Presents responses of 5 scholar/educators to the question of how literacy will be defined. Discusses societal changes that will impact the definition of literacy; judging credibility of sources; the claim that definitions will become more standardized; a historical view of literacy that includes the complexities of technology; and defining…

Presents a theory which describes the process of reading comprehension under typical reading conditions. Typical reading comprehension is considered to be a special case of a more general language comprehension phenomenon called "rauding."

Responds to preceding criticisms (see same issue) of Hill and of Pearson and Kamil to presentation of Carver's theory of reading comprehension, also published in this issue of "Reading Research Quarterly." (JM)

Investigates the reading rate and comprehension of a total of 16 individuals who represented four superior reading groups: speed readers, professionals, college students, and people who scored exceptionally high on tests. (HOD)

Concludes that individuals can read unfamiliar but relatively easy material at high rates with high accuracy of comprehension, but they do not provide strong support for rauding theory. (FL)

High school students who read poorly were given reading training using programed prose (a conversion of regular reading material to training material). Each student was given 50 to 70 hours of individualized instruction on a PLATO terminal. Measures of gain in reading ability varied according to the test given. (MKM)

Reports data that indicate there is an optimal rate of reading and listening to prose and that support interrelationships among accuracy, rate, and efficiency of comprehension. (AEA)

Results of a study of the reading rate of 435 students varying from grade four through college support the theory that individuals typically read at a constant rate rather than adjusting their rate to the difficulty level of the material. (AEA)

Examines previous studies of the effects of prediction activities, prior knowledge, and text type upon reading comprehension. Finds the three elements unimportant to ordinary reading. Observes that many schema theory concepts arose from analysis of difficult reading. Suggests that the schema theory variables may arise only in atypical reading…

Investigates whether reading ability improves when students read relatively easy library books. Compares reading achievement of students in grades three, four, and five who read books at either above or below their reading level. Finds no evidence that either group gained in reading ability. Notes that later empirical evidence indicated no actual…

Investigates factors measured by several tests of reading comprehension. Four different factor analyses consistently resulted in Efficiency Level factor when there was one factor; when there were two factors, one was interpreted as Accuracy Level and the other as Rate Level factor. Finds that the most important factor involved is Efficiency Level,…