venth to ninth grade s e emed to be an indi cation of the quality of
s chool work he wa s a c c ompli s hing.
Thi s ,
attitude noted by his ninth- grade tea cher,
along with the s tudious
s e em e d to indi c ate a
marked impr o vement in Mike ' s ove r all a c a demi c achie ver..1. ent.
IV.
Self- Conc ept
·
Student Sur vey - Attitude Towa r d Self
K e y:
1.
! - s tr ongly a gr e e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e; 4 - s tr ongly dis a gree
I fee l I am. a pe r s on of worth at lea s t
o n an e qual plane V'lith othe r s .
1
2
3
4
I am. a failur e .
1
2
3
4
3.
I fe el I d o not have much t o b e p r oud of.
1
2
3
4
4.
O n the whol e ,
l
2
3
4
5.
I am able to do thing s a s well a s mo s t
1
2
3
4
2.
AU in all,
I . am incline d to fe el that
o the r p e ople .
I am s ati s fi e d with mys elf.
_
Teache r Surve y
Ke y:
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 - many time s ; 4 - always
8th
7th
1.
Wa s a behavioral p r oblem. 1
2.
Wa s defens ive when cor -
9th
2
3 4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
r e cte d.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
3.
Acted out in cla s s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
4.
Showe d a p o sitive attitude
towa r d s e lf .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
5.
Showe d r e spe ct for pe e r s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
6.
S ent to the offi c e .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Summa ry and C onclu s i ons o f Self - C oncept
Mike indi cate d on his attitude survey that he had a s tr ong
p o s itive s elf- c once p t.
His re spons e s did not intr oduce any unu s ual
fa cto r s .
The tea che r s s u r ve ye d indi cated Mike w a s s omewhat of a
beha vioral pr oblem in the s eventh and ninth- g=ade s ,
ne ver had t o s end him to the office .
although the y
The s e s ame tea che r s indi -
cate d they p e r ceive d Mike to have s hown, m o s t of the tim e ,
a
positi ve attitude towa r d s elf and r e spe ct for hi s p e e r s .
Mike p r e s ente d the image i n the Reading Labo rato ry of a
s tudent who wanted to appear s elf- a s s ur e d , but had to tr y too ha r d
to maintain thi s ima ge .
:Mike vm s
s eldom a behavioral p r ob lem in
the Reading Lab o rato r y and s e ldom did not r e spe ct hi s p e e r s .
F r om the fact that
Mike was not u s ually a b ehavioral
p r oblem and that he did exhibit
a
p o s i tive a ttitude mo s t of the time ,
it s eemed c o r r e ct to c onclude that Mike ' s s elf - image o f hims elf
wa s a p o s itive one .
V.
Attitude s T owa r d Teache r s
Student Sur vey - Attitude T owa r d Teache r of the P r ogram
Key:
1 - s tr ongly a gre e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s agree ; 4 - strongly di s a gr e e
1.
The tea che r wa s friendly towa rd me .
2.
The tea che r made me fe e l a s if I wa s
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1 1 l o s e r 1 1 i n cla s s .
1
2
3
4
The tea che r like d tea ching reading.
1
2
3
4
welc ome in hi s cla s s .
The tea che r neve r put me down a s a
3.
4.
Attendance Figur e s
Gra de
Excus e d Ab s ences
Unexcus e d Ab s en c e s
7
0
0
8
2
0
9
1
0
Ke y:
1 - neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 - many tiin e s ; 4 - always
7th
1.
Showed r e s p e ct for tea che r s. 1
2.
Sought individual help.
8th
2
3
4
1 2 3 4
l 2
3
4
1 2
3
4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3
4
Sumrr1a ry and C onclusi ons of Tea che r s
Mike s e emed t o have limited his p r o g r e s s in the Reading
Lab o rato r y b e c a u s e he did not avail hims elf of extra help fr om the
.
te ache r .
This patte r n o f not s e eking help s e eme d to have p r e -
vaile d in hi s other cla s s e s als o ,
ac c o r ding to the teache r s s urve)le d.
Hi s c o o p e ration in the Reading Lab o rato r y s eeme d to have
.
.
s termn e d partially from r..i s liking fo r the P r ogram Dir e c to r .
Mike
wa s s e en by hi s tea che r s as being r e spe ctful although thi s did no t
s eem to e nc ourage him to s e e k individual help fr om them.
Mike ' s r e gular attendanc e ove r the three yea r s in j uni o r
high s chool s e eme d t o indi cate a str ong inte re s t i n s chool.
Mike ' s r e s pons e s to the attitude surve y indi cate d he like d
the ·pr o g ram' s appr oa ch a s he a gr e e d to all of the s tatements to
s ome de g r e e .
Along with the re s ults of the teacher ' s s urveys ,
the fa cts s e em.ed to indi cate Mike had a s omewhat p o sitive attitude
towa r d tea che r s .
C as e Study N o .
I.
10
-
Rick
Intr oduction
Rick was s ixteen yea r s old at the c on c lusion o f the ninth
g rade b e caus e he was r e taine d in the thir d grade .
s how any s i gn s of illne s s pa s t or p r e s ent.
b o y for his age .
Ri ck did not
He wa s a ve r y mature
Hi s p e e r r elations were good,
but mo st s tudents
were s till not Ri ck' s mental age . and the r efo r e did not s eek his
friendship .
Since he worke d at a gas s tation on a graveya r d s hift,
the r e wer e many time s when Ri ck s lept in the Reading Lab o r ator y
b e caus e he wa s s o tir e d .
Ri ck' s s tanda r di zed s c ore s showe d him
to b e an a ve rage learner ( C TMM,
1 0 / 64) .
Rick lived with hi s mothe r and fathe r .
wa s marrie d.
His olde r b r othe r
Rick' s father was a truck drive r .
The famil y
m o.r e d to a mobile home p a r k in the summe r of 1 9 7 0 .
inter view only Rick' s mothe r wa s p r e s ent.
During the
She kept empha s i zing
to the inte rv-iewe r that this wa s thei r fir s t traile r .
Ri ck' s rrwther
appea r e d to have a curve d spine and a defo rmity of the mouth,
none of which s he r e fe rr e d to .
R i ck' s mother indicate d at least
thre e thne s that hi s father wa s out of wo r k .
Rick had a tremendous inte r e s t in me chan i cs .
T he inte r -
vi ewer ·wa s given a lengthy view and explanation o f a newly ins tal le d s ound s y s tem in Rickl s car .
Rick ' s nint}l grade reading s c o r e s on the Nel s on Re a ding
,_
Te s t,
Forn.'l A and B we r e a s follows :
Total
Paragraph Con1prehension
Vocabulary
D ate
2 -2-70
5. 8
2. 8
4. 6
7 - 27- 7 1
4. 7
3. 0
4. 5
2
-. 1
-1. 1
RESU LTS
•
Ri ck' s L o r ge s co r e s we r e a s foll ows :
Grade
Date
Spring ' 7 1
Verbal o/o
9. 0
Non - Ve rbal o/o
6
Average o/o
17
11
Home Life
II.
Student Sur vey - Attitude Towa r d Home
Ke y:
! - strongly a gr e e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s a g ree
1.
I like home and my family.
2.
Our family ha s made reading ve r y
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
ing material f o r me .
1
2
3
4
5.
My family us e s the lib rary a lot.
1
2
3
4
6.
M y family treats m e as a n equaL
1
2
3
4
7.
I can voi c e my opinion and I will b e
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
important t o me .
I r e a d a lot now b e cau s e I learne d to
3.
read a lot at home .
Our family ha s always s uppli e d r e a d -
4.
li s tened to by my family.
M y family allows m e t o que s tion their
8.
_
_
_
_
de ci s i on s .
Summar y and C onclus ion s o f Home Life
Although Rick ' s family may have made r e a ding ve ry im ­
p ortant to Rick,
hi s p e r fo rman ce in the Reading Lab or a to ry p r ove d
he h a d little pra cti c e or s u c ce s s with reading .
The lac k of read-
ing s kill appear e d to have been greatly influenced b y the family ' s
la ck of r eading mate rial ar ound the hou s e and the appar ent ne gle ct
of _ library training.
Rick s e eme d to like hom e ,
voice in family affair s .
although he was not given a
Rick mus t have liked the tr eatment he
c eived at home ( items s ix,
re -
s e ven and ei ght on Student Survey) b e ­
cau s e he claime d home wa s a good pla ce to b e .
Rick ' s mothe r s ai d they di d not have a di ctiona ry,
encyclopedia s ,
s et of
s ub s c r iption to any mag a zine s and only s ub s cribed
to the local newspape r .
She als o indi cate d that Rick b o r r owe d a
lot o f motor cycle and c a r ma ga zine s fr om nei ghbo r s .
Hi s fathe r ,
a c c or ding t o Rick' s mother , had b e en demanding Ri ck t o r ead all
the p r inte d ma te rial c onne cted with the me char..i cal r epai r s he did.
Ric k ' s attitude survey s e em e d to indi cate he had little
po s itive influence fr om home to develop- good reading habi ts .
c onclu s i on i s partially s upported thr ough the inte rview.
Howeve r,
it i s c ontradi cte d b y the mothe -r ' s c oncern for r e a ding and the
fathe r ' s help .
Academi c Achi evement and Gr ade s
III.
_ _ __
___
Student Surve y - Attitude Towa r d Grade s
T hi s
Ke y:
1 - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s ag r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s a gree
1
2
3
4
cau s e they p rove how well I have done.
1
2
3
4
3.
My parents like when I get good grade s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I don ' t care if I get poor grade s .
1
2
3
4
5.
I f grade s wer e eliminate d,
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1.
I like the grade s I re ceive d in r ea ding.
2.
I think g rade s a r e ve ry important b e -
I would b e
happie r .
I like d reading b e c au s e the tea cher did
6.
not empha s i ze g rade s .
Gra de Point Ave rage
2nd Seme s te r
1 st Seme s te r
Grade
7 .
2. 1
2. 0
8
2. 0
2. 0
9
2. 5
3. 0
Tea c he r s 1 Surve y
Key:
1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ome time s ; 3 - many time s ; 4 - always
8th
7th
1.
2.
9th
W a s inte r e s te d in s chool
work.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Did a ca demi c work.
l
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Summary and C onclus ions o f Academi c Acr.d e vem ent and Grade s
In the Reading Labo rato ry,
Howeve r ,
Rick sho we d inte r e s t to lea rn.
Rick' s inte r e s t r o s e and fell a c c o rding to the s ubj e c t
n1atte r unde r dis cu s s i on.
Ri ck truly c ould s u s tain hi s attention if
Rick indi cated
the s ubj e ct at hand wa s one of inte r e s t to him.
that he would be happie r if grade s we r e elim.i nate d.
It wa s p o s -
s:Lble that he would have b e en the type of s tudent who would do
well under a c r e dit /non - c r e dit s ys tem.
Rick s e em e d to have imp r e s s e d his tea che r s with hi s inte r e s t to s u c c e e d in s chool.
B e cause Rick was such a p o o r r eade r ,
his s uc c e s s mi ght not have always been . as g r eat a s his inte r e s t
i n s chool wo r k .
The tea che r s indi cate d a variety of rea ctions a s
t o R ick' s c omple ti on of a ca demi c work.
It wa s inte r e s ting to note
that the ninth - grade teache r s s ur ve ye d rate d Rick low on academi c
w o rk done ,
yet thi s wa s the yea r Ri ck a chieve d hi s highe s t Grade
P oint Ave r a g e .
Rick ' s s u r ve y did n o t indicate gene ral a g r e ement with
grade s since he indi cate d he would have liked grade s eliminated.
Rick' s Grade P oint Ave rage fo r e ve r y ye ar except the ninth grade
was a 1 1 C ' ' .
Rick' s teache r s s e eme d to s how
a,
dete rio ration of
in te r e s t in s choo l and a cademi c work he a c c ompli s he d.
The Rea d -
ing Lab o rato r y ob s e rvation wa s that Rick enj oyed the low - k e ye d
appr oach t o lea rning.
The c onclu s i on would. s eem to indi cate that
Rick would like s chool a g r eat deal m. o r e if grade s we r e for gotten
and he c ould then only learn what inte r e s te d him.
Therefo r e , i t
wouid s eem Ric k had a p o sitive attitude towa r d s chool.
I V.
Self- Concept
S tudent Surve y - Attitude Towa r d Self
Key:
1.
1 - s tr ongly a gr e e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s agree ; 4- str ongly di s a g r e e
I fee l I am a pe r s on of wo rth at lea s t
1
2
3
4
I am a failure .
1
2
3
4
3.
I fe el I do not have much t o b e p roud o f.
1
2
3
4
4.
On the whole ,
1
2
3
4
5.
I a m able t o do things a s well a s mo s t
1
2
3
4
o n a n equal plane with othe r s .
2.
All in all,
I am inclined to fe el that
I am s ati s fi e d with mys elf.
othe r p e ople .
Tea che r Survey
Key:
1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ome time s ; 3 -rnany time s ; 4 - always
7 th
1.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3 4
c o r r e cted.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3 4
3.
Acted out i n cla s s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
4.
Showe d a p o s itive
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
pe e r s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
S ent t o the o ffi c e .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
2.
Was defens ive when
a ttitude towa r d s elf.
5.
- -· -
9th
Wa s a beha.vi oral
p r ob lem.
_
8th
6._
Showed r e s p e ct for
Summarv and C onclus i on s o f Self - Concept
Rick showe d,
through hi s c omments orr the attitude survey
that he had a strong s elf- concept.
Thi s s ame ima ge wa s p r e s ente d
to the P r ogram Di r e ctor i n the Reading Lab o rato ry.
His teache r s
s u r ve ye d indi cated that they did not a lway s s ee a p o s itive s elfRick ; s s e venth and eighth grade tea c he r s p os s ibly only
attitude .
s aw him during hi s formative stage s .
In the s e venth and eighth grade,
Ri ck must have caus e d
t rouble b e caus e the teache r s indicated thi s .
Howe ve r ,
g rade teache r s urveye d indi cated .he had s e ttled down.
the ninthThis wa s
p r oven true in the Rea ding P r og r am b e cau s e Rick wa s ne ve r a
b ehavi o r p r oblem the r e .
O f the one hundre d and forty s tudents i n the Reading
Labo ratory,
only two s tudents c ould b e c onside r e d exceptionally
mature individuals and Rick wa s one of the s e two .
Ri ck wa s a
s tudent who s tood head and shoulde r s abo ve mo s t othe r s .
Hi s
pe r s onal maturity wa s s o obvious to o the r s tudents the y had an
under stood p oli cy of only speaking with Rick when they ha d to.
He was friendly and wa s tr aate d de c e ntly by 1-...i s pee r s , but he
s irnply did not fit into thei r g r oup .
On the o c cas ion o f the inte r -
view a t the trail e r pa rk wher e Rick live d with hi s parent s ,
inte rviewe r rnet what s e emed to be a good friend of Ri ck ' s .
friend was a twenty - thr e e year old male .
develop e d,
the
Thi s
As the c onve r s ation
it wa s obvi ous that t}.J s older friend allowed Rick to
lead the c onve r s ation.
