LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

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1 Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1973 A Study of the Use of the Botel Word Opposites Test to Determine the Instructional Reading Levels of Selected Educationally Disadvantaged Elementary Pupils. Patsy Elaine hagood Perritt Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: Recommended Citation Perritt, Patsy Elaine hagood, "A Study of the Use of the Botel Word Opposites Test to Determine the Instructional Reading Levels of Selected Educationally Disadvantaged Elementary Pupils." (1973). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact gradetd@lsu.edu.

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3 PERRITT, Patsy Elaine Hagood, A STUDY OF THE USE OF THE BOTEL WORD OPPOSITES TEST TO DETERMINE THE INSTRUCTIONAL READING LEVELS OF SELECTED EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED ELEMENTARY PUPILS. [Pages , p reviously copyrighted m aterial not microfilmed a t re q u est of au th o r. A vailable fo r co n su ltatio n a t Louisiana S tate U niversity L ib rary.] The Louisiana S ta te U niversity and A g ricu ltu ral and Mechanical C ollege, Ph.D., 1973 Education, general University Microfilms, A XEROX C om pany, A nn Arbor, M ichigan THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFIIMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED.

4 A STUDY OF THE USE OF THE BOTEL WORD OPPOSITES TEST TO DETERMINE THE INSTRUCTIONAL READING LEVELS OF SELECTED EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED ELEMENTARY PUPILS A D isse rta tio n Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana S tate U niversity and A g ric u ltu ra l and Mechanical College in p a r tia l fu lfillm e n t of the requirem ents for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Education by Patsy Hagood P e r r itt B.A., Louisiana Polytechnic U n iv ersity, 1965 M.A., Louisiana Polytechnic U n iv ersity, 1965 M.S., Louisiana S tate U niversity, 1971 August 1973

5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express g ra titu d e to the members o f her committee, Dr. Sam Adams, Dr. Helen Cookston, E)r. Donald Foos, Dr. Eric Thurston, and Dr. Joe P arker. T heir frie n d sh ip, th e ir p ro fessio n al example, and th e ir c o n stru ctiv e guidance w ill be remembered as v aluable components o f the a u th o r's education. Deepest a p p re cia tio n is o ffered to Dr. Doris Conway fo r h er understanding and confidence. In her ro le as major p ro fesso r, Dr. Conway was a p e rs is te n t source of c o n stru ctiv e c ritic is m and h e lp fu l suggestions. Without her guidance, the com pletion o f th is study would not have been re a liz e d. Sincere a p p reciatio n is extended to personnel of th e West F elician a P arish School Board: Mr. Wendell H all, Superintendent; Mr. Larry F o il, Elementary Supervisor; Mr. Frank Lathrop, D irecto r of T itle I Programs; and the classroom teachers a t Bains Elementary School fo r th e ir u n fa ilin g cooperation in every phase of th is study. Special thanks go to Mrs. Debbie B lanchard, Miss Becky D elapasse, and Miss Sandra Hernandez fo r th e ir a ssista n c e in typing the m anuscript. F in a lly, a deep indebtedness i s expressed to the a u th o r's husband, Ronny, whose i n f i n i t e p atien ce, c h eerfu l outlook, and co n siste n t s a c rific e s made th is p ro je c t p o ssib le. ii

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS... i i LIST OF TA B LES... ABSTRACT... v v i i i Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION... 1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM... 4 QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED... 4 IMPORTANCE OF THE STU D Y... 4 DELIMITATIONS... 5 DEFINITION OF TERMS... 5 PROCEDURE OF THE STUDY ORGANIZATION OF THE STU D Y REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE... 8 IMPORTANCE OF DETERMINING APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTIONAL READING LEVELS... 8 USE OF STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES AND INFORMAL READING INVENTORY SCORES TO DETERMINE INSTRUCTIONAL READING LEVELS... 9 THE STANDARD READING INVENTORY AND THE BOTEL READING INVENTORY THE TEST PERFORMANCE OF POOR READERS SUMMARY PROCEDURE BACKGROUND iii

7 Chapter Pago METHOD OF SAMPLE SELECTION ADMINISTRATION OF THE T E S T S TREATMENT OF THE D A T A PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF D A T A SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIXES..., A. L e tte r of R e q u e s t B. L e tte r of Perm ission...» C. P a rtic ip a tin g C lasses a t Bains Elementary School D. Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey, Achievement S eries - Reading - Form E/ Primary I I.. 66 E. Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey, Achievement S eries - Reading - Form F/ Blue Level.. 70 F. Standard Reading Inventory, Form A G. Word Opposites T est o f th e B otel Reading Inventory, Form B V I T A iv

8 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Studies R elated to Concurrent Performance on Inform al Reading In v en to ries and Standardized Reading Tests C o rrelatio n s between In s tru c tio n a l Reading Levels and (1) B otel Reading Inventory, Form B; (2) Standardized Reading T ests Sample P opulation by Grade, Age, and S e x C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Grades Three and Six C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel a t Grade T h r e e C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel a t Grade Six..... <> C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Females in Grade T h r e e C o rre la tio n C o e ffic ie n ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Males in Grade T h r e e C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Females in Grade S i x C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Males in Grade S i x C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Females in Grades Three and Six C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Males in Grades Three and Six C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r P upils of A ppropriate Ages fo r Grade Three C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Overage P upils in Grade Three v

