An analysis of the 1991 Florida CLAST essay and reading subtest data reveals that only three Florida community colleges: Lake-Sumter Community College, St. Johns River Community College, and Indian River Community College reported the highest passing rates on both the essay and reading subtests. The other twenty-five community colleges in the state reported large differences in student passing rates between the essay subtest and the reading subtest. / The researcher also examined four other community colleges within the state: Chipola Junior College, Gulf Coast Community College, North Florida Junior College, and Lake City Community College. These four institutions reported large differences in the student passing rates between the CLAST essay subtest and the reading subtest. / The purpose of this study is to ascertain possible factors which contribute to the higher passing rates reported by L-SCC, SJRCC, and IRCC. The six factors are curricula required for A.A. degree-seeking students, reading materials, exiting CLAST policies, student entrance scores, and teaching strategies and teaching styles of the English departments. / An analysis of this data reveals that two factors are related to the superior CLAST performance of the students at L-SCC, IRCC, and SJRCC--Category 2 (curricula) and Category 3 (exiting CLAST policies). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: A, page: 2695. / Major Professor: John Simmons. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of type of testing method and reading proficiency level on readers' comprehension scores. A secondary purpose was to examine any interaction between these two factors. In addition, a question of interest was whether Bernhardt's Second Language Reading Model could help explain the comprehension processes of these group of readers. / The subjects were 162 Malaysian ESL students from three levels of reading proficiency courses at the National University of Malaysia. The subjects read a 306-word passage about the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Subjects then performed either a multiple-choice task or an immediate written recall task. Comprehension was measured by the scores obtained on the two tasks. Both tasks were measured on the same scale based upon number of weighted idea units or propositions. / A 3 x 2 Factorial ANOVA was applied to examine the effects of testing method and reading proficiency level on subjects' comprehension scores. The results of the ANOVA reveal that there is a main effect for type of testing method. However, there seems to be no significant effect of proficiency level on the comprehension scores. The results also indicate an absence of interaction between the two factors. The qualitative analysis of 81 recall protocols provides evidence in support of Bernhardt's Second Language Reading Model. / The study calls for the use of multiple-assessment techniques in ESL reading comprehension. The immediate written recall task is recommended as a valid assessment instrument for classroom application. Further pedagogical and testing implications are discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2496. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The primary goal of the research was to investigate the capability of ESL readers to cope with the interference to reading comprehension in "bottom-up" processing caused by language-based deficiencies through the application of more "top-down" processing. In particular, the study investigated the facilitating effect of thematic context on the completion of a series of cloze tasks by ESL readers. / The 128 subjects in this study were primarily students in intensive English programs at Florida universities. A battery of three cloze tests on the same topic and a battery of three tests on three unrelated topics constituted the instruments in the study. The passages from which the clozes were constructed had been matched for readability, and the clozes had met statistical criteria to be considered equivalent forms. / A one-way analysis of covariance, with TOEFL scores serving as covariate, was applied to determine if the group taking the related-topic clozes performed any differently from the group taking the unrelated-topic clozes. Further observation of the data was carried out by plotting the results of subgroups determined a posteriori. / The correlations between the TOEFL and the cloze battery scores were above.88 for both groups, and no significant difference was found between the groups in the ANCOVA. Similarly, the plotting of scattergrams and graphing of regression lines for subgroups (determined by TOEFL) did not suggest that subjects at different proficiency levels differed in their application of thematic context in the completion of the cloze tasks, although thematic context did appear to interfere with the performance of less proficient subjects. Although the study did not support the notion of compensatory strategies, it was proposed that the cloze may limit the ability to apply top-down processing. The findings were related to the use of thematic materials in ESL curricula and to proficiency testing for admission decisions. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-10, Section: A, page: 2952. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a significant relationship between selected cognitive learning styles and degrees of reading efficiency at the community college level. / In order to investigate this relationship, research was conducted at Florida Community College at Jacksonville with 208 freshmen on four campuses. Reading skills were measured by the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT), Form E. Cognitive learning styles identified were field-dependency/independency as measured by Witkin's Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The concept of cognitive articulation identified by the GEFT as it may relate to the cognitive restructuring processes involved in reading was used as the framework of this study. / The results demonstrated that 60.5% of field-dependent students were deficient readers (fell below the 43rd percentile). Thirty-two percent of field-independent students were deficient readers. The factors which determined significant differences in mean reading scores were: (1) the degree of field-dependency, and (2) the level of cognitive abstraction involved in the reading test questions. / Quartile one students (strongly field-dependent readers) scored significantly lower than did readers among the other three quartiles when comparing NDRT and GEFT scores. Data analyses also indicated that greater differences were found in higher-order interpretive reading skills involving abstract reasoning than were found in lower-order literal skills of detail and fact among quartile one readers. When comparing mean scores involving questions of lower-order cognition, significant differences were found only at the extreme ends of the field-dependent/independent continuum between quartiles one and four. / Demographic data characterized community college students as predominantly field-dependent. Females were more predominantly field-dependent than were males. Black Americans were significantly more represented in the field-dependent sample than were Caucasian Americans. No conclusions could be drawn concerning other cultural groups due to insufficient representation. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-08, Section: A, page: 2080. / Major Professor: Louis Walter Bender. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of a one-to-one interactive read-aloud intervention on the emergent storybook reading and verbal abilities of low socioeconomic status kindergarten children. Twenty-two reader-facilitators were trained in interactive read-aloud. Four children were randomly selected from the lowest third of the SES groups in each of twenty-two kindergarten classes. The children were pretested and posttested using the Verbal Scale of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities and the Sulzby Observation of Emergent Storybook Reading. The children in the intervention group were read to on an individual basis over a period of ten weeks. All read-aloud sessions were audiotaped for further analysis. A 2 x 2 x 2 design using ANCOVA analysis was conducted using the appropriate pretests as covariates. A significant effect was found for both emergent storybook readings and verbal abilities (p $<$.01) Analysis of the audiotapes showed no significant increase in either the number of questions answered or asked by the children during the read-aloud sessions over the period of intervention although the number of words spoken by the children increased significantly. This was attributed to their active involvement with the stories being read; reading along, repeating familiar refrains and lines. An affective rating scale completed by the reader-facilitators after each read-aloud session also showed an increase in the children's enjoyment of the read-aloud sessions and the stories over the period of intervention. Based on these findings, it was concluded that one-to-one interactive read-aloud has a positive causal relationship on a kindergarten child's improved emergent storybook reading and increased verbal abilities / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-10, Section: A, page: 3196. / Major Professor: Charles Hall Wolfgang. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

