How Well Do Prospective English/Secondary Teachers Read?

As part of a study of the basic skills of secondary level education students, a study of prospective teachers' reading ability was conducted at Pennsylvania State University. Subjects were 47 students in secondary education. Two separate assessments of reading were used, the Nelson-Denny Reading Test and a criterion referenced test of reading based on an article in a professional journal. Results indicated that scores on the two tests correlated significantly only between the vocabulary section of each test and the total scores. Results also indicated that on the Nelson-Denny test the students' average score was close to the sixtieth percentile and on the criterion referenced test the students' average score was just over 82% correct. While female students performed better on the Nelson-Denny test, no differences by sex were found on the criterion-referenced test. When the results were examined according to students' subject area, prospective science teachers scored highest, followed closely by English majors. Math majors scored lowest on the reading tests. (MKM)