9 C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r P upils o f A ppropriate Ages fo r Grade Six.... C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Overage P upils in Grade Six... C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Females of A ppropriate Ages fo r Grades Three and S i x... C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Males o f A ppropriate Ages for Grades Three and S i x.....»... C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel for P upils o f A ppropriate Ages fo r Grades Three and S i x C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Overage Females in Grades Three and Six... C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Overage Males in Grades Three and Six... C o rrelatio n C o e ffic ie n ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Overage P upils in Grades Three and Six... C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Lower Level P u p ils in Grade Three... C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Upper Level P upils in Grade Three... 0 C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Lower Level P upils in Grade S i x C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Upper Level P u p ils in Grade Six... C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Lower Level Females in Grades Three and Six... C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Lower Level Males in Grades Three and Six.... C o rre la tio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Lower Level P upils in Grades Three and Six vi

10 Table C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Upper Level Females in Grades Three and Six.. C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and B otel fo r Upper Level Males in Grades Three and Six... C o rrelatio n C o effic ien ts Among SRA, SRI-A, and Botel fo r Upper Level P upils in Grades Three and Six.. Page vii

11 ABSTRACT The purpose o f th is study was to v a lid a te a concise classroom instrum ent, easy to ad m inister and score, which would in d ic a te ap p ro p riate le v e ls fo r in s tru c tio n in reading fo r ed u catio n ally disadvantaged elem entary p u p ils. The in s tru c tio n a l le v e ls as id e n tifie d by the Word Opposites T est o f the B otel Reading Inv en to ry, Form B, were compared to the reading composite scores o f the Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey. Achievement S e rie s. Forms E/ Primary I I and F/Blue Level, and the in s tru c tio n a l le v e ls as id e n tifie d by the Standard Reading In v en to ry, Form A. The Pearson product- moment method of c o rre la tio n was c a lc u la te d to id e n tify the degrees of agreement among th e th ree t e s t scores fo r: th ir d grade and six th grade; male and female fo r each grade le v el and fo r th e grade le v els combined; overage p upils and p upils o f ap p ro p riate ages fo r each grade lev el and for the grade le v els combined; and upper h a lf and lower h a lf, as determined by the Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey. Achievement S eries median, fo r each grade le v e l and fo r th e grade le v els combined. T ests o f sig n ific a n ce a t the.05 and.01 le v els of confidence were ap p lied. The study was confined to fifty -o n e th ir d grade p u p ils and seventy-four s ix th grade p u p ils in a ru ra l Louisiana p a rish school. These p u p ils were id e n tif ie d as ed u catio n ally disadvantaged on the bases of th e ir residence in an economically deprived area and th e ir composite sco res, which were one or more years below a c tu a l grade viii

12 placement, on th e Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey, Achievement: S e rie s. Ninety percent of the population fo r the study was b lack. The follow ing in d ic a tio n s o f agreement among the te s t scores we re id e n ti f i ed : 1. A ll c o rre la tio n c o e ffic ie n ts fo r the Standard Reading Inventory and the Word Opposites Test o f the B otel Reading Inventory were p o sitiv e and s ig n ific a n t a t the.01 lev el of confidence. The o v e ra ll c o rre la tio n c o e f fic ie n t was and the range was to The Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey, Achievement S eries reading scores and the Standard Reading Inventory scores y ield ed c o rre la tio n s ranging from to The c o rre la tio n met the t e s t o f sig n ific a n ce a t the.01 le v el o f confidence. The o v e ra ll c o rre la tio n fo r grades th ree and six was 0.843, which was s ig n ific a n t a t the.01 lev el of confidence. 3. The o v e ra ll c o rre la tio n fo r the Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey, Achievement S eries reading scores and the Word O pposites T est o f the B otel Reading Inventory was 0.822, which was s ig n ific a n t a t the.01 le v e l o f confidence. The c o rre la tio n s ranged from to The c o rre la tio n was s ig n ific a n t a t the.01 le v e l of confidence. When fa c to rs o f grade placem ent, sex, age, and le v e l were considered fo r the purposes of c o rre la tio n, the following g en eraliz a tio n s were made:

13 A. C o rrelatio n s made fo r th ir d grade were g en erally the low est. B. C o rrelatio n s fo r males were g en erally h igher than those fo r fem ales. C. Highest c o rre la tio n s for the three combinations o f te s ts were for males whose reading t e s t scores were above th e Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey. Achievement S eries median scores o f the sample a t th e ir resp ectiv e grade le v e l. Do C o rrelatio n s fo r scores which were above the Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey. Achievement S eries median scores o f the sample were g en erally h igher th an c o rre la tio n s for scores which w ere below th e median. E. N either c o rre la tio n s fo r overage p u p ils nor for p u p ils of ap p ro p riate ages were c o n s is te n tly h ig h o r low. W ithin the sample of ed u catio n ally disadvantaged elementary p u p ils, the Word Opposites Test o f the Botel Reading Inventory appeared to be a v a lid instrum ent fo r id e n tify in g in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e ls, p a r tic u la r ly w ith upper elem entary p u p ils. S lig h tly higher in d ic a tio n s o f t e s t agreements were noted for boys and for p u pils who were not placed in th e lowest extreme o f t h e i r c la ss on the b a sis o f scores from standardized te s ts in reading. x