. s ation,
As differ ent topi c s eme r g e d in the c onve r -
it wa s a l s o appa rent that the olde r b o y showe d admiration
fo r Ri ck' s opinions .
In c onclus ion,
hims e lf,
V.
Ric k ha d a p o s i tive s elf-image as s e en by
the Reading Labo r ato ry,
and hi s ninth grade teache r .
Attitude Towa r d Teache r s
S tudent Sur vey - Attitude T owa r d Tea che r of the Program
K e y:
! - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - strongly di s a gr e e
1.
The teache r wa s friendly towa rd me .
2.
The tea che r made m e fe el a s if I wa s
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
' ' los e r " in cla s s .
1
2
3
4
The tea che-r like d tea ching r eading .
1
2
3
4
welc ome in hi s cla s s .
The tea che r ne ver put me down a s a
3.
4.
Attendance Figu r e s
Grade
Excu s e d Ab s en c e s
7
23
0
8
17
0
9
23
0-
Unexcus e d Ab s ences
Te acher Survey
Key:
1 - neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7th
l.
8th
9th
Showed r e spe ct for
teache r s .
-·-··- ·--·· '·�··--·· � . . .
-
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
.1 '± 0
2.
1
S ought individual help .
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Sumr.nary and C onclusions of Teache r s
Ric k had indi cate d that h e did not think the P r ogram Di r e ctor wa. s friendly towar d hirn .
Thi s wa s ve r y diffi cult to r e c on -
cile with hi s r e s pons e that indi cate d he wa s ma de to feel welcome
in the cla s s .
o rato r y,
Als o ,
fr om what wa s ob s e r ve d in the Reading Lab -
Rick' s r e a ction to the P r o gram Dir e ctor s e emed to be
Many time s Rick would only find ene r gy enough to
ve r y p o s itive .
s it at hi s de s k and s l e e p .
dule at a gas oline stati on ,
he s le pt.
The Dir e c tor knew of Rick' s w o r k s che ­
s o little wa s s aid to bother Ri ck when
When cla s s ende d,
Ri ck would half- apolo gi ze and half-
thank the Dir e c t o r fo r unde r s tanding .
Ri ck' s e ighty- one ab s en c e s during the thr e e yea r s he wa s
in j uni o r hi gh,
twenty -thr e e during the ninth - g rade yea r ,
s eem to indi cate Ri ck did not c a r e if he mi s s e d s chool.
would
Ri ck' s
c ormn ents during the yea r in Reading Lab o rator y indi cated he had
no r eal de s ir e to c ome to s choo l .
Ri ck ' s tea che r s s e emed t o indi cate that Rick wa. s anxious
to do well in s cho ol, but he ve r y s eldom s ought individual help .
Thi s mo s t di r e ctly indi c a te d how R i ck got thr ough s cho ol.
s howe d inte r e s t ,
He
but did not put out any r eal effort to learn.
Ri ck ' s a ttitude s'ur vey indi c ated he a gr e e d with the Read ­
ing P rogram except that h e felt the tea che r wa s not friendly
._ towa r d him.
Rick ' s ex.c e s sive nurnbe r of ab s en c e s s eemed to
indi cate he did not care if he mi s s e d s chool.
veyc d indi c ated Ri ck s howe d them r e sp e ct,
them for individual help.
The teache r s sur -
but he did not appr o a ch
The Reading Lab oratory ob s e r vation of
Rick wa s that he wa s r e s p e c tful to the teacher and a g r e e d with the
P r ogram.
The c onclu s i on would s e em to b e he did not have a
n e gative attitude towar d teache r s .
Ca s e S tudy No.
I.
11
- Mi chelle
Introduction
Mi chelle ,
age fifte en,
wa s an attra c tive young lady but wa s
not c onside r e d to b e among the mo s t s ought - a fter s tudents for a
full - time friend.
Thi s may have been be cause she had move d into
the j uni or high s chool at the be ginning of the 1 9 7 0 - 7 1 s chool year
a nd did not have a chance to make many friend s .
ve r y quiet girl c ompa red to he r pee r s .
Michelle was a
She e nj oyed r eading and
o ften b e came ver y excited ove r a new bool< she had di s cove r e d in
the Reading Lab orato ry.
She like d reading so much that she en-
r olle d in the 1 9 7 1 Summe r S chool Reading P r o gram in the s e c on ­
dary s chool dis trict to whi ch she b e longed.
Michelle live d at home with he r mothe r ,
four younge r s i s te r s .
O rang e ,
New Je r s e y,
the r had left home .
H e r mothe r ,
stepfathe r ,
and
The mothe r and girls had moved fr om
a numb e r of yea r s a g o afte r Mi chelle 1 s fa ­
Mi chelle ' s mothe r had r e cently remarried.
a European,
is a s e c r etary and he r s tepfathe r ,
a
,
C anadian, i s a bank telle r .
Mi chelle 1 s r eading s c o r e s a c c o r ding t o the Nel? on R eading
Te s t we re as follows :
Date
7-28-71
Voc abula r y
8. 6
Parag raph Comp r ehension
5. 4
Total
7. 4
Mi chelle ' s Lorge s c o r e s we re only given fo r the ninth
grade be cause the di s tri ct she · trans fe r red from did not give the
Lorge Examination .
Date
Spring ' 7 1
II.
Grade
Ve rbal %
9. 0
16
Ave rage o/o
Non- Verb al %
14
13
Home Life
Student Survey - Attitude Towa r d Home
Ke y:
1 - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s agre e ; 4- strongly di sagree
l
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
mate rial for me .
l
2
3
4
5.
My family us e s the lib rary a lot .
l
2
3
4
6.
My family tre ats me a s a n e qual .
l
2
3
4
7.
I c a n voi c e my opini on and I will b e
l
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
l.
I like home and my family .
2.
O u r family ha s made r e ading ve r y
imp o rtant t o me .
3.
I read a lot now b e caus e I learned to
r e a d a lot at home .
4.
Our family ha s always s uppli e d reading
li s tened t o b y my family .
8.
M y family allows 1ne t o que s ti on their
de ci s ions .
Summar y and C onclus ions of Home Life
In Mi che lle ' s attitude surve y she indi c ated tha t he r family
not only 1na d e reading imp ortant to he r , but als o s uppli ed mate rials
for reading and tri e d to tea ch he r to read at horne .
When
Michelle ' s mother fir s t vi s ite d the Rea ding Lab orato ry,
firmed this s ame atti tude .
she c on -
Her mothe r claimed s he would not
allow a tele vi sion in the home ,
s o the children would do more
r eading.
Michelle like d to r e ad a lot in the Reading Lab o rato ry.
H e r r e a ding inte r e s t us ually lay in girls ' r omance s torie s .
Mi ch-
e lle would always enj o y the time of inte r views b e c au s e s he de ­
li ghte d in telling the P r o gr am Dire ctor what she r e a d and re late d
the reading to mo vi e s s he had s e en.
Michelle ' s m.othe:r wa s definite ab out how Michelle should
a c t and what clothe s she would allow her to wea r .
Thi s s e em s to
be co r r ob orated in the attitude survey in whi ch Michelle s aid s he
wa s not allowe d to que s tion de ci s i on s at home o r allowed to voi c e
he r opinion.
Her mothe r c laimed that they sub s c rib e d to the Reade r ' s
Dige s t; howe ve r ,
we re Campus ,
not to a newspape r .
Life
and a s s orted teen ma ga zine s .
have a set of encyclopedia s ,
III.
Othe r maga zine s purcha s ed
They did not
nor did they own a dictionary.
Grade s
S tudent Survey - Attitude Towa r d Grade s
Key:
1 - strongl y a g r e e ; 2 - agre e ; 3 -- di s ag r ee ; 4 - strongly di s a gr e e
l.
I like the grade s I r e c e ive d in r eading .
2.
I think grade s a r e ve r y impo r tant b e -
cau s e they p r ove how well I have done ;
l
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
, ..
-
3.
My par ents like when I get g o o d gra de s .
l
2
3
4
4.
I don ' t c a r e i f I g e t p o o r grade s .
l
2
3
4
5.
I f grade s we re e liminated,
1
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
I would b e
happie r .
I like d r e a ding b e cau s e the teacher did
6.
not empha s i z e grades .
Grade P oint A verage
l st Seme s te r
Grade
2nd Seme ste r
7
1. 6
1. 4
8
2. 0
2. l
9
2. 0
2. 4
T e a che r s ' S u r vey
Key:
1 - neve r ; 2 - s ome time s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
9th
l.
W a s inte r e s te d in s chool work.
l
2
3
4
2.
Did a c a demi c w o r k .
1
2
3
4
Summary and C onclusi ons of Academi c Achievement and Grades
Michelle indi cated on he r s ur vey that s he wa s in favor o f
the p r e s ent grading u s e d ' in m.any s cho ol s .
He r dis like for poor
g r a de s ,
and her othe r answe r s
he r parents ' liking of good grade s ,
c on c e rning grade s we r e ve r y much refle cted i n the way }-.tfichelle
thought and a cte d in ·R ea ding Lab or ato ry.
e nte r e d the Reading Lab o rator y,
g e t a good grade.
When she had fir s t
she was pr e o c cupie d with how to
JVli chelle 1 s answer on item numb e r six i s inte r e s ting .
She
clairrt e d s he did not like the Rea ding Lab orato r y b e c a u s e the
teache r did not empha s i z e grade s , but it wa s e vi dent fr om he r
a cti ons and c omments during the year that s he r e ally did enj oy the
Reading Lab o r atory.
It s eeme d that Michelle ' s di s a gr e ement with
s tatement num.be r four indi cate d that she like d the Reading Labora ­
tory,
but not b e cau s e grade s were de - empha s i z e d .
Mi chelle ' s grade p oint a ve r a ge ,
s ur ve y of he r ,
along with the teache r s '
s eems to i ndi cate Michelle r eally like d s chool, but
did ins ufficient wor k to earn good grade s .
tor y thi s wa s als o true .
In the Reading Labora ­
Michelle would always be willing to sit
and read b ut neve r wanted to do any written work.
IV.
Self - Concept
Student Survey - Attitude Towa r d Self
K e y:
1.
1 - s tr ongly a gr e e ; 2 - ag r e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly disa gr e e
I fee l I am a pe r s on of worth at lea s t
l
2
3
4
am a failure .
l
2
3
4
3.
I fee l I d o n o t have much t o b e p r o ud of.
l
2
3
4
4.
On the whole ,
l
2
3
4
5.
I am able to · do thing s a s well a s mo s t
l
2
3
4
o n a n e qual plane with other s .
2.
All in all, I am incline d to fe el that I
othe r p e ople .
I am s ati s fi e d with mys e lf.
Teacher Surve y
Ke y:
1 - neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 ...: many time s ; 4 - always
9th
1.
Was a b eha vi o r al p r oblem.
l
2
3
4
2.
Wa s defensive when c or r e cted.
1
2
3
4
3.
Acte d out in cla s s .
l
2
3
4
4.
S howe d a p o s itive attitude
towa r d s elf.
l
2
3
4
5.
Showe d r e s p e ct for p e e r s .
l
2
3
4
6.
S e nt to the offi c e .
l
2
3
4
S ummary and C onclu s i ons o f S elf- Concept
Michelle indi cate d a strong s elf- concept.
He r s ur ve y and
the tea che r s ' surve y claim she wa s ne ve r a b ehavioral p r oblem and
almos t always s howe d a p o sitive s e lf- c oncept.
the s e quali ti e s in Reading Lab o r ato r y.
Michelle exhibited
She neve r cau s e d trouble
and alway s s howe d outs tanding r e s p e c t fo r pee r s .
F r om what the inte rv-iew r e ve ale d,
Michelle ha s developed
a s tr ong s elf- concept b e caus e of the family she c erne s from.
The
s i s te r s and mothe r have a Eur opean b a ckgr ound whi ch s eems to
have ins tille d in Mi chelle a c e rtain amount of independenc e and
.
pride.
V.
Tea cher
Student Sur vey
. .. . Ke y:
-
Attitude To\va r d Tea cher of the P r ogram
1 - strongly a g r e e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s a.gree
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
"los e r " in cla s s .
1
2
3
4
The tea che r like d tea ching reading.
1
2
3
4
1.
T he teache r wa s friendly towar d me .
2.
The tea che r rr1ade rne fe el · a s i f I
wa s welcome in hi s cla s s .
The tea che r neve r put me down a s a
3.
4.
Attendance Fi gur e s
Excu s e d Ab s ence s
Grade
Unexcu s ed Ab s ence s
7
not available
8
not available
-0-
9
-0-
T e a che r Sur ve y
Key:
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
9th
1.
Showed r e s p e ct for · teache r s .
l
2
3
4
2.
S ought indivi dual help.
l
2
3
4
Summa r y_ a n d Conc lus ions of Attitude T owar d Tea che r
From :tv'Ii chelle ' s attitude s ur ve y and he r tea che r s ' s u r ve ys , it
is ea s y to s e e how p o s itive s he wa s in he r r e lations with he r teache r s .
It wa s p roven true in Reading Labo ratory that }.Jfi chelle could eas ily get
along with s tudents and tea che r s .
Once during the yea r , Mi chelle e n ­
c ounte re d a c onflic t with anothe r te ache r " which c oncerne d he r ve r y
muc h.
She would mention the incident often.
While in the Reading
Lc.b o rator y she indicate d a "\villingnes s to s u_bm.it to any j u s t de cis ion b y
the Direc t or.
Ca s e Study No .
I.
12
-
P ete
Intr o duction
At the c on clus ion of the ninth grade , P ete wa s s ixteen
year s old.
cline d.
-s i s te r s .
He wa s a healthy yo ung 1nan who was athleti cally in -
P e te lived at home with hi s fathe r ,
mother ,
and two olde r
In many conve r s ations with P e te during the Reading Lab ­
o r atory P r o gram,
the P r o g ram Dir e ctor note d a deep r e sp e ct on
P e te 1 s part for hi s fathe r .
The fathe r held thre e j ob s :
full- time law enfor c ement offi c e r ,
plane fa ctory,
He wa s a
a part - time employe e in an air -
and a s e curity guard on weekends .
B oth s is te r s held
full - time j ob s and Pete held a p a rt - time j ob a s a bu s boy.
Pete ' s
maj o r inte r e s t wa s in gardening and he had totally lands cape d
many yar d s in the two and a half ye a r s the P r o gr am Dir e c tor knew
him.
P e te 1 s par ents wer e ver y cooperative during the inte r view,
and suppli e d much information.
. Howe ver , in · hi s cumulative folde r
w e r e many c o mm ents by teache r s that claimed the family gave lit ­
tle help to P e te and r e fu s e d to show up for tea che r - pa rent c onfe r ence s .
