Causes of High and Low Reading Achievement

This book describes all of the important factors that cause some students to have low reading achievement and others to have high reading achievement. It concentrates on the main factors that influence how much a student gains in reading achievement during a year of school, or a calendar year. An attempt is made to answer the following questions: what can educators do to increase reading achievement, and what is beyond their influence? The author is directly concerned with achievement associated with normal or typical reading. The focus of the book is on things teachers can do during an entire school year that are likely to improve the reading level and reading rate of students, which in turn, will increase their reading achievement. This effort to specify the most important causes of high and low reading achievement represents an integration of two disciplines of scientific psychology--experimental psychology and psychometrics. A glossary at the end of the book contains definitions of terms and concepts. Helpful appendices explain rauding theory, the three laws of rauding theory, and the equations that can be used to predict the accuracy of reading comprehension, provide conversions among units of rauding rate, and list the numbered equations presented in the book.

"...this book would probably be most appealing and useful to educational theorists and researchers who are more interested in improving reading achievement than in studying reading as a process in itself."—Contemporary Psychology"Well grounded in research and shows a broad view of the vast literature on reading. Carver makes arguments that are well connected to the field while delivering a distinctive and sometimes novel expression of these arguments. He presents a thorough treatment of his theory of reading achievement....delineating rate and accuracy concepts and linking thinking rate to reading rate."—Charles A. PerfettiUniversity of Pittsburgh