14 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION One of the basic p rin c ip le s underlying in s tru c tio n in reading is the determ ination of where a p u p il is able to p roperly function. In s tru c tio n in reading is then in itia te d a t, o r s lig h tly below th a t p o in t,in order to help the pu p il progress as fa r and as f a s t as he can toward h is p o te n tia l a b ility. Such an i n i t i a l determ ination may be broadly id e n tifie d as d iag n o sis; th erefo re the im p licatio n can be made th a t diagnosis is e s s e n tia l to good teaching. In the fie ld of reading, a model developed by Strang (1965: 70, 71) helped c la r if y the ro le of diagnosis in in s tru c tio n a l s itu a tio n s. S R T / \ 0 = the ch ild or ch ild ren being taught. S = the learn in g s itu a tio n s in which these c h ild ren are placed. R = the responses of these c h ild re n to the learning s itu a tio n. T = the im pressions or tra c es from the response l e f t on the nervous system. P = the perceptions which develop as a r e s u lt of many such experiences. This c y c lic n atu re of the learning process tends to i l l u s t r a t e th a t a ch ild and h is perceptions cannot be separated. For the 1

15 2 purpose of helping the teach er in the s e le c tio n of the learn in g s itu a tio n, S, diagnosis can take place a t the 0 le v e l, p rio r to in s tru c tio n. I t can a lso take p lace a t the response le v e l, R. Here the teacher can a ssess the e ffe c tiv e n e ss of the learn in g s itu a tio n which was developed. This study explored i n i t i a l classroom d iag n o stic procedures which give the teach er d ire c tio n toward the learn in g s itu a tio n for each c h ild. Classroom teachers can p r o f it from development of s k i l l s in d iag n o stic te s tin g, in te rp re ta tio n of r e s u lts, and in s titu tin g in s tru c tio n a l adjustm ents. The fa ilu re of teachers to do so may be a ttrib u te d to two myths which have developed about d iag n o sis: (1) diagnosis req u ires the use of s p e c ia lly designed t e s t s which y ie ld re s u lts too com plicated for p r a c tic a l a p p lic a tio n ; and (2) diagnosis re q u ire s highly tra in e d, sp ec ia liz ed t e s t a d m in istra to rs. Teachers should r e a liz e th a t d iag n o stic teaching is not reserved for those w ith sp e c ia liz e d tra in in g in the use of so p h istic a te d m a te ria ls. Diagnosis a t the teaching le v el is a p ressin g and re le v a n t need. The d iag n o stic process is dependent upon the e d u c a to r's a b i l i t y to use the d iag n o stic to o ls a t h is d isp o sa l and upon h is a b i l i t y to in te rp re t and u t i l i z e d iag n o stic data in classroom p ra c tic e. A person conducting a diagnosis should use only the a v a ila b le data which he is competent to in te r p r e t. The major sources for classroom diagnosis include school reco rd s, observations of the ch ild in h is classroom reading a c t i v i t i e s, and a v a ila b le te s t scores. C onsiderations for the purpose of th is research involve te s t scores.

16 3 Many teach ers use t e s t scores to plan fu tu re in s tru c tio n and to group c h ild re n. Whether or not t e s t scores are u sefu l depends upon the types of instrum ents used and subsequent p r a c tic a l in t e r p re ta tio n s of the r e s u lts. Three b a sic types o f te s tin g instrum ents are a v a ila b le fo r classroom d iag n o sis: standardized te s t s, formal in v e n to rie s, and teacher-made inform al in v e n to rie s. Reading s p e c ia lis ts express disagreem ent concerning the sig n ific a n ce o f the inform ation gained from reading t e s t s and the value i t has for the classroom teach er. Teachers re g u la rly co n su lt te s t scores fo r proper placement le v e ls fo r p u p ils in th e ir te x ts. They ask the q u estio n, "Which reading te s ts provide the b e st estim ate of match between pupil and book fo r the purpose of in s tru c tio n? " In order to a ssig n m a te ria ls which challenge the read er w ithout discouraging him, a teacher must know a p u p il's reading le v e l. I f a pupil receives in s tru c tio n from m a te ria ls which are too easy for him, he is not m otivated o r in te re s te d s u f f ic ie n tly to a tta in maximum growth. Conversely, i f a pupil is in s tru c te d from books which are too d i f f i c u l t, he may become fr u s tr a te d and d is illu s io n e d when he is unable to a t t a i n the le v els of achievement s e t for him. Although i t is necessary th a t teachers determ ine each p u p il's in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e l in order to provide appropriate reading m a te ria ls, the a c tu a l performance of th is ta sk i s d i f f i c u l t, i f not im p o ssib le,fo r many average classroom teach ers. More re lia b le and e a s ily adm inistered te s ts for determ ining in s tru c tio n a l read in g le v els are c r i t i c a l l y needed.

17 4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The problem was to determ ine the degree of agreement which e x is ts among the grade le v e l scores o f the Reading Composite o f the Science Research A sso ciates Assessment Survey. Achievement S e rie s, the Standard Reading Inventory, and the Word O pposites Test of the Botel Reading Inventory when they were used to id e n tify the in s tru c tio n a l reading lev els of sele c ted ed u catio n ally disadvantaged p u p ils. For each te s tin g combination the follow ing comparisons were made w ith in the research sample: (1) th ir d grade and s ix th grade, (2) upper h a lf and lower h a lf for each grade lev el and for the grade le v e ls combined, (3) male and female for each grade le v e l and for the grade le v e ls combined, (4) overage p u p ils and p u p ils of a p p ro p riate ages for each grade le v e l and for the grade le v e ls combined. QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED This study was concerned w ith the follow ing s p e c ific q u estio n : Is th e re a p o s itiv e c o rre la tio n among th e mean grade equivalent scores of the Reading Composite of the Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey, Achievement S e rie s, the Standard Reading Inventory, and the Word O pposites Test of the Botel Reading Inventory? IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY Classroom teach ers need instrum ents to aid in determ ining the lev els a t which p u p ils should be in stru c te d in reading fo r maximum