The family move d the year that P e te 1 s grade s chool r e c -
onL-rnende d that he b e r e tained i n the sixth grade .
move d to the new a r e a ,
When the family
Pete wa s p r ompted to s e venth grade ,
de ­
s pite the p r e vious di s trict' s r e c ommendation.
P e te ' s r e c o r d s indi cated rnany days of ab s ente eism.
He
wa s ab s ent a total of 3 5 2 day s in his fir s t nine year s of formal
� J \.}
e ducation.
The parents ma de a p oint to tell the inte r vi ewe r of Pete ' s
ve r y p r oud a c ceptance of his c ommendations s ent home a s part of
the Reading Lab o r a to r y P r ograin (See de s cription of P r o g r am,
S elf- C oncept,
pp .
P e te 1 s ninth g r ade r eading s c o r e s on the N e l s on Rea ding
T e st,
Form A and B , · we r e a s follow s :
Voc abulary
Date
Para graph C omprehension
Total
4 - 3 - 70
4. 2
2. 7
3. 5
6 - 27 - 7 1
2. 9
3. 3
3. 1
RESU LTS
- l. 3
•
6
-
P e te 1 s Lor ge s c o r e s we r e unavailable .
•
4
T he following
DAT s co r e s we r e s ub s ti tute d.
D a te
VR
NA
SE
MR
1 9 69 - 70
30
5
15
3
ABS
SR
15
25
CL
SP
10
VRNA
15
Explanatory N ote
In the ca s e s tudy on Pete ,
·
veys we r e p r e s ente d.
t-<..vo s eventh grade tea che r sur -
The s e s u rveys we r e both relate d to Pete 1 s
p e rformance in the s eventh grade and we r e fille d out b y one tea che r .
The tea che r felt the r e wa s a di s tind diffe rence b e twe en
Pete as he was in the fir s t few rnonths of the s e venth grade c om ­
pared t o the final rnonths o f the yea r and wante d the s urve y t o r e ­
fle ct thi s differ enc e .
II.
Home Life
.
Student Sur vey - Attitude Towa r d Home
Key: ! - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly dis a gr e e
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
ing mate rial for me.
1
2
3
4
5.
My family u s e s the lib r a r y a lot.
1
2
3
4
6.
My family tr eats me as an equal .
1
2
3
4
7.
I c a n voic e my opinion and I will b e
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
l.
I like home and my family .
2.
Our family has made reading ve r y
imp ortant t o me .
3.
I read a lot now b e cau s e I learned
to r ea d a lot at home .
4.
Our family ha s always s uppli e d r ea d ­
lis te ne d to by m y family.
8.
My family allows me to que s ti on their
de cisions .
Summa ry and C on c lu s ions of Home Life
P ete indicate d on the attitude s urvey that hi s family had
attempte d to fo s te r good reading habits .
The fact that P e te had
only a chie ve d a third grade r e a ding ability did not r efle ct much
s uc c e s s for the s e parental attempts .
wa s a ve r y difficult one .
� e te ' s p r ob lem with r eading
The Reading Spe ciali s t who had dealt
with Pete for two yea r s b e fore he e nte r e d the Rea ding Lab oratory_
s eerr1e d to fe el that P ete ha d a dys lexia p r oblem.
The P r ogram
Dire ctor gave P ete mor e individual help than any othe r student; yet
Pete ' s net gain wa s a lways reve r s e d by the time the next da y' s
instructi on b e gan.
The Reading Spe ciali s t als o claimed that Pete ' s
mother had told him of a p r ofe s s ionally admini ste r e d b rain wave
te s t, b ut the r e s ults we r e not made available to the reading staff.
The type of reading mate rial in Pete ' s home ,
the parents ,
included a wide variety of nove l s and books on do - it-
your s elf p r oj e cts .
tiona rie s ,
a c cording to
T he r e wa s no s et of encyclop e dia s ,
two die -
no ma ga zine sub s c riptions and only infre quently bought
c opie s of Life ma gazine kept ar ound the hou s e .
The parents
claimed that the y belonged to two b o ok club s .
Pete indicated on the attitude surve y that he like d hi s
home and family.
This s ame attitude wa s note d when he made
c omments to the Pr ogram Dir e ctor ab out hi s p a r ents and s i s te r .
Pete ' s attitude s ur vey indi cated that hi s home made r e a d The s e
ing imp o rtant a n d c ontained plenty of reading mate rial.
indi cations w e r e c onfirmed b y the Progran1. Dire ctor ' s ob s e rva ti ons and the inter viewe r 1 s ob s er vation s .
The r efo r e ,
s eem c o r r e c t to c onclude that Pete ' s home exe rte d
a
it would
p o sitive in­
fluence for good r e ading habits .
III.
Grades
Student Survey · - Attitude Towa r d Gra de s
Ke y:
1.
1 - s tr ongly a gr e e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - str ongly di s a g r e e
I like the grade s I r e ceive d in r e ading .
1
2
3
4
I think grade s a r e ve r y imp ortant b e -
2.
caus e they p r ove how well I have done .
1
2
3
4
3.
My p a r ents like when I get g o o d grade s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I don' t c a r e if I g et p o o r g ra de s .
1
2
3
4
5.
If grade s wer e e liminate d,
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
I would b e
happi e r .
I lik e d r e a ding b e cau s e . the teacher did
6.
not empha s i z e grade s .
Gra de P oint Average
Grade
1 st S eme ste r
2nd Seme s te r
7
unavailable
1. 3
8
1. 6
o. 7
9
1. 6
1. 8
Tea che r Survey
Key:
1.
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 -always
Wa s inte r e sted in
8th
7th ( 1 )
7th ( 2 )
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
9th
s chool wo rk.
2.
D i d a ca demi c w o r k .
Summa r y a n d C onclusions o f Academi c Achi e vement a n d Grad e s
P e te indicate d on hi s attitude survey that h e wa s i n agree ­
ment with the p r e s ent grading s y s tem.
Hi s Grade P oint Ave ra ge was ve r y low fo r all three years
o f juni o r high s cho ol.
His teache r s c onfirmed that hi s inte r e s t in
s cho ol v.ro rk and hi s a c compli s hment of academi c work bordered
on the two l owe s t p o s s ible rating s .
P e te ' s p e r formance in the Rea ding Labo rator y followed
the patter n indi cate d by hi s teache r s and hi s low Grade Point
Ave r a g e .
He s p ent mo s t of hi s time in Reading Lab oratory
tening to tap e s ,
a
s trai ghtening file s ,
running e r rands or wo rking on
one - t o - one b a s i s with the P r og ram Dir e cto.r .
w ould he r ead.
li s -
Ver y s eldom
The only independent work he ever did in the
Lab orato r y wa s to li s ten to re c o r ds , make a c olla ge ,
o r do read­
ing exe r ci s e s from a n adult p r o gramm e d r e a ding text.
In s umma r y, b e cau s e P e te ' s Grade Point Average wa s . s o
low, b e cau s e hi s teache r s rate d him s o l ow on the tea che r sur veys
and b e c au s e hi s ob s e r ve d behavior in the Rea ding Lab o ratory wa s
cons i s tent with the s e findings ,
tive attitude towa r d s chool.
it woul d s eem that Pete had a ne ga -
Howe ve r ,
P ete indi cate d that he did
like the R ea ding Lab o ratory b e cau s e it did not empha s i z e grade s .
P o s s ibly thi s
approach c ould b e s u c ce s sfully u s e d for furthe r at­
tempts at lea rning b y Pete .
IV.
Self - C on c eEt
Student Sur vey - Attitude T owa r d Self
Key:
1.
1 - s t rongly a g r e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4- s tr ongly di s a g r e e
I fee l I am · a per s on o f worth at le a s t
on an e qual plane with othe r s .
1
2
3
4
All in all, I am inclined to fe el
2.
that I ani a failu r e .
l
2
3
4
3.
I feel I do not have much to b e p roud o f.
l
2
3
4
4.
On the whole ,
l
2
3
4
5.
I am able to do things a s well a s m o s t
l
2
3
4
I
am s ati s fi e d with mys elf.
o the r p e ople .
T e a che r Sur vey
K e y:
1 -never ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 - many time s ; 4 -always
7th ( 2 )
7th ( l )
8th
9th
Wa s a b e havioral
l.
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
3.
Acted out in cla s s . l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
4.
Showe d a p o sitive atl 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
l
p r oblem.
Wa s defens ive when
2.
· co r r e cted.
titude towa r d s elf. l 2 3 4
5.
6.
2 3 4
Showed re s pe ct for
peers .
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
S ent to the offi c e .
l
2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
.l
,
2 3 4
Summ ary and C onclu sions of Self - C oncept
On hi s attitude s ur ve y,
Pete indi cated he had a s trong
p o sitive s elf- c oncept.
On the teache r s ' s urve y s ,
p r oblem.
Pete wa s rate d as a b ehavioral
Hi s s e venth g ra d e teache r indi cate d P e te 'vvent from
" neve r " b e ing a behavi o ral p r oblem to "many time s , " all within
a ve r y few months .
The s eventh g rade tea che r rated P ete a s
s howing a p o s iti ve attitude towa r d s elf "many time s 1 1 during the
e a rly months of the yea r ,
but "neve r " a s the s chool yea r p r ogre s -
P ete ' s r e s p e ct for teache r s s howe d the s ame dra s ti c change .
s ed.
In the ei ghth and ninth g ra de yea r s thi s s ame patte rn s e emed to
have p e r s i s te d a c c o rding to the teache r s 1 rating s .
P ete 1 s attitude in the Reading Labo r ator y wa s ve r y niuch
that de s cribe d b y the othe r tea che r s .
One diffe r enc e ob s e r ve d in
the Reading Lab oratory and the tea cher s 1 c o mm ents wa s that i t wa s
not ne c e s s a r y to s end P ete to the o ffi c e at any time during the.
s cho ol year 1 9 7 0 - 7 1 .
ally twic e a day,
P ete wa s in the Reading Lab o ratory offi c i -
but many time s made unexpe cted vi sits b e caus e
tea c he r s would r elea s e him fr om their cla s s e s and Pete would
come to the Lab oratory u s ually j u s t to s it and talk.
P e te indi c ated he felt he had a s tr ong s e lf - image .
P e te 1 s
teache r s claime d he wa s a b ehavio r al p r oblem and wa s ve ry de fensive when c o r r e cte d .
Reading Labo rato r y.
T hi s wa s al s o true o f :hi s behavior i n the
The s e indi cations . would s eem to lead to the
c onclusion that P e te had a p o o r s elf- concept.
V.
T e a che r
Student Survey - · Attitude Towar d Teacher of the P ro gram
Key:
1.
1 - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s a g r e e
The tea che r wa s friendly towa r d me .
1 2 3 4
The tea cher ma de me fe el a s i f I
2.
was wel c ome in hi s cla s s . ·
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
The teacher never put me down a s
3.
a ' ' lo s e r "
4.
in cla s s .
The tea cher lik e d tea ching reading .
Attendanc e Figure s
Grade
Excu s e d Ab s en c e s
U nexcus e d Ab s e nc e s
unavailable
7
8
40
0
9
23 ·
0
Teache r Sur ve y
Key:
! - never; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 -alwa ys
7th ( 2 )
8th
1 2 3 4
l 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
l
2 3 4
1 2 3 4
l
2 3 4
l
2 3 4
7th ( 1 )
1.
Showe d re s p e ct
for tea che r s .
2.
9th
S ought indivi dual
help .
2 3 4
l
· Summ ary and C onclu s ions o f Attitude Towa r d T e a che r s
P e te ' s attendance fi gu r e s we r e p o s s ibly the mo st s urpri s ing s tati stic s in thi s s e ction o f the ca s e s tudy.
Although he wa s
; ab s ent a total o f 3 5 2 days in his fir s t nine yea r s of s chool,
cumulative folde r gave no r ea s on for the many days mi s s e d.
·
ing the ninth grade ,
hi s
Dur -
P ete unde rwent s u r g e r y for a he rnia whi ch
would a c c ount fo r s ome of the twenty - thr e e days ab s ent that yea r .
P ete indi cate d on the attitude s urve y that he liked the
Reading P r o gram.
Hi s one r e s p ons e on thi s s egment of the sur -
vey whi ch wa s not in total a g r eement wa s item numbe r one .
The e i ghth and ninth grade tea c he r s indicate d P ete wa s a
s tudent who s eldom re spe cted tea che r s and who s eldom s ought in dividual help.
The s e rating s gaine d mor e s i gnifi cance when they
wer e c omp a r e d to the · s eventh grade teache r ' s r e s pons e s which
rate d him as " always " r e s p e cting teache r s and "many time s " s e eking individual help .
P e te was ab s ent many days in hi s s chool caree r ,
and re ­
ceived low r atin g s on the two more cur r e nt tea che r s ' s ur veys .
P e te did indi cate that he a gr e e d with the Rea ding P r o gram and the
Dire cto r ' s app r oa c h to tea c hing reading.
The refo r e ,
the data
s eeme d to l e a d to the c onclus ion that Pete had a ne gative attitude
towa r d s ome teache r s .
.LO I
Ca s e Study No . 1 3 - Paul
I.
Intr o duction
Paul wa s age fifte en at the c onclusion of the ninth grade
and wa s s mall in s tature c ompared to hi s male p ee r s .
He wa s
well - liked b y all hi s p e e r s and wa s never ob s e rved in a depre s s ed
or unhappy mood.
He s eeme d ve r y healthy and the r e wa s no r e c -
o r d o f pa s t health pr oblems .
Paul ' s main inte re s t,
outside o f footb all and ba s eball, was
moto r c ycle s .
Paul live d at home with hi s fathe r , mothe r , and one olde r
Hi s fathe r wa s a law enfo r c ement offi c e r and hi s mothe r
b rothe r .
P e te ' s home wa s locate d in an a r e a whe r e the aver -
a hous ewife .
age home c o s t wa s . $ 2 2 , 0 0 0 .
Paul wa s one o f the few reading s tudents in tre R e a ding
Labo ra to r y who pe rfo rme d well on reading te s t s ,
but did poorly in
the cla s s r oom.
Paul ' s ninth grade reading s c ore s w e r e as follow s :
Vo cabulary_
Date
4 - 2 - 7 0 �!<
Pa ragraph C ompr ehension
1 0 . 3 ( r eading r ate ,
7 - 2 8 - 7 1 >'.< >!�
8 . 2)
8. 5
Total
7. 2
8. 6
6. 2
7. 8
�·
*
The Gate s Reading Te s t wa s u s e d to ar rive at thi s r e a ding s co r e .
*.* The Nels on Reading T e s t ,
Form B ,
wa s u s e d t o a r rive at this
r eading s c ore .
Ina s much a s the c omplete Lor ge s c ore s a r e not available ,
the DAT s c ore s a r e p r e s ented:
Grade
D a te
6 - 1 0 - 67
Fall ' 6 9
II .
Verbal o/o
6. 0
not available
101
P e r c entile
P e r centile
3 5 th
4 5 th
8. 0
Average o/o
Non - Ve rbal %
P e r centile
40th
Home Life
Student Survey - Attitude Towa r d Home
Key:
1 - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 -- agr e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s a g r e e
1.