18 5 growth to r e s u lt. This study attem pted to v a lid a te an instrum ent which was su ited to determ ining the in s tru c tio n a l reading le v els of selected e d u catio n ally disadvantaged ch ild ren. DELIMITATIONS The study was confined to one hundred tw enty-five pupils in the th ird and six th grades a t Bains Elementary School in West F e lic ia n a P arish, Louisiana,who were id e n tifie d as e d u catio n ally disadvantaged. A ll pupils so designated who remained in the school for the d u ratio n of the te s tin g period were included. DEFINITION OF TERMS Word Opposites Test of the Botel Reading Inventory - ten graded l i s t s of ten words each re p re se n tin g samples of reading m a te ria ls a t lev els 1, 21, 22, 31, 32, 4, 5, 6, 7-8, 9-12 w ith th re e grade scores p o ssib le: fr u s tr a tio n le v e l (0-60 p e rc e n t); in s tru c tio n a l le v el (70-80 p e rc e n t); and free reading le v e l ( p e rc e n t). C o efficien t of c o rre la tio n - a measure of the degree of re la tio n s h ip between two s e ts of m easures. A w idely used measure of s t a t i s t i c a l c o rre la tio n is the product-moment c o rre la tio n c o e ffic ie n t devised by Pearson. E ducationally disadvantaged pupil - a p u p il liv in g w ith in an area of economic d ep riv atio n as designated by the O ffice of H ealth, Education, and W elfare whose composite score on the Science Research A ssociates standardized achievement te s t in d icated th a t he was one or more years below h is a c tu a l grade placement.

19 6 Informal reading inventory - an in d iv id u alized measurement instrum ent of reading perform ance, based on standard c r i t e r i a, from which the su b ject read s, s ile n tly and o ra lly, sele c ted passages from a graded s e r ie s of reading m a te ria ls in order to determ ine h is fu n ctio n al reading le v e ls. In s tru c tio n a l le v e l - the h ighest reading le v el a t which system atic in s tru c tio n should be in itia te d. Designated as a grade eq u iv alen t, th is was the le v e l a t which students were expected to make the maximal growth w ith teacher d ire c tio n. Science Research A sso ciates Assessment Survey. Achievement S eries - a standardized instrum ent designed to measure achievement in reading, language a r t s, and m athem atics. Composite scores used in th is study re fe rre d to grade eq u iv alen t d esig n atio n derived from the reading, language a r t s, and mathematics scores. Reading composite scores re fe rre d to the grade eq u iv alen t scores from the reading su b tests only. Standard Reading Inventory - an in d iv id u al inform al reading inventory co n sistin g of eleven s to r ie s for o ra l reading, eig h t s to rie s for s ile n t reading, and eleven word l i s t s for measuring word pronouncement a b i l i t y in is o la tio n. Eleven b asic book le v e ls were sampled, preprim er, prim er, Is, 21, 2s, 31, 32, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Scoring was based on o ra l reading e rro rs, unaided and aided r e c a ll comprehension. V a lid ity - the e x ten t to which a te s t measures what i t is purported to measure.

20 7 PROCEDURE OF THE STUDY The population for th is study was composed of the th ird and s ix th grade stu d en ts who were designated as ed u catio n ally disadvantaged on the b a sis of the Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey Achievement S eries adm inistered e arly in the school year in West F e lic ia n a P a rish, Louisiana. P upils whose scores f e l l below the f i f t h p e rc e n tile rank were elim inated from the study. The Science Research A ssociates Assessment Survey Achievement S eries was adm inistered by the classroom teachers w ith the help of the resea rc h er. The scoring of these te s ts was completed by computer. A dm inistration and scoring of the Word Opposites Test of the Botel Reading Inventory and the Standard Reading Inventory were completed by the re search er. A ll t e s t scores were coded and tra n s fe rre d to computer cards. The Pearson product-moment method was used to c a lc u la te the c o rre la tio n c o e ffic ie n ts. The s t a t i s t i c a l findings were summarized and conclusions drawn. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY The remainder o f th is study was organized in to four ch ap ters. A review of re la te d l ite r a tu r e was summarized in Chapter 2; the ex p erim ental procedures and sources o f data were described in Chapter 3, and Chapter 4 was a p re sen ta tio n and a n aly sis of the d ata c o lle c te d. Chapter 5 o ffered summariesj conclusions and recommendations for future study re la te d to the inform ation gained from th is research.

21 Chapter 2 REVIEW OF REIATED LITERATURE This chapter was confined to a review of lite r a tu r e regarding (1) the importance of determ ining ap p ro p riate in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e ls, (2) the general use of standardized te s t scores and inform al reading inventory scores fo r determ ining ap p ro p riate in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e ls, (3) the use of the Standard Reading Inventory and the Botel Reading Inventory, and (4) the t e s t performance of poor read ers. IMPORTANCE OF DETERMINING APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTIONAL READING LEVELS The use of in ap p ro p riate m aterials as a major c o n trib u tin g cause of reading d if f ic u l ty was confirmed by education a u th o ritie s throughout the lite r a tu r e (Ephron, 1953; Lee and Lee, 1960; H arris, 1970). Cooper (1952) and o th ers (Jones, 1948; Dunkeld, 1971) v a lid a te d through research the p rin c ip le th a t g re a te r gains in achievement were made by p upils when reading m a te ria ls were adjusted to th e ir lev els of in s tru c tio n. Yet, Botel (1957) noted, "Seven to ten m illio n p u pils in our schools are reading books which a re too d i f f i c u l t fo r them." Therefore, some a u th o ritie s regarded the task of se le c tin g su ita b le m a te ria ls a t the c h ild 's in s tru c tio n a l le v el for reading in s tru c tio n as one of a te a c h e r's foremost r e s p o n s ib ilitie s. H arris

22 9 (1970:139) summarized th is b e lie f : The most im portant question to answer about a c h ild 's reading i s : How d i f f i c u l t a book can th is c h ild read? On the answer to th is question depends not only the c la s s if ic a tio n of p u pils in to in s tru c tio n a l groups but a lso the s e le c tio n of b asal readers and supplementary reading m a te ria ls. A ustin and Huebner (1962:342) concurred w ith H arris, when they expressed two c u rren t in s tru c tio n a l needs (1) accu rate a p p ra isa l of each p u p il's le v e l of reading achievem ent, and (2) the use of such inform ation as a b asis for the se le c tio n of s u ita b le reading methods and m a te ria ls. The techniques and instrum ents used for determ ining reading le v els and assig n in g ap p ro p riate reading m a te ria ls for maximum pupil growth were the su b jects of numerous stu d ie s over the past fo rty y e a rs. USE OF STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES AND INFORMAL READING INVENTORY SCORES TO DETERMINE INSTRUCTIONAL READING LEVELS Standardized reading te s ts and inform al reading in v en to ries were id e n tifie d as the two most widely used types of instrum ents employed to estim ate reading achievement. According to Strang (1969: 132), standardized te s ts were adm inistered most freq u en tly, even w hile research ers continued to express d iff e r in g opinions regarding the usefu ln ess of the data for classroom teach ers. The following stu d ies compared standardized reading scores and fu n ctio n al reading le v els as id e n tifie d by inform al reading in v e n to rie s. B etts (1940) reported th at sev eral standardized reading te s ts designed for use a t the f i f t h grade le v el rated pupils from one to

23 10 four grades above th e ir a c tu a l achievement le v e l. Ten p ercen t of the c la s s te ste d in the B etts study did not e x h ib it a p p ro p ria te reading behavior in f i r s t grade m a te ria ls, yet some of the te s ts graded these p u p ils no lower than second, th ir d, or fo u rth grade le v e l. Another e a rly study was completed by K illg a llo n (1942). The standardized t e s t used in h is in v e stig a tio n placed p upils an average of one grade above th e ir placement as determined from a reading inventory. In h is in v e stig a tio n of the re la tio n s h ip between the standardized and inform al estim ates of reading le v e ls, Botel (1957:25-39) found the follow ing percentages in grades two through s ix, using 1,400 p u p ils. In grade two, e ig h ty -fiv e percent of the p u p ils were overrated by the standardized t e s t from one to fiv e le v e ls, eleven percent were rated properly, and four percent were underrated one or two le v e ls. In grade th ree, e ig h ty -s ix percent of the p u p ils were overrated by the standardized t e s t from one to fiv e le v e ls, seventeen percent were ra te d properly, and f if te e n percent were underrated from one to th re e le v e ls. In the interm ediate grades each ra tin g was approxim ately the same; one th ird overrated from one to fiv e le v e ls, one th ird rated pro p erly, and one th ird underrated by the standardized te s t. Using only f i f t y - s i x p u p ils in the s ix th grade, McCracken (1962: 368) conducted a sim ilar study from which he concluded th a t the sta n dardized reading scores were s ig n ific a n tly h ig h er than reading performances as determ ined by an inform al reading inventory. He c alcu lated six ty -th re e percent of the stu d en ts would be placed a t fr u s tr a tio n reading lev els i f the standardized te s t scores were used to determ ine the lev el of in s tru c tio n.

24 11 Research concerning inform al reading in v en to ries continued to co n cen trate on a sse ssin g the r e la tio n of inform al to standardized te s tin g procedures in determ ining an in d iv id u a l's reading le v el. Since 1961 fourteen stu d ie s which made such comparisons were rep o rted. These stu d ie s were id e n tifie d in Table 1. In one of the s tu d ie s, Sipay (1962) adm inistered th ree w ell known standardized reading achievement te s ts and an inform al reading inventory from a widely used b asal reader s e r ie s. His population of 202 su b jects was drawn from eig h t fourth grade c la s s e s. For the purpose of determ ining the in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e ls from the inform al reading inventory, Sipay used two s e ts of c r i t e r i a. When the more s trin g e n t c r i t e r i a were used, a l l th ree standardized te s t s tended to overestim ate the in s tru c tio n a l le v e l by approxim ately one or more grade le v els. When the more lax c r i t e r i a were used, the th ree standardized te s ts overestim ated the in s tru c tio n a l le v e ls from 0.11 to 1.02 grade le v e ls. G laser (1965) added a new dimension to such stu d ies when he sele c ted retard ed seventh grade read ers and advanced th ird grade re a d ers, a l l of whom had scored between 5.0 and 5.9 on the Gates Reading Survey. The findings in d icated the in s tru c tio n a l lev els of both groups were c o n sis te n tly lower than the le v els in d icated by the standardized te s t sco res, w ith a s lig h tly la rg e r spread fo r the retard ed read ers. Somewhat in c o n tra st to the conclusions in other stu d ie s, W illiam s (1964) found th a t the M etropolitan Reading Test and the Gates Reading Survey placed students r e la tiv e ly near th e ir in s tru c tio n a l lev els based on inform al reading inventory performance in fam iliar b asal reader m aterial. Davis (1965) also found evidence of