I like home and my family.
2.
Our family has made r eading ve r y
1
2
3
1
2
3 . 4
1
2
3
4
ing mate rial for m e .
1
2
3
4
5.
My family u s e s the Lib r a r y a lot.
1
2
3
4
6.
My family tr eats me a s an e qual.
1
2
3
4
7.
I can voic e my opinion and I will b e
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
imp ortant t o me .
3.
I read a l o t now b e caus e I learned
to read a l ot at home .
4.
Our family ha s always suppli e d r e a d -
li s tened to b y my family.
8.
4
My family a llows me t o que s tion thei r
d e ci s i on s .
S umma ry and C onclusions· o f Home Life
Paul wa s ve r y c ritical of hi s home r eading backgr ound, a l ­
though h e w a s app a r e ntly s ati s fi e d b y hi s hom.e life i n general.
I like d reading b e cau s e the tea che r did
6.
not empha s i ze grade s .
2
1
3
4
Grade P oint Ave r age
Grade
1 st S eme ster
7
1. 8
1. 8
8
1. 7
1. 7
9
2. 5
2. 8
2nd Seme s te r
Tea che r s ' Surve y
K e y:
1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ometimes ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
7th
1.
2.
8th
9th
Was inte r e s te d in
s chool wo rk.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1. 2
3
4
Did a ca demi c work.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Summa ry and Conclus ion s o f A ca demi c Achi e vement and Grades
Paul ' s Grade P oint A ve rage s eeme d to indi cate that he did
not p e r form well in cla s s .
The thr ee tea c he r s surveyed indi cated
that they did not c on s i de r him to b e a highly motivated s tudent.
The
ninth grade tea che r felt Paul wa s neve r inter e s te d in s cho ol work, and
n e ve r did academi c work.
In the Reading Lab orato r y Paul only s at down and read when
he found a ma ga zine o r b o ok that g r eatly inte r e sted him.
His academi c
work s eemed to depend on how inte r e s te d he wa s in the mate rial at hand.
The s e ob s e r vations s e emed to l e a d to the c on clu sion that
Paul had a ne gative attitude towa r d s chool.
-
-
.
.
.
.
During the inte rview it wa s note d that the home did not c ontain
much r eading mate rial.
Two maga zine s we r e ob s erved,
The family sub s c ribe d to the He r ald Examine r .
Look.
Life and
An old set
of e nc yclopedia s and an old di cti onary we re p r e s ente d when the in­
te rviewe r que s tioned Paul ' s mother ab out available reading mate rial.
P aul wa s ob s er ve d to b e a s tudent who had abo ve avergge
s kills b ut who s e inte r e.s t in r e a ding wa s only noti ceable when he
found mate rial he liked.
Paul indicate d he liked his home and family but did not
r e ce ive n1.uch empha s i s on r eading from home .
Paul was ob s e rved
The s e
b y the Di r e ctor to r e a d \.vith above a ve rage reading s kills .
facts s eemed t o l e a d t o the c onclusi on that Paul ' s home c ontribute d
only s li ghtly towa r d p o s itive attitude s towa r d r eading habits .
III.
A cademic Achi e vement and Grade s
Student Survey - Attitude T owar d Grade s
Ke y:
1 - s tr ongly a gr e e ; 2 - a gre e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - stron gly dis a g r ee
1
2
3
4
cau s e the y p r ove how well I have done .
1
2
3
4
3.
My par ents like when I get go o d grade s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I don ' t c a r e if I g e t p o o r g r ad � s .
1
2
3
4
5.
If grade s were e liminated,
1
2
3
4
1.
I like the g r a d e s I r e ceived in r eading.
2.
I think gr a de s a r e ve r y important b e -
happi e r .
I would b e
IV.
S elf- Concept
S tudent Survey - Attitude T owa r d Self
Ke y:
1 - strongly a g re e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - strongly di s a g r e e
I fee l I am a p er s on of wo rth at lea s t
1.
1
2
3
4
I am a failu r e .
1
2
3
4
3.
I fee l I d o not have much to b e p r oud of.
1
2
3
4
4.
On the whole ,
1
2
3
4
5.
I am able to d o thing s a s well a s mo s t
1
2
3
4
o n a n e qual plane with o ther s .
All in all ,
2.
I am incline d to fee l that
I am s ati s fied with mys elf.
othe r p e ople .
Tea che r Survey
Key:·
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ometime s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 - always
8th
7th
1.
9 th
Wa s a b ehavi oral
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
c o r r e cte d.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
3.
A c te d out i n cla s s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
4.
Showe d a p o s itive
1
2
3
4
1
2 3
4
1
2
3
4
peer s .
1
2
3
4
1 .. 2
3
4
1
2
3
4
S ent t o the office .
1
2
3
4
1
3
4
1
2
3
4
pr oblem.
2.
Wa s defensive when
attitude towa r d s elf.
5.
6.
Showed r e s.p e ct for
2
... . ...
Sununa r y and C onclus ions of Self Concep t
Paul s aw hims e lf a s a p er s on with a s tr ong self- concept,
but was sub s tantiated only by hi s s e ve nth grade teache r .
_
The eighih
and ninth grade tea che r s did not fe el that P a ul had s o strong a s elf­
concept.
Paul wa s s e e n by hi s teache r s to be only s omewhat of a be ­
havi o r p r oblern.
He did not act out a g r eat deal in cla s s and wa s s el ­
dom s ent t o the offi c e .
Paul ' s tea che r s claime d he did not alwa y s demon s trate a p o s i ­
tive attitude towa r d s e lf, nor did he alwa ys r e s p e ct hi s pe e r s .
V.
Attitude T owa r d Tea che r s
Student Survey - A ttitude Towa r d Teache r of the P r o gram
Key:
1 - s tr ongly a g re e ; 2 - agree ; 3 - di s agree ; 4 - strongly di s agree
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
n lo s e r " in cla s s .
1
2
3
4
The tea ch e r like d tea ching reading.
l
2
3
4
1.
The tea che r wa s friendly towa r d m e .
2.
The tea che r made me feel a s if I was
welc ome in his cla s s .
The tea che r neve r put me d own a s a
3.
4.
Attendance Figure s
Gra de
Excus e d Ab s ence s
Unexcu s e d Ab s ences
7
16
0
8
8
1
9
1
1
T e a che r Surve y
K e y:
1 - ne ve r ; 2 - s ome time s ; 3 ...: many time s ; 4 -always
8th
7th
Showe d r e s p e ct fo r
l.
2.
9th
teache r s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
S ought individual help
1
2
3
4
l
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Summar y and C onclusi on s of Attitude T OViar d T ea che r s
Paul indicated he liked the Reading P r o g r am and the P r o gram
Dir e ctor ' s app r oa ch to r e ading .
Thi s attitude wa s demons trated in the
Reading Labo r atory by the fa ct he not only wa s a student in the Lab o r ­
ato r y fo r o ne pe riod but s pent an additional pe riod the r e a s a s tudent
a ide .
The teache r s surveye d s e eme d to indi cate that Paul' s r e ­
s p ect for tea che r s de cline d between the s e venth gr ade year and the
ninth g rade year .
Paul wa s s een b y the s e s ame tea che r s a s s e l ­
dom s e e king individual help.
The attendance figure s r evealed Paul wa s mor e r e gular
'in hi s attendance during the ninth g rade .
The s e s u r ve ys and Paul ' s attendanc e figur e s did not s e em
to indi cate any spe cifi c trend that would s how how Paul fe lt toward
teache r s .
l"e ctor,
It s e emed e vi dent he liked tJ:le Reading Labo ratory Di ­
but s howed little r e spe �t for hi s other tea che r s .
Ca s e Study No .
I.
14 - Ken
Intr oduction
Ken wa s s ixte en year s old and wa s physi cally well built.
He had b e e n r e tained in the fourth grade whi ch a c c ounted fo r the
fac t that he wa s almo s t a yea r olde r than hi s p e e r-s .
K en1 s a ttitude towa r d s chool wa s good.
In general,
He always s e eme d to put
forth e ffor t to imp r ove in s cho ol and worke d har d at what e ve r he
tried to do .
K e n1 s I. Q .
was mea s ur e d b y the S . I. T .
at 7 3 when the
P rogram D i r e ctor a dmini s te r e d this te s t in 1 9 7 1 .
Ken als o s e em e d to b e b ehind in s o cial maturation for
many o f hi s friends wer e und e r clas s men who s e emed to e nj o y hi s
imm ature behavio r .
Ken live d with hi s mothe r ,
and s i s te r .
s tepfathe r ,
younger b r othe r
His m othe r told the inte r viewe r that Ken1 s father had
left the family when Ken wa s only s ix yea r s old.
Hi s s tepfathe r
had held many j ob s , the la s t a s head of a cons truction s ite whe r e
new home s we r e bein g b uilt.
ce s s in g plant.
K en1 s tnothe r worked at a film p r o -
She a nd the s tepfather s e emed to s pend little time
at home together b e caus e of the hour s the y worked.
Ken held a j ob at a l o cal r e s tf!.urant.
wer e n1oto r cycle s and ca r s .
r eading cla s s e s ,
f(!r reading .
Hi s chi e f inte re s ts
He had p r e viously b e e n i n spe cial
s p e cial e ducation p r o gr an1s and had b e en tuto r e d
.1. 1 -'
K en ' s ninth gra de reading s co r e s on the Nel s on Reading
Te st,
Forms
A and B wer e a s follow s :
Date
Vo c ab ular y
1 970
6. 3
4. 1
5. 4
1971
6. 9
3. 1
5. 1
6
-1. 0
-. 3
RESU LTS
•
P aragraph Compr ehens ion
Total
Ken' s L o r g e s c o r e s were a s follows :
Grade
Date
Spring 1 7 1
II .
Ve rbal o/o
9. 0
Non - Ve rbal %
9
Average %
12
11
Home Life
S tudent Survey - Attitude Towa r d Home
Key:
1 - s tr ongly a g re e ; 2 - agr e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di sagree
1
l
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
i n g material for m e .
1
2
3
4
5.
M y family u s e s the library a lot.
1
2
3
4
6.
1v1 y family tr e ats m e a s a n equal.
1
2
3
4
7.
I can voi ce· m y opinion and I will b e
1
2
3
4
1.
I like home and my family.
2.
Our family ha s made reading ve r y
important t o n1e .
3.
I r e a d a lot now b e caus e I learne d
to r e a d a lot at home .
4.
Our family ha s alway s s uppli e d r e a d -
li s tened to b y my family.
8.
My family allows me to que s tion
1
their decision s .
2
3
4
S ummary and C onclusions of Home Life
A c c o r ding to Ken' s attitude s urvey i t s e emed that he had
I
related his p oo r r e a ding to the low inte r e st in r e a ding he found at
h ome .
Howeve r ,
on s ur vey item numb e r two ,
he a g r e e d that hi s
de s i r e to r e a d s temmed fr om family influence s which had made
r ea ding impo r tant to him.
In general,
Ken noted a ve r y negative
influence from home t o war d r eading.
Ken indicated on hi s s u r ve y that he di s a g r e e d with the
s tatement,
"I like home and my family. "
During the home vis it,
the interviewe r attemp te d to b ring Ken into the c onve r s ation, b ut
he s poke · only enough to ans we r dir e ct que s ti ons put to him.
als o dis a g r e e d with · s tate n1ents s ix,
s e ven,
He
and e ight which at-
tempted to mea s u r e the de g r e e s tudents p a r ticipate in family de c i s i on s .
Ken' s family did not s e em to c onsider hi s opinions in
many de ci s i ons .
In general, K e n indi cate d he wa s not included in
family dis cus s ions o r de cisions .
While in the Reading Laboratory,
Ken never indi c ate d he
wa s dis sati sfie d ·with hi s home o r di s s ati s fi e d with hi s relations
with any family memb e r .
During the inte rview the mothe r and fathe r r elate d that
few rna g a zine s were b ought fo r the home and none wer e s ub s c ribe d
to.
The farnily only s ub s c ribe d to the lo cal newspap e r .
The
.1. •
par ents r ep orted that the r e we r e few b ooks i_n the home and that
they owne d one old s e t of encyclope dias and a di ctionary.
The parents did fe el that the �ea ding P r ogram s e emed to
d o ve r y important work for theirs on and othe r s tudents .
In s ummary,
Ken indi cate d that he did not like home and
that he had a s e c ondary role in the family.
not help his r e a ding,
He felt hi s family did
exc ept to empha s ize its importanc e .
Ken did
not speak about his di s sa ti s fa ction with home to the R e a ding P r o ­
g r am Dire cto r ,
but the interview s ubs tantiate d the fa ct that few
r eading mate rials we r e kept at home .
The c onclus i on would s e em
to be that Ken' s home wa s mo r e of a negative influence than a
p o s itive one on hi s r ea ding habit s ,
but b e caus e Ken' s parents wer �
c oncerned ab out helping him imp r ove ,
the r e s e emed to be s ome
e vidence of p o s i tive attitude s towa r d reading in the home .
III.
Aca demi c A chie vement and Grade s
S tudent Survey - Attitude Towa r d Gra de s
Key:
1 - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - a g r e e ; 3 - di s a gr e e ; 4 - strongly dis a gree
1.
I like the grade s I r e cei ve d in r eading.
2.
I think g r a de s a r e ve r y imp ortant b e -
1
2
3
4
caus e the y p r o ve how well I have done .
1
2
3
4
3.
My par ents like when I get good grade s .
1
2
3
4
4.
I d on ' t c a r e · if I ·get p o o r grade s .
1
2
3
4
5.
If grade s we r e e liminated,
1
2
3
4
.. happi e r .
I would be
•
6.
I lik e d reading b e cau s e the tea che r did
1
not empha s i z e grade s .
2
3
4
Gra de P oint Aver a g e
Grade
2nd S eme s te r
1 st S eme ster
7
3. 1
3. 1
8
3. 1
3. 3
9
2. 8
2. 8
Tea che r s ' Survey
K e y:
1 -neve r ; 2 - s ometim.e s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 -always
7th
1.
2.
8th
9th
Wa s inte r e s te d in s chool
wo rk.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Did a ca demi c work.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Summary and C onclu si on s of Academi c A chie vement and Grade s
As Ken' s Grade P oint A ve rage s indicated,
a cademi cally.
he c ould a chie ve
Ken demons trate d in s chool a great de s ir e to suc ­
c e e d but hi s limite d ability made the a c c ompli shment of hi s goals
a
s l ow and a r duous p r o c e s s .
Appar ently fr u strate d and unable to
p o s tpone hi s g ratifi cation fo r s u c ce s s in Rea ding Lab o r ato ry,
·
Ken
be gan to sho'vv s i gns of not wanting to try.
In the Lab o r atory,
the mo s t obvi ous p r oblem Ken had
s e emed to b e hi s inability to s ettle down.
g y o r too little ene r g y .
He had too much ene r -
He would go from one extr eme to anotl:e r ,
. eithe r P:CI.'Ji!lg too rnuch o r too little ene r gy t o apply hims elf to
.L I -;
reading .
A s indi c ate d b y Ken' s r e spons e t o s tatement numbe r four
on the a ttitude s ur vey, he s e emed to be grade - oriente d .
Since he
wa s a s s u r e d o f a g o o d grade in Rea ding Lab o rato ry, he might not .
have trie d a s ha r d as he c ould.
In Ken' s cas e ,
perhap s guaran -
tee d gra d e s did not mean p erformance in a cademi c s would r e sult.
K e n indi cated on s tatement numbe r five that he would b e happie r if
grade s w e r e eliminated.
It wa s inte r e s ting to note the g r a dual decline o f Ken ' s
Grade P oint Ave r a ge from s e venth to ninth grade and to obs e r ve
how the teache r s als o rate d Ken p ro gr e s s ively lower e a ch yea r �
( S e e statement numbe r one o n tea che r surve y. )
P o s s ib ly the low I. Q .
K e n' s true learning p o te ntial.
( 7 3 ) indicate d b y the S . I . T .
s howed
With s uch a limite d p otential, i t
mus t have r e quir e d a great deal o f work for him t o have a chie ve d
a B ave ra g e .
I n s mnmar y,
K e n indi cated o n hi s attitude s urveys that
g rade s mean a lot to him; Ken a l s o indi cated he would like to s e e
grade s eliminate d; Ken' s Grade P oint Ave r a g e wa s high but be gan
·
to de c r ea s e in the ninth grade ; Ken ' s tea che r s als o de c r ea s e d
their r ating o .f Ken i n the ninth grade.
The s e indications would
s eem to lead to the ·conclu s ion that Ken had a p o s i tive attitude
towa r d s chool and a c a demi c a chie vement but he showe d s i gns of
b_e c omin g le s s inte r e s te d 1n earning grade s .
__
I V.
S e lf - C oncept
Student Sur vev - Attitude Towa r d Self
.
K e y:
1.
----<-
l - s tr ongly a g r e e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s ag r e e ; 4 - strongly di s a gree
I fee l I am a p er s on of wo rth at lea s t
1
2
3
4
I am a failur e .
1
2-
3
4
3.
I feel I d o not have much to be p roud of.
1
2
l.
4
4.
On the whole ,
1
2
3
4
5.
I am able to do things a s well a s m o s t
1
2
3
4
on a n e qual plane with o the rs .
2.
All in all, I am incline d t o fe el that
I am s a ti s fi e d with mys elf.
othe r p e ople.
Teache r Surve y
K e y:
1 - neve r ; 2 - s ometim e s ; 3 -many time s ; 4 -always
8 th
7th
9th
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
r e cted.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3 4
3.
Acted out in clas s .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
4.
Showed a p o sitive attitude towa r d s e lf.
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
5.
Showe d r e s p e ct for p e e r s .
l
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
6.
S e nt to the offi c e .
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
l
2
3 4
1.
W a s a b ehavio ral p r oblem .
2.
W a s defensive when cor -
Sunrmar v and
C onclusions of Self- C on c ept
The ob s er vations ma.de in the Reading Lab o r atory by the
4
Dir e ctor did not bear out the low s e lf- c oncept that Ken indi cate d
on hi s s tudent s ur vey.
Howeve r ,
Ken' s othe r tea che r s s e eme d to
. c on cur with Ken ' s a s s e s sment of his low s e lf - e s teem.
The te ach-
e r s al s o conside r e d Ken s omewhat of a behavioral pr oblem.
Since
the lite ratur e r e late d to p o o r s elf- concept among students indica ­
ted the re wa s s ome r e lati on be twe en p o o r behavior and poor s elf­
c oncept,
pe rhaps Ken' s te a cher s had c or r e ctly a s s e s s e d him.
Ken wa s o b s e rved by the P ro gram Dire ctor to be ve ry
immature .
Dur ing the s chool yea r , he wa s a membe r of the track
team and was not well - like d by hi s teammate s be cau s e o f hi s imma ­
tur e behavi o r .
Hi s immaturity als o held hi s de velopment back as a
r unne r on the team b e c au s e he was s o inc ons i s tent in hi s attendance
at and a ctive pa rti cipati on in the p r a cti ce s e s s ions .
An e valuation o f Ken ' s s e lf - concept would include the fol­
lowing :
Ken, him s e lf, had low s e lf - e s teem ; hi s tea cher s indicate d
he had le s s than a po sitive attitude toward hims elf by the ir adrnis sion
that he wa s s omewhat of a b ehavio ral problem; the P r o gram Dire cto r
obs e rve d Ken to be s o cially immatur e .
Thi s data s e eme d to s upport
the c onclusion that Ken probably ha d a ne gative image o£ hims e lf and
that he was well awa r e of it.
V.
A ttitude Towa r d T e a che r s
S tudent Survey - Attitude Toward Teacher of the P r ogran1
Ke y:
1.
! - s tr ongly agre e ; 2 - a gr e e ; 3 - di s a g r e e ; 4 - s tr ongly di s a gr e e
T h e tE! a cher wa s friendly toward me .
1
2
3
4
!O.C.
The tea che r made me fe el a s i f I wa s
2.
1
2
3
4
" lo s e r " in clas s .
1
2
3
4
The tea che r like d tea ching reading.
1
2
3
4
welc ome in hi s cla s s .
The teache r never put me down a s a
3.
4.
Attendan ce Fi gur e s
· Excu s e d Ab s en c e s
Gra de
Unexc u s ed Ab senc e s
7
10
-0-
8
11
-0-
9
-0-
o.
Teache r Surve y
K e y:
1 - never ; 2 - s ome time s ; 3 - many time s ; 4 - a1ways
8 th
7th
1.
2.
9th
Showed r e spe ct for
tea che r s .
1 2
S ought individual help .
1
3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
2 3
4
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
S umma r y and C onclus ions of A ttitude Towa r d Teache r s
It wa s not s urp r i s ing to s e e that Ken like d the Reading
P r ogram and the tea che r b e caus e the r e wa s good rapport betwe en
Ken and the P r o g ram Di r e cto r .
. iti ve influence on Ken.·
tively reinfor ced.
Thi s relations hip wa s a ver y p o s -
The r elation s hip allowe d Ken to b e p o s i -
The P r o gram p ro vi de d him a pla ce to talk when
in ne e d of a li s tene r ,
and Reading Lab o rato r y offe r e d him he lp in
irnpr oving hi s s o cial maturity.
Ken' s tea che r s indi cate d he often s o).lght individual help.
He wa s not rated by hi s tea che r s a s r e sp e ctful,
but the P r o g ram
Dire ctor neve r note d a la ck of r e sp e c� on K en ' s part in the Reading Lab o r atory.
Ken ' s attendanc e figur e s indi cate he di d not mi s s
one day of s chool during the ninth gra de .
All fa cto r s s e eme d to
lead to the c onclus i on that Ken had a p o s itive attitude towa rd teache r .s .
.L U "%
Summary
The R ea ding P r o gr am develope d by the author was de s igned
to · attempt to r e ve r s e the ne gative attitude s of p o o r re ade r s on
the s e c onda ry le ve l .
T o a c c ompli s h thi s r eve r s al, the b a s i c phil o s ophy of the
p r o gr am wa s to p r ovide s u c c e s s for all the s tud,ent s .
The p r o g r am c once rne d its elf with the following a r e a s to
implement thi s b a s i c philo s ophy:
The r ole of thete acher ; the
s elf- c oncept of the s tu dent; the influence of the home on the stu­
dent ' s r eading habits ; the attitude of the s tudent towar d gra de s .
The r o le o f the P r og r am Dir e ctor wa s c on c e ived a s the
ins trument to g ai n the r e s p e ct and c o nfidence of the s tudents .
The
s tudents 1 c o ncepts o f s e lf-worth we r e c on s ide r e d to b e the maj or
factor to b ring abo ut their de sire to attempt to s u c ceed.
The in­
fluenc e o f the home was conside r e d to be a means to c r e ate an
incentive for imp r ovement.
The gr ading s y s tem which r ewar de d
e ffort instead o f a chie vement wa s employe d to p r ovide e ve r y s tudent
with the means of achi e vi:n,g s u c ce s s .
The fourteen c a s e s tudi e s r e ve aled the type s of s tudents
plac e d in the Reading P ro g r am and p rovided s ome ins ight into the
facto r s that mi ght influence p o o r r e a ding s tudents .
The c a s e
s tudi e s , the reb y, p r e s ente d the j u s ti !i cation for the s ome what
unique methods emplo ye d in the ope r ation of the pro gram .
IV.
Fi nding s and Conclus i ons
The maj or que s tions and the hypothe s i s of thi s pape r are
as follow s :
1.
C an ne gative attitude s toward s chool, teache r s , read­
ing and s elf whi ch have . been built up ove r nine yea r s be reve r s e d
i n a ye ar ' s c ou r s e ?
2.
Can the attempt to de al with ne gative attitude s b r ing
about r eading impr ovement?
3.
What s hould be the te ache r ' s r ole in thi s attempt to
deal with ne gative attitude s ?
4.
How much o f a par t doe s the home envi r onment play
in the failur e of s tudents in r e adin g ?
5.
D o s tudents pe rform when gua rante e d a high grade ?
Hypothe s i s
The hypothe s i s o f thi s s tudy wa s that the r e ve r s al of ne ga ­
tive attitude s towar d teache r s , g r ade s . s elf and home o f p o o r
r e ade r s would p r o du c e signifi cant improvements in the following
areas :
r e ading s kill s , r e ading inte r e s t, academic achie vement.
Sinc e much of the information alre ady pre s ente d and about
to be p r e s ente d would not be c onside red s cientifically gathe red, the
s tudy wa s not intende d to " p r ove " its hypothe si s .
Rathe r , the
attempt he r e was to o r ganize info rmati on for th e r e ader under ap 18 5
p r op riate hea dings ,
information,
to draw s ome apparent c on clusions fr om thi s
and to make r e c ommendations to impr ove future pr o ­
g rams of thi s type in li ght of the information gather ed .
The conclusions ab out the p r o gr am we r e drawn b y refe r ­
ring to the r andom s ampling cho s en fr om the s tudent p opulation in
the Rea ding Lab o r ato ry.
veys ,
A c cumulated rema rks ,
Grade P oint Ave r a g e s for the s e venth,
r e spons e s to s ur -
e ighth and ninth
grade s , and othe r s our c e s we r e u s e d a s indi cato r s to draw c on ­
clusions a s war ranted b y the maj o r que s tions o f the s tu dy.
The
tendency to generali ze fr om the four teen s tudents to the enti r e
s tudent p opulation wa s r e c o gni z e d and avoide d.
B e caus e this s tudy wa s de s criptive in nature ,
the r e wa s
no attempt to offe r r eal proof that the Reading P r o gr am itself wa s
the cau s e of what s e eme d to b e the c o r r e ct c onclus ions drawn from
the data gathe r e d .
The data wa s gathe r e d with the purp o s e only
to de s crib e and did not attempt,
s c ientifi cally,
to extract conclu ­
s ions from c ontr ol g r oup s .
Can ne gative attitude s towa r d s chool,
tea che r s ,
r e a ding ,
and s elf whi ch have been built up o ve r nine yea r s be r e ve r s e d in
a
year ' s cour s e ?
The indi cato r s i n this s tudy s e emed to point
out that ther e wa s r e a s on to hope the s e ne gative attitude s ,
though p o s s ibly develope d ove r a nine yea r p e ri od,
ve r s e d.
At tbe
end of the
pr ogram,
al ­
c ould b e r e -
the attitude s towa r d s chool
of the four te en s tudents s tudied indi cated they enj oye d that p ortion
.1 0 1
The s tudents had not b e en
of s cho ol calle d the Rea ding P r o g r am.
a s ke d to c omme nt dir e ctly on their · attitude to all of the s chool
curriculum b ut only on the Reading Program.
tions to the p r o gram whi ch wer e all p o sitive ,
pp . 2 2 0 } ,
F r om the s e r e a c ­
( s e e Appendix
it s e em e d s afe to as s ume that at l e a s t orie pha s e of
s cho ol wa s met with a p o s itive attitude .
definitely be said to be a change ,
Although thi s could not
i t wa s at lea s t an indication as
to the attitude the s e s tudents had when the year ended .
Anothe r indicator o f thei r attitude towa r d s chool a t the
end of the year wa s their attendance r e co rds .
It s e eme d logical
to a s s ume that gr eate r attendanc e at a parti cular activity showe d
s ome inc r e a s e d inte r e s t and the r efor e a p o s itive attitude towa r d
thi s a ctivity.
The a c tivity in thi s cas e wa s s chool.
indicated ( s ee Appendix,
The figur e s
pp .2 3 0) that during the ninth gr ade the
fourte e n s tudents a ve ra g e d only 4 . 1 excu s e d days of ab s ence .
Whn
thi s fi gure wa s c ompar e d to the s e venth grade ave ra ge of 6 . 7
days and the eighth grade ave rage of 8. 8 days ,
it s eemed to indi -
c ate an inc r e a s e w r ought by s ome fa cto r ( s ) tha t had made s chool
more attra ctive .
The Reading P rogram c ould not p o s s ibly have
b e e n the only caus e fo r thi s inc r e a s e ,
but the p r o gram did try to
make s chool more appealing to s tudents .
Another p o s s ible indi cato r that s cho ol had b e come mo r e
a ttractive t o s tudents ,
towar d s chool,
thus refle cting a mor e p o s itive attitude
we r e the fourte en s tudents ' Grade Point Ave r a ge s .
J. U U
The figure s ( s e e Appendix,
pp . 2 2 5 indicated that in the
s e ve nth g rade thi r teen s tudents ( one s tudent' s r e c o r d wa s unavail ­
able ) had an ove r all Gra de Point Ave r a ge of 2 . 0 5 for the fir s t
s eme s te r and fourteen s tudents had a 2 . 2 for the s e c ond s eme s ­
te r .
In the eighth grade the s e s ame s tudents had a Grade P oint
A ve r a ge of l . 97 for the fir st s eme s te r and 2 . 1 for the s e cond
s em e s te r .
During the ninth grade,
c re a s ed Grade P oint Ave ra g e ,
e ve r y s tudent s howe d an in-
an ove rall Grade P oint Average of
2 . 6 for the fir s t and s e c ond s eme s ter .
Again,
thi s inc r e a s e
s e emed t o indi cate the r e wa s a mo r e p o s i tive attitude towa rd
s chool b r ought ab out by s ome fa cto r o r factor s .
The facto r s
c ould have b e e n nume rous but among them mi ght have b e en the
Reading P r o g ram.
A p o s itive a ttitude towa r d teache r s mi ght have been indi cated b y the attitude s ur ve y s of the fourteen s tudents .