25 Table 1 Studies R elated to Concurrent Performance on Informal Reading In v en to ries and Standardized Reading Tests Researcher Year Standardized Test D aniels 1962 Gates Advanced Primary Reading Test Sipay 1962 C alifo rn ia Reading Test Gates Reading Survey M etropolitan Achievement Brown 1964 C alifo rn ia Reading Test M etropolitan Achievement Iowa Every-Pupil Tests of Basic Ski] Gates Reading Survey McCracken 1964 Iowa Every-Pupil T ests of Basic S k ills, Test A W illiam s 1964 C alifo rn ia Reading Test Gates Reading Survey M etropolitan Achievement Davis 1965 Gates Reading Survey Stanford Achievement Test Glaser 1965 Gates Reading Survey L eib ert 1966 Gates Advanced Primary Reading Test P atty 1966 Gilmore Oral Reading Test Gray Oral Reading Test DunkeId 1971 Gates-M acginitie Reading Test M artin 1971 D u rrell L istening Reading S eries G ates-m acginitie Reading Test Johns 1972 Gates M ac-g initie Reading T ests, Survey D Smith 1972 D u rrell Listening-R eading S eries Gates M ac-g initie Reading T est, Survey D Wade 1972 D u rrell L istening Reading S e rie s, Advanced Level, Form D E Gates-M acginitie Reading T est, Survey E 12

26 13 agreement between standardized te s t scores and c e rta in inform al te s t s, including the Temple Informal Reading Inventory and the Botel Reading Inventory, when they were compared a t in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e ls. From h is study, Davis concluded th a t there was in s u ffic ie n t evidence to recommend the s u b s titu tio n of standardized techniques for inform al techniques of ev alu atio n. D ifferences in grade placement were reported by L eib ert (1966) when he compared inform al reading inventory performance and Gates Advanced Primary Reading Test scores fo r second grade p u p ils. However, he o ffered the suggestion th a t d ifferen c es might have been due to the w ider range of s k i l l s included in the group standardized te s t. Brown (1964) found no c o n siste n t re la tio n s h ip between performance of fourth grade students on fiv e standardized s ile n t reading te s ts and on inform al reading in v en to ries. P atty (1966) a rriv e d a t a sim ila r conclusion. He found i t im possible to g en eralize whether standardized o ra l reading te s ts in d icated fu n ctio n al reading lev els as a ccu rately as those determined by inform al reading in v e n to rie s. The Gilmore Oral Reading Test and the Gray Oral Reading Test were used in P a tty 's in v e stig a tio n. Several comparison stu d ies from the U niversity of Northern Colorado were completed in the e arly 1970's. Using the same sta n dardized t e s t s e r ie s, th re e research ers found continued evidence of overestim ation re la te d to mean in s tru c tio n a l le v e ls. At primary grade le v e ls, M artin (1971) observed th a t approxim ately one h a lf of the p u p ils were placed one-half year or more above th e ir in s tru c tio n a l lev els by the two standardized reading te s ts. N either te s t nor any su b te st used in the study placed more than th irty -n in e percent of the

27 14 p u p ils a t th e ir in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e l. At interm ediate grades four, fiv e, and six, Smith (1972) could not id e n tify any to ta l or su b test score from e ith e r standardized te s t which was adequate in e s ta b lis h in g in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e ls, Overplacement ranged from one to five years. Using an eig h th grade sample, Wade (1972) found overplacement to be two and o n e-h alf to three y e ars, when using to ta l and su b test scores of both standardized te s ts. Again c o n tra stin g evidence was presented by Johns (1972) in a fo u rth grade classroom comparison of Gates-M acginitie scores and performance on the S ilv a r o li Classroom Reading Inventory. Only four p u p ils achieved a Gates reading grade le v e l more than a year above th e ir in s tru c tio n a l le v e l on the S ilv a r o li. D iagnostic reading a u th o ritie s tended to agree th a t inform al reading in v en to ries rep resen ted the most u sefu l instrum ents re a d ily a v a ila b le to teachers for ev aluating the performance of p u p ils to insure th e ir proper placement in reading m a te ria ls for in s tru c tio n a l purposes (Austin and Huebner, 1962: ; Strang, 1969: ; W ilson, 1972:88-93; Z intz, 1966:26-38). The in v en to ries described by these a u th o ritie s ranged from the types of te s ts which teachers devised for use in s p e c ific classroom s to more standardized published in v e n to rie s. The g re a te s t disadvantage to the use of inform al reading in v en to ries was reported to have been re la te d to the competency of the examiner. The accuracy of the data secured depended alm ost e n tir e ly upon the exam iner's s k i l l in recording e rro rs and in making judgments about reading performance. Ladd (1962) concluded th a t teachers in her study were inadequate in ev alu atin g reading performance