On the
s e gment o f the attitude s ur ve y dealing with how they liked the read­
ing tea che r ' s app roach to tea ching r e a ding,
wer e total p o s i tive a g r e ement .
wel c ome in cla s s ,
the s tudents ' r e spons e s
The s tudents clair.ned they felt
felt the teacher wa s friendly towa rd then1.,
and
did not fee l the tea che r lab ele d them a s : ' lo s e r s " during the
P r o g r arr1.
Another indi cator that was conside r e d in thi s attempt to
s how tha t the s tude nt s had p o s itive attitude s towa r d tea che r s vva s
the tea che r s ' surve ys .
( S e e Appendix, p . 22 3) . B e caus e s ome
s tudents had trans fer r e d to the s chool during the ninth grade ,
more than one ninth grade teacher had b e en a s ke d t o s ur vey the
s tudents in o rde r to obtain a mor e c omp o s ite pic ture fo r inc lusion
in the c a s e s tudie s .
On the s e s ur veys the r e wa s agreement
among the tea che r s that in the ninth g rade the fourte en s tudents
we r e r e sp e ctful to tea che r s to var ying de gre e s .
teache r s s u r ve ye d,
Of the s ixte en
nine tea che r s a g re e d that the s e fourteen s tu ­
dents s howed r e s p e ct fo r teache r s always ,
e n als o a g r e e d but t o a le s s e r degr e e .
and the r emaining s ev -
Thus,
a c ombination o f
the r e s ults o f the two s urve ys would s eem t o indicate that a p o s i ­
tive attitude towa r d tea che r s wa s p r e valent a t the conclus ion of
the ninth grade .
A p o sitive attitude towar d r ea ding might be indicated by
the following data:
·
r ea ding s c or e s r e c orded at the end of the
p r o g r am; the s tudent' s r e a ction on the attitude surve y; and the u s e
o f the library b y the s tudent.
The r ea ding s c o r e s ( S e e Appendix, p. 233 showe d the re wa s
a slight inc r ea s e in o ve r all reading ability among the s e four teen
s tudents a t the c on clusion o f thei r ninth grade year .
The ave rage
r e a ding ability a t the beginning o f the s choo l year was 5. 9 ( Ne l s on
Rea ding Te st,
Form A ) .
At the c onclus i on of the year the ave r -
a g e reading ability r o s e to 6 . 0 ( Ne l s on Reading T e s t,
For:rn B ) .
This slight incr e a s e would s e em to indic ate tha t s ome factor was
involve d in helping the s e s tudents imp r ove , i f only s lightly.
For
J. 7 V
s ome r e a s on,
the s e s tudents kept r e turning to reading e ven though
failure wa s s till bein g expe rienc e d.
Thi s c ontinued applicati on to
work would s e em to indi cate a mor e p o s itive attitude towar d r e a d ­
ing at the c on clusion o f the ninth grade year which might have
help e d b ring abo ut the imp rovement noted.
On the attitude surve y,
the fourte en s tudents we r e a s ke d
to r e s p ond to the following statement:
"I liked reading be cau s e
the tea che r did not emphas ize grade s . ' '
s tude nts a g r e e d with this s tatement.
Ele ve n o f the four teen
The s e eleven s tudents ap -
p e a r e d t o have a p o s itive attitude towar d r e a ding since the y claimro
they liked r e a ding .
The idea b ehind including the s tatement ab out
g rade s was to attempt to link in s orne way the s tudent' s attitude
towa r d reading with hi s attitude towar d g rade s ,
thus indi cating
whether a dislike of grade s could over come a p o s itive attitude
t owar d r e a ding o r vi s a ve r s a .
I n thE! ca s e of eleven s tudents ,
it s e emed that a p o sitive attitude towa r d r e a ding wa s p r e s ent.
A demon s tr ation of a p o s itive attitude towa r d reading did
not s e em e vi dent,
howe ve r , when the u s e of the lib r a r y was taken
into c onsideration.
Of the fourte en familie s inte rviewe d,
the r e
were only thr ee familie s that had a libr a r y card and only thr ee
s tudents agree d that their family u s ed the lib r a r y a lot.
Finally,
as indi cato r s of a p o sitive s elf-image felt b y
the s e fourte en s tudents the s tudent attitude s ur ve y and the teacher
s ur v e ys c o uld be r efe r r e d to.
.L 7 .L
On the s tudent attitude survey,
thi r te e n of the fourteen
s tude nts a g r e e d that the y w e r e p e r s ons o f worth,
e qual plane with othe r s .
ure .
at lea s t on an
Only one s tudent a g r e e d he wa s a fail -
The s e r e s p on s e s w ould s e em to indicate that the s tudents
ha d high s elf e s teem whi ch would p o s s ibly be one of their gr eate s t
a s s e t s to futur e r ea ding s u c c e s s .
The teacher s 1 s urveys s e emed to indi cate that the teach­
e r s did not view the s e fourteen a s the s tudents vi ewe d thems elve s .
O f the s ixte en ninth grade tea che r s s u r veyed,
only three tea che r s
r e sponde d that the s e s tudents always had p o sitive attitude s towa r d
s elf.
The r emainder of the teache r s ' r e s p ons e s we r e as follows :
many time s - s e ven; s ometime s - thre e ( S e e Appendix,
p. 223) .
Although the tea che r s we r e not a s unanimou s ab out the s tudents '
s elf- c onc ept a s we r e the s tudents them s e lve s ,
the c onclusion whi ch
s e emed appr opriate in thi s ca s e hinge d on the small diffe renc e s in
de g r e e s to whi ch the tea che r s rated the students ' p o s itive attitude
towa r d s elf.
C e rtainly the whole matter of s elf- c oncept would
s e em to have r e s te d on how the individual s aw hims elf.
The r e -
for e , i t s e erned ve r y r e a s onable to conside r that the s e s tudents
did have a p o sitive a ttitude towa r d s elf at the c onclus ion of the
ninth g rade .
Can the attempt to deal with negative attitude s b r ing about
r ea ding imp r oveme nt?
Thi s que stion wa s b a s i c ally ve r y diffi cult
to ans we r definitively.
Thi rteen of the fourteen cas e studi e s
indi cated the average r eading al:i.lity of s tudents ente ring the R e a d ing Lab orato r y wa s 5 . 4 ye a r s ( Nels on Reading Te s t,
Form A) .
The s e s ame thi r teen s tudent s we r e te s te d (Nels on Reading Te st,
Form B ) at the end o f the Reading P r o gr am and ave r a ge d a total
r ea ding ability o f 6 . 1 .
I
T o p r ove that it wa s the p r ogram that
c au s e d this s light imp r o vement in ove r all reading i s imp o s s ible .
Sin c e s o much o f the s u c ce s s of thi s c our s e wa s dependent
upon imp rove d attitude s ,
any r e ading instruction p e r s e wa s put
off until s tudents had a c c epted the -p r o gram as a means of learning and no longer a s s o ciate d it with what s e emed to b e frustrating
learning e xpe rienc e s of the pa s t .
B e cau s e thi s p e ri o d of a c cep -
tan c e to ok s o much tim e , many s tudents had b a rely be gun spe cifi c
reading · s kills imp r o vement at the time the s eme s te r ende d.
e ve r ,
the
How -
pro gram· did have a s y s temati c app r oach t o r emediating
reading p roblems and r elie d heavily on the n1ethod of s aturating
s tudent s with many,
te rial.
many words fr om all type s of r eading ma -
A marked impr o vement o f the thirteen reading s tudents
in vocabular y ( Ne l s on Reading T e s t,
6 . 7 ; 1 9 7 1 - - average vocabulary,
paragraph comp r ehension,
1 9 7 0 - - ave rage vocabular y,
7 . 3 ) was s ho��.
The de c line of
4 . 9 ) s eemed to be r elate d to lack of a
c oncentrated attempt to dea l with comp r e hension s kills .
A gain ,
s ince much o f the emphas i s in the Reading Pro -
gram wa s on r e ve r sing ne gative attitude s towa r d reading ,
s eerne d app r op riate to indi cate
it
the r e s ults of the attitude surveys .
The s ur ve y did not di r e ctly a s k whethe r the s tudent liked the
R e a ding Lab o r atory.
Inste a d,
the a c c eptance o f the p r o gram
r e s te d on how well the s tudents a c c epte d the P r o gr am Dir e ctor and
the poli cy towa r d g r a de s .
the
If the s e two ve r y pivotal p o r tions of
pro gram wer e r e j e cted by the s tudent,
t hen the
pr ogram
would have been ver y minimal in its effe cts .
On the attitude s ur ve y { s e e App endix p . 2 2 0 )3.ppeared the
following statem e nt:
"I liked reading b e cau s e the tea che r did not
e mpha s i ze grade s . " ·
The s tudents 1 r e a cti ons we r e as follows :
s tr ongly a g r e e - five ; a g r e e - s i x; dis ag r e e - one ; s trongly dis a g r e e - two .
Sin c e e leven o f the fou rteen s tudents s urveyed we r e
in a g r e ement with the p oli cy s tated,
i t s eemed s afe t o a s s ume that
they liked both the Reading Lab o ratory and the grading poli cy.
It
i s difficult to as ce rtain whe ther the thr ee s tudents who dis a g r e e d
did s o b e cau s e they dis like d b o th the Reading Lab o r atory and the
grading poli c y o r b e cau s e they like d r eading b ut like d i t fo r rea s ons other than the one s tated .
The s e s am e fourteen s tudents
were als o a s ke d to indi cate thei r s entiments towa r d the
prog ram.
by e valuating the teache r { s ee s tudent s urvey, Appendix p . 2 2 0 ) . In
this p ortion of the s u r ve y,
the s tudents we r e in total agre ement on
all p oints p r e s ente d for e valuation exc ept for one s tudent who di s ­
a g r e e d with the s ta tement ,
did not empha s i z e grade s .
£ourtee:::1 s tudents ,
1 !1 liked reading b e cau s e the tea cher
11
Thi s s e emed to indi cate that all
i.:c. s ome way or anothe r ,
did a c c ept the Reading
P r o g ram and that their p o s iti ve attitude s towar d the p r o gr am were
pe rhap s refle cted in thei r imp r o ve d reading s kill s .
The twenty s tudents who we r e tr an s fe r r e d into the Rea d ­
ing Lab or ator y ga ve furthe r indi cation o f the relationship between
r eading imp r ovement and p o sitive attitude s ( s e e Reading P r og ram,
Ove r view page 3 9 ).
B e ca u s e the s e twenty s tudents we r e in tr ou -
ble with othe r teacher s o r we r e found to b e incapable of c ontinuing
c our s e work in othe r cla s s e s ,
i n g Lab orato r y,
they we r e trans fe r r e d into the Rea d ­
eithe r at their own r e que s t o r at the s ugg e s tion
of the c ouns eling o ffi c e .
T he fa ct that the Reading Lab was con-
s i de r ed a pla c e of r e fuge on the campus s e emed to indi cate that
the relaxe d atmo s phe re in the Reading Lab o ratory c ould s u c ce s ­
s fully c ounte r the ho s tile s ituation frorn which the s tudent wa s
tran s fe r ring .
In the cas e of a s tudent -- tea che r p e r s onality cla s h,
the Reading Lab o rato r y o ffe red a low p r e s sure atmo s phe r e to r ead
and r e lax.
Als o ,
the failing s tudent wa s able to transfe r into the
Re a ding Lab o r atory and find s u c c e s s .
What s hould b e the teache r ! s r ole in thi s attempt to deal
with negative attitude s ?
planation of the
A s alr eady s et down in the earli e r ex ­
program ( s ee The P r o gra1n,
The Teache r ,
pa ge4 9 )
inudl .of the empha s i s wa s o n the image the tea che r p r e s ented to
the s tudent.
It wa s upon thi s foundati on s tone that the
suc c e e de d o r failed.
pr og r am
I f the s tudents did not s e e the tea che r a s
ve r y willing to deal with their r eading problem.s and with all othe r
r elate d p r oblems o f p o o r re ade r s , the r e would. have been only a
continuance of the ne gative attitude s the p r o gr am hop e d to r e ve rs e .
A p ortion o f the attitude surve y wa, s u s e d b y the fourteen
s tudents to indic ate thei r r e action to the te ache r in the p r og ram.
The p o s itive attitude to all the s tatements s e em e d to indicate thi s
random s ampling a g r e e d w:it h the appr oa ch the P r o gram Dire ctor
took in tea ching the Re ading Lab o rator y students ( See Appendix p . 22 0 ) .
The hope o f the pro-g ram wa s no t to i s olate the im.pr ove d
attitude s within the R e ading Labo ratory only, but to fo s te r their
development in othe r cla s s r ooms on campus a s well.
The s tudents
we re s timulate d to imp r o ve thei r attitude s towa r d tea ching
and le arning in general.
An indic ation of how this general im ­
p r ovement had s mn e e ffe ct wa s p o s s ib ly r e flected in the te ache rs '
e valuations of the r andom s ampling.
The te a che r s we re a s ke d to '
e valute the fourte en s tudents , ei ghth and ninth grade and if they
s ought individual help fr om their tea che r s .
The idea behind the
fir s t s tateme nt wa s that p o s s ibly, when diffe rent te ache r s ' r e s pon se s ove r the thre e yea r s we r e c ompared, the s tudents 1 r e s pe ct
for the te a cher s would s how an inc r e as e .
·Anothe r obj e c tive of the
s tatement wa s to show what type of s tudent, a s far a s re spe ct for
tea che r s was c on c e r ned, wa s p r e s ent in the R e a ding Lab o r atory
s tudent p opulati on.
It ·wa s hoped that the s tatement de aling v.tith
individual help s ought by the s h1dents fr om thei r teache r s would
indicate to
s ome
de g r e e the s tudent ' s ability to a pp r oa -:: h a teache r .
O f c our s e ,
r e s pons e s to the s tatement could als o have r e fle cted
how unapproa chable
a
tea che r wa s o r how unimportant extra work
was c o n s i de r e d to be b y the s tudents .
Howeve r ,
if one o f the
main obje ctive s of the p ro gr am wa s a c compli s hed,
the tea che r
e valuation would s how that the Reading Labo ratory s tudent wa s ab]e
to re s p e ct tea che r s and app r o a ch them in mor e than a ve r y rigid
s tudent - tea che r r e lation s hip .
W hen the aggre gate e valuations for the s e two s tatements
were r e vi ewe d ( S e e Appendix p . 224) tre r e s p on s e s s eemed to indi cate
that the fourteen s tudents did r e s p e ct the ir tea che r s .
teache r s s tated that the s tudents always ,
All o f the
to s oxne degr e e ,
re s pe c ­
ted tea che r s .
Howe ve r ,
to
a
le s s er de g r e e ,
dual help over the thr ee year s ,
the s tudents s ought indivi ­
a c c o r ding to thei r tea che r s .
Al ­
though ten s tudents we re s i ngle d out b y their teache r s for their
consi s tent r e s p e ct for teache r s ,
the s e s ame teache r s did not s e e
the s e s tudent s s ee king individual help .
In the Reading Labor a to r y the opp o site wa s ob s e r ved.
s tudents s howe d greater r e s p e ct for the teac he r ,
either offe r e d o r s ought,
wa s increa s ed.