28 15 by inform al methods unless they were given in te n siv e tra in in g. Emans (1965:258), a lso supported arguments th a t teachers were o ften u n re lia b le in id e n tify in g degrees o f reading performance even though they had p a rtic ip a te d in college courses re la te d to diagnois in reading. M illsap (1963) revealed th a t experienced classroom teachers had d i f f i c u lty in recognizing the fr u s tr a tio n reading le v e ls among th e ir pupils in b asal read ers. One hundred tw enty-three elem entary teachers in h is study were seventy percent c o rre c t in th e ir judgment o f the s u i t a b i l i t y of b asal reader m aterial fo r p u p ils, twenty-seven seventh and eighth grade teachers were fifty -o n e percent c o rre c t, and the tw enty-three secondary teachers were fo rty -th re e percent c o rre c t. Roy A. K ress, who co-authored w ith M ajorie Seddon Johnson a d e ta ile d manual e n title d Informal Reading In v e n to rie s, summarized the stren g th s and weaknesses of the inform al reading inventory, (Johnson and K ress, 1971:90). The in d iv id u al inform al reading inventory is a c lin ic a l device. I t is designed to rev eal extensive in fo r mation about a c h ild 's reading stre n g th s and needs as w ell as to e s ta b lis h the le v els a t which he can function independently and w ith in s tru c tio n. The r e s u lts obtained from ad m in istra tio n of such an inventory a re as good as the examiner, no b e tte r. S p ecific c r i t e r i a fo r the e sta b lishm ent of lev els have been in d ic a ted. However, the power of observation and the standards of judgment of the examiner are the fin a l determ inants of the adequacy of the inform ation gained. Johnson (1971:34) concurred w ith K ress: The Informal Reading Inventory is undoubtedly one of the most e f f ic ie n t c lin ic a l devices a v a ila b le fo r ev alu atio n of a c h ild 's performance in reading; however, fo r the classroom teach er, a d m in istra tio n of in d iv id u a l in v en to ries is n e ith e r a p ra c tic a l nor a d e sira b le procedure. Reviewing the fin d in g s of the stu d ies c ite d in Table 1, and the work of other reading a u th o r itie s, sev eral g e n e ra liz a tio n s were made. F i r s t, the use of standardized reading t e s t scores for the

29 purpose of se le c tin g su ita b le reading m a te ria ls fo r in s tru c tio n was n o t w arranted. Standardized reading te s ts were v a lid fo r ranking stu d en ts (F arr, 1969:213) and they were adequate screening devices for those p u pils in need of more extensive ev alu a tio n, but they could not be used for accu rately determ ining in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e ls. Secondly, inform al reading in v en to ries based on classroom in s tru c tio n a l reading m aterials provided the most v a lid estim ate for id e n tify in g fu n ctio n al reading le v e ls. Third, comparisons between inform al reading inventory performance and standardized t e s t scores were dependent on: (1) the standardized te s t used, (2) the reading m a te ria ls used to co n stru ct the inventory, (3) the c r i t e r i a used to ev alu ate p e rfo r mance, and (4) the competency o f th e examiner in recording e rro rs and in making judgments on performance. THE STANDA.RD READING INVENTORY AND THE BOTEL READING INVENTORY V a lid ity ana r e l i a b l i l i t y stu d ies of the Standard Reading Inventory were i n itia te d by McCracken (1964) He w rote t e s t paragraphs which he considered to have high content v a lid ity and corroborated th is v a lid ity s t a t i s t i c a l l y by te s tin g 664 c h ild re n in grades one through six and by the su b jectiv e ev alu atio n s of tw enty-five reading ex p erts. The rank c o rre la tio n s among e x p e rts' ra tin g s and the re a d a b ility le v els of the se le c tio n s was for Form A and for Form B. Two stu d ies of concurrent v a lid ity were made (McCracken, 1966:42). When the in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e l of the Standard Reading Inventory and the C alifo rn ia Reading Test were compared for seventy-nine c h ild ren completing second grade, a c o rre la tio n of 0.87 was c a lc u la te d.

30 17 When the comprehension and vocabulary reading scores of the Stanford Achievement Test and the Standard Reading In v en to ry 's in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e l and the vocabulary in is o la tio n scores were compared for seventy-seven ch ild ren completing th ird grade, the c o rre la tio n s were 0.77 between the Stanford reading comprehension and the Standard in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e l, and 0.88 between the vocabulary measures. In 1970 McCracken and Mullen rep o rted an a n a ly sis of data derived from scores on the Standard Reading Inventory, the Stanford Achievement T e st, the C alifo rn ia Test of Mental M atu rity, and the Botel Reading Inventory fo r 140 p u p ils, grades one through six. A ll c o rre la tio n s between the Standard Reading Inventory and the Botel Reading Inventory were sig n fic a n t a t the.01 le v e l of confidence and the study o ffered strong evidence th a t these two instrum ents measured the same s k i l l or s k i l l s. Since each te s t was designed to id e n tify the re a d a b ility le v el a t which a c h ild should be in s tru c te d, the c o rre la tio n s supported the concept th a t in s tru c tio n a l reading le v el was measured by these te s t s. The Botel Reading Inventory was subjected to various stu d ies of v a lid ity re la te d to in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e l scores. In 1967 the Botel Reading Inventory and the grade eq u iv alen t scores of sev eral standardized te s ts were compared w ith previously e sta b lish e d in s tru c tio n a l reading le v els of 541 elem entary p u p ils, grades two through six. In a l l grades w ith the exception o f grade th re e, comparisons showed the Botel scores re la te d more c lo se ly to in s tru c tio n a l reading le v els than the s ile n t reading t e s t scores of the standardized te s ts (B otel, 1969: ). Data shown in Table 2 compared the