As
individual help ,
When the P r o gr am
Di:re cto1· b e gan the yea r by s itting down to c onduct the fir st inte r views ,
he found the s tudents r eluctant to talk.
The c onve r s ations
b e came n10 re n1eani:c.gful fo r the s tude nt as the year went along .
Tr.is c hang e in attitude v1a s seen a s
a
pr obable r e s ult of the
P r o gram Dire ctor ' s a ttempt to b e an app r oa chable a dult whom the
students c o uld r e sp e ct.
The r efo r e , the fac t that the teache r s ' e valuations -of the
random s ampling di d indicate that the r e wa s r e sp e ct fo r teache r s ,
the l ack o f a c o r r e s p onding numb e r o f s tudents s e eking individual
help would s e em. to indi cate that the te ache r s hould attempt to
mee t hi s s tudents on a warme r ,
mo r e pe r s onal emotional level.
G r eater rappo rt b e twe en s tudent and teache r c o uld p o s s ibly r e s ult in
g r e ate r le a r ning in that cla s s room.
On the attitude s urve y, the ve r y p o s itive r e a ction to the
s tatement, " The tea che r made me fe e l a s if I wa s wel c ome in hi s
clas s , 11 typified the attitude the P r o gr am Dire ctor tried to effe ct
in hi s students .
The P ro gram Dire ctor found that be c au s e the Reading
Labo rato r y wa s
a
pla c e whe r e p o s iti ve appr o ache s to a student' s
e g o we r e attempted,
the s tudents found them.s e lve s liking what wa s
o ffer e d them in the Reading Lab o rator y.
E ven i f the books and
ma.gazine s we r e the s ame one s they had s een la s t we ek,
bulletin boards had no t b e e n change d for a month,
o r · the
the atmo s phe re
was one o f welcome and s ince r e c onc e rn by the teache r .
The s tudents who made up the random. s ampling als o r e ­
a cted ve ry p o sitively to the s tatement,
down
as
a
lo s e r while in c las s . ' '
" The teacher neve r put me
C e r tair.ly one o f the greate s t
dang e r s in dealing with s low students i s t o
us e
the t o ol of s a r ca s m
to p r od a s tudent into a ction.
P o s s ib ly, a limite d use of j o king
c ould be u s e ful to bring ab out work, but the P rogram Dir e c to r
found hi s lab orato ry p rove d a b e tte r p lace to learn when the s tu ­
dents we r e n o t looking for ways t o g e t back at the tea che r for a
p articularly s a r ca s ti c remark.
The tea cher s ur ve y s c ontained
a.
s tatement that a s ke d the
tea che r s to eva luate the s tudent a s to how defensive he wa s when
c o r r e cted.
T o the c r e dit of b oth teache r s and s tudents ,
ver y few
teache r s said the s tudents wer e defensive m o s t of the time .
Thi s
s e emed to indi cate that tea che r c riti cism o r c o r r e ctions were
temp e r e d with j u s ti c e and kindne s s .
How much o f a part doe s the home envi r onment play in
the failure of s tudents in r eading?
C e r tainly, the answe r to a
que s tion o f s uch b r ea dth c ould not b e totally s ati s fying in a de s crip ­
tive s tudy s u ch a s thi s .
B ut, in the attempt t o answe r this que s tion,
the r e s p on s e s gathe r e d in the inte r views with parents and s tudents ,
the s tudent attitude s u r vey s ,
along with the ob s er ve d home c ondi ­
tions during ho:rne vi s its indicate d s ome trends (See Appendix p 2 21 )
On the a ttitude s ur veys ,
the s tudents · we r e far fr om being
.
i n unanimous a g r e em.ent that the ir famili e s had fo 3te r e d good r e a d ing habits (See Appendix p . 221) .
On the attitude s ur vey one s tatement a s ke d for a re spons e
as to the arnount of r e a ding mate :dal s upplie d by the home .
s tudents
\v e r e
s plit.
The
Ele ven s tudents felt plenty of m.ate rial wa s
s uppli e d b y the home and thr e e s aid they ha d not r e c eive d enough
reading mater ial.
When the a c cumulate d r e s pons es fr om all the
s our c e s mentioned abo ve were r e vi ewe d ( S e e Appendix p . 2 3 4} six
home s had none to few books .
and us ually a large variety.
The r emaining eight had many b cx:ks
The s e s ame r e s p on s e s indi cate d that
eve r y home exc ept one s ub s crib e d to a newspaper o r b ought one at
a news s tand.
Thr e e home s only bought or s ub s c rib e d to the local
newspape r which wa s publi s he d thr e e time s a week and wa s unde r s tandably p r o vincial i n its news c ove r a g e .
have a s e t of encyclopedia s ,
pedia s ,
T h r e e home s did not
thr e e home s had old sets of encyclo ­
and one home claimed an encyclop e dia bought at a s up e-r The r emaining home s had r e c ent e ditions o f encycl ope -
ma rke t .
Two homes did
dia s and one home had four s ets of encyclopedia s .
no t have a ny dicti ona rie s while the r emaining twelve had at lea s t
one .
The maga zine s kept in the fourte en homes varied.
One
home clain"1.e d to have no maga zines and s ub s c ribe d to none , but
the s tudent the r e did b o r r ow motor c yc le maga zine s from nei ghbo r s .
Anothe r home c laimed only comi c books .
maga zine s on the shelve s·,
Six home s had Life
thr ee home s ·kept R e ader ' s Dige s t and
two home s had Look maga zine .
The r emaining home s varie d in
the maga zine s available in the hou s e .
S e ven home s sub s c ribe d to
no maga zine s while the remaining s even s ub s c ribe d to at lea s t one
maga zine .
The s e s tati s ti c s s e em e d to indi cate qu.ite
a
1nixtu.r e of
reading habits and l e d to no clear cut c onclus i on s .
Tim�:and Newsweek Ina ga zine s,
The fact that
the S aturday R e view o r other more
middle c la s s maga zine s did not often app e a r on thi s li s t did not in.
di cate anything unu s ua l .
The fact that s o many home s did have
s ome r e a ding material held out a great deal of hope for the s e r e a ding
s tudents .
If the r eading te a che r s or E ngli sh te a che r s that the s e
.
.
.
-
s tudents c ame in c on.tact with had �mppli e d s ome motivation to read,
m o s t of thei r s tudent s would have had s ome r eading mate rial at home
that would s ati s fy their inte r e st.
The s e r e s ults al s o s eeme d to bear
out the a c cu r a c y of re s p ons e s on the s tudent surve y whe rein only
three s tudents felt the y had not b e en s uppli e d with ade quate reading
mate rial.
Als o , on the attitude s urve y for the s tudents wa s a s taten1ent
r e ferring to the family ' s u s e of the library.
The r e spons e s to
thi s s taternent were the exact opp o s ite of the re spons e s to the
s tatement o n the attitude s 1.1rvey whi ch a ske d ab out the reading
mate rial s upplie d at home .
It i s p re sunte d that tho s e famili e s
'
who did n o t fee l that their home lacked r e a ding materials had no
r ea s on to go to the lib r a·1·y,
while tho s e thr e e familie s who did not
have r e a ding m.ate rial claime d they us e d the lib r a r y mor e .
The a c cumulate d re spons e s fr om the inte r views ( S e e Ap pendix;p . 2 3 6 ) indic ate d . thre e s tudents had lib r a r y cards and us e d them,
while the r en1aining e le ven did
u s e e the lib ra r y.
not
have library cards and neve r
T he s e s tati s ti c s c or r e s p onde d with the attitu.de
s ur vey which indicated the san1e divi s i on of r e s p ons e s ,
three u s e d
the lib rary and eleven did not.
The e ducational goals o f the s tudent would p r e s umably be
s om ewhat influence d b y the educo.ti onal goals p r ea che d and lived b y
their parents .
Not ne c e s sa rily wa s a s tudent always going to fol -
low i n the foots tep s o f hi s parents .
On the o the r hand,
the s tu -
dent had a great deal · of inte r e s t i n the fathe r ' s ( and / o r mothe r ' s )
work.
The work day or week and the challenges met on the j ob
would b e the topic of s ome c onve r s ations in the home .
F r om
the s e c onve r s ations the s tudent would be gin to form opinions about
the future j ob he might want.
Since many o c cupations did not
leave a g reat deal of lei sure time nor r e quixe a g r e at deal of con ­
temp o r a r y news ,
the parents mi gh.t no t include much reading in treir
daily r outine s .
On the a ttitude survey ( S ee Appendix p . 22 0) the s tudents
r e sp onded to two s tatements intende d to give a small insight into
the goals s et at home a s to the impo rtance of r ea ding.
Le s s than
. fifty p e r cent s ai d their home did not make r eading imp o rtant to
them o r did not offer
c:.
lot of r eading mate rials for them.
Thi s
numb e r of s tudents wa s not g r eat when it ;,va s taken into c onside r a ­
tio n that the s e s tudents did not r ead very well at all .
The o c c upations of the · par ents of these s tudents would p o s­
s ibly have given s ome c lue a s to the tT_r) e o f r e ading habits the
home envir onment fo s te r e d .
It would not ha. ve b e e n r e a s onable to
have a s s umed that be cau s e
a
parent ' s o c c upation had always b e en
of a type requiring little e ducati on · that the s tudent would natur ally want to learn o r not learn a c co rdingly.
b e en indi cate d already,
Howeve r ,
as had
the o c cupation of the parent could have an
influence on s ome s tudents 1 reading habits .
Any further c onclu-
s ions about the s tudents ' r eading habit s and the p a rents o c cupation
would have to be draWn by the r eader
Of the fourteen s tudents in the random sampling ,
dents had mothe r s who worked.
six s tu -
Two of the j ob s we r e on p r oduc -
tion line s i n a ma chine shop and one a film de velopment plant.
the fourte e n s tudents ,
j ob .
only one fathe r indi cate d he had
a
p ar t time
The fathe r had a full time j ob in law enfo r c ement, p a r t tim.e
j ob s in an ai rplane facto ry and a we ekend s e curity gua r d j ob .
her par e ntal o c c upa.tions included a truck drive r ,
a
Of
bank telle r ,
a p r inte r ,
a r e rnodele r ,
Ot­
four ma chini s ts ,
and one engine e r who
worked for a p r o s p e r ous firm in the S an Fe rnando Valley.
The
engine e r and the b ank telle r wer e the only two white c olla r wo r k ­
e r s among the fourte en parents .
During the s chool year 1 9 7 0 - 7 1 ,
the o c cupations o f mo s t
parents of the s tudents in the Reading Lab o rato ry we r e unkno"\vn t o
the Dir e cto r .
Howe ver ,
he s urmi s e d that if a surve y we r e taken
the re s ults would have b e e n very much a s they actually turne d out
to h e .
The r efor e ,
the Reading Lab o r ato r y me tho d s us e d i n at-
ten1pting to s tr engthen the horne ' s influenc e to;..va r d more r e a ding
CJ V J
took into c onsideration par ents who wer e blue c ollar wo rke r s and
who did not have a lot of tim.e fo r reading.
Anothe r a r ea o f c once rn fo r the Reading Lab orato r y wa s
the parental frame wo r k of the s tudent s .
c onside r ation
a
The home wa s taken into
gr eat deal in the attempt to r e ve r s e ne gative at ­
titude s , but the home life wa s given a top priority fo r concern
when the home wa s known to be structur e d a round a step - pa r ent.
Of the fourteen s tudents randomly s ampl e d,
fathe r s and one s te p - mothe r .
the re we r e three s tep -
T he home influen c e s we r e diffi cult
to a s s e s s , but the uns ettling effe cts o f a s tep - parent,
Reading Lab o rato r y s tudents when inter viewe d,
mo s t diffi cult p r oblem.
a c c ording to
s e emed to be their
The s cope of thi s p ape r wa s not s uch that
a detaile d explanation of the delicate and intricate relations be tween p arents and ·childr en could b e examine d.
Certain home in -
fluence s undoub te dly c ontributed to s tudent s ' r e a ding failur e s and
the Reading Laboratory did make allowan c e s for par ent - student
r e lations .
The Dir e ctor t ri e d to all ow time to li s ten to any s tu -
dent who wanted t o talk privately ab out hi s parents ,
although he
neve r a s s umed to offe r any p rofe s s ional advi ce he wa s not quali fie d to give .
Even i f a s tudent did not have s ome c on c rete s olu -
tion to take b a c k to hi s b o n1e situation,
the Reading Labo r ato ry
had at le a s t s uppli e d s ome pla c e fo :r: the s tudent to talk out hi s
p r oblen1 with s ome one willing to li s ten without ne gative criticism
to the p r oblem.
Z. 0 4:
D o s tudents pe r form when gua rante e d a hi gh grade ?
Stu -
dents i n the Reading Lab o rato r y we r e guarantee d a high grade,
hope fully,
to b ring about a rapp ort b e twe en tea che r and s tudent
that would o ve r come what s e eme d to be an extreme ne gative atti -
tude towa r d s chool ,
tea che r ,
r e a ding and grade s .
p o s ture to-w-ar d grade s (See The P rogram,
Grade s ,
The p' r ogram' s
pp. 5 6 ) tried to
b e one of s a lutar y negl e ct rnixe d with a rati onale for grade s that
only r e c ogni zed effort and p o sitive attitude s .
Thi s attempt wa s ob -
s er ve d by the P :r o gram Dir e ctor to be s u c c e s s ful.
did p e r fo rm.
The s tudents
If the s tudent did not feel lik e working the r e wa s a
noti ceable air o f expe ctation a s he waited fo r the Dire ctor to de ­
mand work and to thr e a ten · that a p oo r g rade would r e s ult.
many ins tanc e s ,
In
the D i r e ctor r e c eive d r e fu s al s to work which wer e
followe d b y s tatements s uch . a s ,
1 1 D o I get a p o o r grade now? 1 1
It s eemed ve ry c ontra di ctory that the s e R e a ding s tudents
were c oncer ne d ove r grade s s ine e mo s t of them had a hi s tory of
p o o r grade s .
On the a ttitude s ur ve y ( S e e Appendix
the s tudents
s trongly indi cated that the grade s they e a rned wer e p r o of of how
well the y had don e .
The r e s p on s e s w e r e a s follows :
s tr ongly
a gr e e - e ight; a g r e e - s ix; di s a g re e - z e r o ; strongly dis a gr e e zero.
T o the s tatement,
1 1 1 like the g ra de s I r e ceived in reading , 1 1
the follo'\v:ing r e spons e s we r e r e c orde d :
a g r e e - s ix; di s 2. g r e c
above s taten1ents ,
as
-
ze r o ;
can
Str ongly a g r e e - eight;
s t r ongly di s a g r e e - ze r o .
The two
be s e .s: n had id-enti cal r e s p ons e s .
On
che cking back on individual re spons e s ,
it wa s inte r e s ting to note
that the s e ven s tudents who s tr ongly a g r e e d with the fir st s tate ­
ment ab ove (I like the grade s I r e ceive d in reading) ,
als o s tr ongly
a gr e e d with the s e c ond s tatement ab ove (I think g r ades a r e ve r y
impo rtant be cau s e they p r ove how well I have done . )
Thi s similar ­
ity of r e s p ons e s wa s als o true fo r the six s tudents who s tate d the y
a g r e e d with s tatements one and two .
Only one s tudent split hi s
answe r s ( s tr ongly a g r e e d to s tatement numb e r one and a g r e e d to
s tatement numb e r two . )
Thi s s imilarity in answe r s did not s e em to take on any
s i gnifi cance until the r e s pons e s to anothe r s tatement on the s ur vey,
" If grade s we r e eliminate d, I would b e happie r " we re note d.
r e s p ons es to thi s s tatement we r e a s follows :
The
s tr ongly a g r e e - one ;
a g r e e - four ; di s a g r e e - five ; str ongly di s a g r e e - fou r ;
Sin c e
the r e we r e five s tudents who would like t o have s e en grade s elim­
inated and felt that the elimination of grade s would make them. hap.r
py,
the a s s umption would s e em to have b e e n that s ome s tudents
did not want g r a de s s o the r e would not be pr oof of how well or
how p o o rly they had done .
Ob s e r vati ons m.a de in the Rt:ading Lab o ratory by the P r o g rarn Dir e c tor ·would indicate that s ome s tudents did ope rate b e tte r
without the ....vor ry o f rea ding p e r f o rmance b e ing tie d to a lette r
grade e valuati on.
for cement,
·when students were given only p o siti ve rein-
eithe r orally o r written7
fo r the ir e ffort to i1npr ove
L; U b
their r eading,
s ome s tudents rea cted with mor e e ffort than when
give n a lette r grade .
The r e s p on s e s to the attitude surve y s e emed to indicate
that only p o s itive r einfo r cement,
they would like appli e d to them .
s uch a s g o o d g r ade s ,
we r e what
( S e e Appendix p . 22l ) Any p o o r grades
were definitely not c ons ide red de s i rable .
T o the statement,
"I
don ' t care if I get poor grade s " , all fourteen s tudents s ur veyed
s t r ongly dis ag re e d.
As wa s alr eady note d,
the high grade s o r
p o sitive r einfo r c ement had more motivational p ower than a thre a t
of p o o r grade s .
The P ro g r am Dire ctor neve r r e c eived any c omments fr om
s tudents c om.pa ring the Reading grade to othe r tea che r s ' grading
p oli c y.
When que s tioned ab out the grading s y s te1n in the Reading
Laboratory,
the s tudents neve r felt that the y wer e cheating or get­
ting away ¥lith s omething they s hould not by re c ei\-i.ng a high grade
for eff.ort only.
In fa ct,
many s tudents felt s o j ustified that upon
r e ceiving a B on a r e p o r t card,
the y s ometime s challenge d the
grade on the grou...'1.ds that an A wa s d e s e r ve d b e caus e the s tudent
had read e ve r y day and had tried to imp r o ve .
lenge was s ymptomatic ,
it would s e em,
on e ffor t a nd not o n the grade r e ce ive d.
This type of cha l -
o f the p rogran1.1 s empha s i s
The s tudent who wante d
b e tte r grade s r e ali z e d that effort wa s the only c rite ria for bette r
g rade s and ther efor e
saw
that the b ette r grade could only be earned
b y g reater e ffort or p r o o f of greate r effort.
The hair - spli.tting
207
routine of tally-ing points and ave r a g e s which s e emed to b e ve ry
prevalent at g ra d:ing time wa s left out of the Reading Lab o rato r y
s cene b e cau s e ther e we re n o points t o a d d u p and a r gue o ve r .
Pa ­
rents als o s e eme d ve r y ple a s ed with g rade s s tudents r e ceive d and
never qua r r elle d o ve r the fact that the s tudent wa s graded on ef­
fort and not on te s t s o r hon1.ewo rk.
Hopefully,
the empha s i s on effor t oniy would lead to futur e
learning .
Hypothe s i s
The hypothe s i s o f this s tudy wa s that the r e ve r sal o f ne ga ­
ti ve attitude s towa r d teache r s ,
grade s ,
s elf and home o f p o o r read­
e r s would p r odu c e s igni fi cant imp r o vement in the following a r ea s :
reading s kill s ,
reading inte r e s t,
a c a demi c a chi e vement.
It s e em e d e vident from the nature of thi s s tudy that the
hypothe s i s would not be p r o ve d s cientifi cally.
hypothe s i s ,
s ome da y .
o r one simila r to it,
would hopefully be a c compli s he d
T hi s pape r wa s only to p oint out the p o s s ible c onclusims
demons trated b y the data gathe r e d.
chapte r ,
The proof of thi s
In the p r e c e ding po rtion of thi s
c onclusions we r e drawn in li ght of the maj o r que stions o f
the s tudy b y u s ing many s our c e s of information.
Thi s s ame ma -
te rial will now b e u s e d to p oint out what mi ght b e s ome plaus ible
ins ights into whe the r the r e ve r s al of ne gative attitude s c o uld sig nifi c antly imp r o ve r e a ding,
m ent.
r e a ding inte r e s t a nd a cadem.i c a chi e ve -
208
Reading Skills
A s has already been p ointe d out,
towar d teache r s and grade s ,
the negati ve attitude s
the influence fr om home and a poor
s elf- concept all s e emed to affe ct the p o o r r eade r .
C e r tainly a tirr:e
limit in which to a c c ompli s h the r e ve r sal of the s e attitude s c ould
not be p r e di cted,
but their r e ve r s al did s eem well within the reach
of the e ducation p r o ce s s .
The maj o r que s tion left in doubt s eemed
to be " W ould the r e ve r s al contribute to r eading improvement?
11
•
The fourte e n s tudents us e d a s a random s ampling of the
Reading Lab o rator y s tudent populati on showe d a s light imp rove ­
ment in their reading ( Nels on Reading Te st,
F o rm A and B ) a fter
being exp o s e d to the p ro g r am' s a ttempt to r e ve r s e ne gative atti tude s .
to
a
The inc r e a s.e fr om a 5. 9 ( Nels on Re ading Te s t,
F o rm A)
6. 1 reading ahility ( Nels on Reading T e s t , Form B ) was s light
but c ould have b e en an indi cati on that the s e s tudents were j us t b e ­
ginning to imp r o ve a great deal in reading.
The reading s co r e s a l s o indi cate d an imp r o vement in the
vocabulary o f the four te en s tudents .
The s tudents impr oved thei r
vo cabular y fr om a 6 . 7 l e ve l ( Nelson Reading T e s t Forrr.l A ) t o a
7. 3 vocabular y level (Nelson Rea ding Te s t,
Form B ) .
The s li ght
de c r e a s e from a 5 . 0 in paragraph c ornprehension ( Nels on Reading
T e s t,
F o ?.."m B ) s e eme d to be the r e s ult of a lack of a conc entrated
effort on the part of the Dire ctor to imp r ov·e thj s reading s kilL
In li ght of the fact that e ve ry s tude nt wa s s a turate d with
light reading r.nate rial during e ve r y period s pent in the Reading
Lab orato r y in the hope that the c on's i s tent appli cation to r eading
woul d imp r ove vo cabular y,
the s li ght incr ea s e shO\vn in vo cabulary
might b e inte rpreted as a p o s itive r e s ult of the Reading Lab o rato r y
P r o gram.
Reading Inte r e s t
S ome data tha ·t would p o s s ibly demonstrate the reading
inte r e s t of s tudents at the c onclusion of the Reading Lab o rator y
P r o gram wer e :
r e s ults of s tudent attitude s ur veys ,
s tudent r eading s c o re s ,
ninth grade
student a ttendance figur e s and ninth grade
teache r surve ys .
On the s tudent a ttitude s urve y,
students a g r e e d \vith the s tatement,
tea che r did not empha s i ze grade s .
11
e leven of the fourte en
"I liked reading be cau s e the
Thi s maj o rity agr eement
s e eme d to indicate that the s tudents like d the 'pro gram in spite of
the fac t that the
If this
p r o gram empha s i ze d only one area,
mo r e r eading.
p r o g r a1n, whi ch attempte d to b ring s tudents in conta ct with
quantities of reading mate r ial , wa s found a g r e e able by eleven poor
r ea de r s ,
pe r hap s the r e wa s an indi cation that inte r e s t in reading
wa s high at the c onclu s i on of the ninth grade .
A s wa s pointe d out in the p r e c e ding s e ction dealing with
reading s kill s ,
r e ading ability.
the four teen s tudents did show a s light increa s e in
Thi s s light increa s e mi ght have been an indication
of how thei r inc r ea s e d inte r e s t in reading s u s tained the s tudents to
210
c o ntinue reading,
e ven tho ugh they s till e:x-p e r i e n c e d a c e r tain
amount of failu r e .
The s tu dents in · the Reading Lab o rator y we r e
ob s er ve d by the P r ogram Dire ctor to b e highly e nthusia s ti c when
they fir s t ente r e d the Lab o r atory in the Fall of 1 9 70 and s aw the
lar ge s ele cti on of high inte r e s t,
made a vailable .
li ght reading mate rials that we re
Thi s enthu si a s m unde r s tandabley waned a s the yea r
pr o g r e s s e d, but the gene ral inte r e s t thr oughout the yea r was always
ob s e r ve d to be higher than ave ra ge .
The inc r e a s e d inte r e s t i n s chool b y the fourteen s tudents
c ould p o s s ibly be r e lated to new- found s uc c e s s in reading.
Cer -
tainly the Reading P r o gram c ould not claim that the a ve rage days
of excus e d ab s ence s for the s e s tudents d r opped fr om 8 . 8 days in
the eighth grade to 4. 4 days in ninth grade merely b e cau s e the y
w e r e enr olle d in the Reading Lab o r ato ry.
This de c r ea s e in the
days ab s e nt wa s p r obably caus e d by nume r ous other fa ctor s .
e ve r ,
How ­
the fact r emains that the . p r o gram attempted to c onv'i.nce stu­
dents that the h inte r e s t in s choo l would inc r e a s e as they be came
more involve d in suc c e s s ful s chool work.
Finally,
veye d,
o f the s ixteen ninth grade tea che rs who were sur ­
nine indicated that they s aw the fourteen s tudents ' ' many
tim e s ' ' to "always " inte r e s te d in s choo l work.
t o e ighth g rade tea che r s only a · year earli e r ,
Thi s wa s compa r e d
of whom but thre e
s tate d that the s tudents we r e 1 1 rnany tiine s " t o ' ' ahvays ' ' inte !" e s ted
i n s chool .
211
Academi c Achievement
The hop e of almo s t all r eading tea che r s would s e em to be
that imp r o vement made in reading would be trans fe r re d to a cademic
di s cipline s othe r than r eading .
T hi s transfe r ,
if s u c ce s s ful,
would
mean gene ral a ca denJ.i c impr o vement for the s tudent.
A c c o rding to the Grade Point Ave rage of the random s am piing for the s e ve nth,
eighth and ninth grade s ( s ee Appendix p . 2 2 7 )
the Grade P oint Aver age f o r the ninth grade wa s the highe s t of the
thr e e year s .
Thi s inc r e a s e fr om a low of 1 . 9 6 in the e ighth grade,
fir s t s e me s te r ,
to the ninth g rade high o f 2 . 6 for the fi r s t and
s e cond s eme s te r would s e em to indi cate the s e s tudents had a c c om pli shed gene ral a c ade1ni c impr ovement.
Again,
the Reading Labor -
ator y did not claim to b e the only fa ctor in thi s obvious acaderni c
impr ovement, b ut the Reading P r o gr am did attempt to make stu dents want to imp r ove a cadetni cally.
Summa r y
The following c onclus ions we r e indi cate d when the r e sults
of the gathe r e d data wa s r e viewe d in light of the hypothe s i s and
maj o r que s tions of the s tudy:
1.
The attitude s towa r d s chool,
tea che r s ,
reading,
and
s el� did s e em to b e p o s itive among the fourte en s tudents s ur veyed,
at the c onclu s ion o t" the ninth grade .
?
.... .
Reading im.provernent,
although sli ght, wa s a chie ve d
b y the fo urte en s tudents enr olled in the Rea ding F r o grar.n.
Als o ,
212
the i r attitude s towa r d r e a ding ·at the conclusion of the ninth grade
we r e generally p o siti ve .
3.
The r ole o f the te ache r whi ch the P r o gram Di r e c tor
a s sum e d wa s reacted to p o s itive ly.
4.
The data indicate d that mo s t of the fourte en s tudents
were awar e of the amount of r ea ding mate rial available in the i r
home s and whethe r the home c o ntribute d to making reading im portant to them .
Howe ve r , n o attempt wa s made t o e s tablish a
c o r r e lation b e t we en the amount of reading mate rial in the s tudent' s home and his s u c c e s s 1n r e ading.
The material gathe r e d
and p r e s ente d a s a r e s ult o f inte rviews with the parents of the
fourteen s tudents wa s latent with pa s s ible invalid c onclus ions
based
on
value j udg;ments .
5.
Such judgme nts we r e a voide d .
The s tudy s e emed to indi cate that the la ck of em­
pha s i s on grades in the R eading P r o gram wa s well accepte d b y
the fourte en s tudents s ur veye d .
The gathe r e d data s e emed to
r e veal that ba s ing g r ade s on e ffo rt alone wa s an a c c eptable c rit ­
e r ia f o r b o th s tudents and parent s .
R e c ommendations
1.
B e cau s e of the great numbe r s o f s e c ondary .s tudents
who read b elow grade level and have developed negative attitude s
to furthe r learning b e c aus e of thi s r e ading failur e ,
OE
an ernphas i s
the affe ctive fa cto r s of le arning in r e ading s hould. b e explored
by cla s s r o om tea che r s in gr oup s e s s ions under the di re ctions of
e ducato r s note d fo r the i r wo r k in the affe ctive domain of learning.
2.
Re s e a r ch s hould b e unde r taken to p r o vi de cla s s r oom
te a c he r s with attitude s urveys that r e ve al both p o s itive and ne g a ­
tive attitude s of p o o r reading s tudent s ,
t o enable cla s s room teach­
e·r s to r e ve r s e ne gative attitude s and build on p o s itive attitude s .
3.
R e s e a r ch on attitudinal change s towa rd reading
s hould be furthe r e d by s c hola r s hip funds p r o vided b y p r o fe s s ional
o r gani zati ons to c ollege s tudents to ente r the fi eld of s e c ondary
e ducation , s p e c iali zing. in reading .
4.
The a dvanta ge s and di s advantage s o f c r e dit /non­
c r e dit c la s s e s s hould be explor e d by cla s s r oom teache r s to p r o ­
vide data fo r r e s e ar ch ne c e s s a ry t o p e r s uade cur r i culum p oli c y ­
make r s t o apply a c r e dit / non - c redit e valuatio::1 t o s e condary
r eading pro grams .
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