31 18 p reviously id e n tifie d in s tru c tio n a l reading le v els w ith the Botel Reading Inv en to ry, Form B, and w ith the standardized reading te s ts. Botel and o th ers (1970:85-103) used the Standard Reading Inventory, D iagnostic Reading S c a les, and the Botel Reading Inventory in a study to determ ine p u p ils' in s tru c tio n a l reading lev els and to determ ine the in te rc o rre la tio n s among the reading te s ts and re a d a b ility form ulas. The means fo r the Standard and the Botel were v ir tu a lly the same magnitude and the Word Opposites sectio n of the Botel cons is te n tly placed p upils a t th e ir in s tru c tio n a l le v els when c o rre la tio n s of re a d a b ility were made. As p a rt of her re sea rc h, S is te r M. C atherine Davis (1965) compared the in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e ls of the Temple Informal Reading Inventory w ith the in s tru c tio n a l le v e ls determ ined by the Word Opposites Test of the Botel Reading Inventory. The c o rre la tio n s ranged from 0.46 to Various stu d ies re la te d to v a lid ity and r e l i a b i l i t y of the Standard Reading Inventory and the Botel Reading Inventory were located. Comparisons to other te s ts and comparisons between the two te s ts seemed to have e sta b lish e d v a lid ity and r e l i a b i l i t y of both instrum ents for the purpose of id e n tify in g in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e ls. THE TEST PERFORMANCE OF POOR READERS R esearchers c o n sis te n tly reported d i f f i c u l t i e s in assessin g fu n ctio n al reading le v e ls of poor read ers. B etts (1940) compared the scores of fifth graders from five s ile n t reading te s ts to lev els of

32 Table 2 C o rrelatio n s between In s tru c tio n a l Reading Levels and (1) Botel Reading Inventory. Form B; (2) Standardized Reading Tests Grade N B otel, Form B Standardized Reading Tests

33 20 performance on an inform al reading inventory. One o f h is major conclu sio n s was th a t none o f the standardized reading te s ts used provided an adequate index to the lev els a t which reading in s tru c tio n should be in itia te d for low ach iev ers. The K illg a llo n study (1942) revealed th a t the standardized te s t used did not d iscrim in ate w ell among the lower extremes of the d is trib u tio n. Chall (1958: ) and H arris (1970:164) cautioned teachers about the r e l i a b i l i t y of standardized te s t scores fo r poor read ers. H arris c ite d two conditions which could g re a tly a f f e c t the scores: C hildren whose reading s k ills are poor tend to guess more than good readers do, and th e ir sco res, based le ss on reading and more on guessing, may a t times overestim ate the in s tru c tio n a l le v e l by a year or more. On the o th er hand, when a c h ild m isses many easy items but gets harder ones c o rre c t, or when he gets upset and stops before reaching h is f r u s tr a tio n le v e l, the score may underestim ate h is reading a b i l i t y. Standardized te s ts a re, then, less accurate for poor read ers than for good read ers. Bond and Tinker (1967:195) expressed the idea th a t retarded read ers ex h ib ited more v a r ia b ility in reading a b i l i t i e s than did normal re ad ers. W illiams (1964) found, a t the in s tru c tio n a l reading le v e l, a wider v a ria tio n of scores fo r poor readers than for normal readers when he compared scores from standardized te s ts to p erfo r mance on an inform al reading inventory. SUMMARY Various means of assessin g reading competency for the purpose of id e n tify in g ap p ro p riate reading lev els were explored and questioned in the lite r a tu r e. Standardized t e s t scores and in d iv id u al inform al

34 21 reading inventory ev alu atio n s were compared to determ ine the stre n g th s o f th e ir re la tio n s h ip s. Standardized te s t scores were rep o rted g en erally u n re lia b le fo r determ ining in s tru c tio n a l le v e ls, p a r tic u la r ly w ith poor re ad ers. The ev alu atio n of performance on inform al reading in v en to ries for purposes of p u p il placement in in s tru c tio n a l m a te ria ls was widely accepted in p ra c tic e. Confidence in the use of the inform al reading inventory was expressed by Strang (1969:192): The in d iv id u al reading inventory combines the diagnostic values of o ra l reading and o b s e rv a tio n... The inform al reading inventory is s p e c ific a lly u sefu l in the a p p ra isa l of p ro ficien cy in b asic vocabulary, word rec o g n itio n, and comprehension of paragraphs of d if f e r e n t le v e ls of d i f f i c u l t y. Every reading teach er should be prepared to use i t. The e ffe c tiv e n e ss o f the Standard Reading Inventory and the Botel Reading Inventory fo r id e n tify in g re a d a b ility le v els a t which a c h ild should be in s tru c te d was v a lid a te d in sev eral stu d ie s. No such stu d ies involving ed u catio n ally disadvantaged elem entary p upils were id e n tifie d.

35 Chapter 3 PROCEDURE BACKGROUND Bains Elementary School, located four m iles from St. F ra n c is v ille, L ouisiana, (1972 po p u latio n 1,806), in ru r a l West F elician a P arish, was the s e ttin g fo r th is research study. The school, encompassing grades one through s ix, had a enrollm ent of 882 p upils o f which 185 or 21 percent were w hite and 697 o r 79 percent were black. The attendance d i s t r i c t fo r Bains Elementary School included the e n tire area of West F e lic ia n a P arish (1972 population 11,527) w ith the exception of the northw est corner which was zoned fo r another school. S t a t i s t i c s compiled by lo c a l school a u th o ritie s in 1973 showed th a t percent of c h ild ren a tte n d in g Bains Elementary School were from fam ilies of low income. The Bains Elementary School was d esig nated as a T itle I school. The to ta l per p u p il expenditure in 1973 averaged $1,000. T itle I funds had been u tiliz e d to equip and mainta i n, on a re g u la r b a s is, two E ducational Development L aboratories (EDL) reading labs and to employ the serv ices of a reading co n su ltan t who worked d ir e c tly w ith classroom teach ers and p u p ils. I t was noted th a t standardized te s tin g combined w ith inform al te s tin g in the area of reading had been a re g u la r p a rt o f the in s tru c tio n a l program a t Bains Elementary School for the past th ree school y ears. In , the reading co n su ltan t adm inistered inform al reading in v en to ries to determ ine in s tru c tio n a l le v els in grades one 22