This study examined the effects of simplification of a short story on the readability and comprehensibility of the text for EFL readers at varying L2 proficiencies, and on these readers' response to the story. The research was conducted with the assumption that simplification procedures which reduce semantic, syntactic, and content features of texts do not adequately reflect current reading theory and may render texts more "readable" but not necessarily more comprehensible or engaging. Familiarity with story discourse may provide readers schematic resources to overcome linguistic complexity. / The subjects were 256 French and Yugoslav university students. TOEFL scores, ranging from 320 to 630, served as the covariate in the statistical analyses of the comprehension measures. / Readability of the two text versions was addressed through application of readability formulas and analyses of propositional content, cohesion, and stylistic features. Comprehension was measured by means of cloze passages scored with exact and acceptable word criteria, a multiple-choice test, and written recall protocols eliciting variables of percentage of propositions recalled and total words written. Response was measured by readers' conclusions for the story, and their justifications of their conclusions. / Descriptive statistics for the readability measures show the original version has higher difficulty ratings, greater propositional density and number of metadiscourse features, and greater cohesion, particularly lexical cohesion. Inferential statistics for the comprehension measures uniformly demonstrate that the original version was more difficult to understand. Summary statistics for the response variables indicate, however, that readers of the original version wrote longer story conclusions, included more reader-based inferences in their justifications, and showed more awareness of story genre and stylistic characteristics. / Procedural and instrumental limitations are discussed, with instructional implications for the use of cohesive, coherent, simplified materials in L2 contexts where reading for information (as in ESP), or independent reading for pleasure (as with SSR), are the goals. The importance of the role of the teacher in preparing readers to interact with unsimplified texts is stressed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-04, Section: A, page: 1144. / Major Professor: Frederick L. Jenks. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

Twenty contemporary young adult romance series novels were examined in order to determine attitudes, values, and literary quality. This examination was done by content analysis. All 20 novels were selected from Waldenbooks and B. Dalton Bookseller's Bestsellers lists. The number of positive and negative attitudes toward Family, Peers, School, Love and Sex, Religion, Authority Figures, Neighborhood, Free-time Recreation, and Part-time Work was determined. The findings revealed that there were more positive attitudes (181) than there were negative attitudes (128). Free-time Recreation had more positive attitudes (68) than any other category, and Family and Peers had more negative attitudes (42). / Literary quality was determined by using a modification of Charlotte Huck's (1987) criteria for judging young adult literature. The main topics of the criteria were: plot, setting, theme, characterization, style, point of view, and format. The books were considered good literary choices if the answer was yes to 80% of the criteria. The findings revealed that 17 of the 20 novels studied met the criteria above 80%, and three books met 77.8% of the criteria. The novels rated high as literary choices, according to the criteria. It was concluded that romance series novels, with teachers guiding the reading of students, may be a part of the English curriculum. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-01, Section: A, page: 0068. / Major Professor: John S. Simmons. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

The psychometric characteristics of a phonological processing battery were examined using kindergarten (n = 95), first grade (n = 49), and second grade (n = 89) subjects enrolled in public schools. The phonological battery consisted of subtests measuring phonological awareness, phonological access, and phonological coding. The battery also included reading achievement, general intellectual ability, and letter naming/sound knowledge subtests as criterion measures. / The reliability of the battery was assessed by examining both internal consistency estimates and test-retest reliability across all three grades. The internal consistency coefficients for the battery across all ages were satisfactory, with coefficients in the general range of.72 to.95. Test-retest reliabilities over an average interval of 12 weeks were considerably lower (range of.59 to.79 across subtests and grades). / Evidence for the construct validity of the battery included significant correlations among measures of phonological awareness, phonological coding, and phonological access across all three grade levels. For the kindergarten and second grade samples, phonological awareness subtests were significantly correlated, even when the effects of IQ were removed from the matrices. Although the correlations between subtests measuring the three types of phonological processing abilities were minimally significant, factor analytic data supported the existence of separate factors, each of which included subtests representing the three types of phonological processing abilities. / Finally, concurrent validity evidence supported a moderate relationship between the phonological processing measures and reading achievement. Multiple regression analyses identified several subtests which accounted for significant proportions of the variance in reading achievement. Based on the reliability and validity data obtained using this data, a condensed battery was recommended for future research on phonological processing and reading. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-02, Section: B, page: 1015. / Major Professor: Joseph K. Torgesen. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

The present study evaluated the instructional effectiveness of two methods for providing computer-assisted repeated reading training to reading disabled students. One repeated reading method, the Processing Power program (ICT, Inc., 1983), was designed to help disabled readers compensate for proposed dysfunctions in visual processes, while providing repeated reading practice (Fisher, 1979, 1980, 1981). Consequently, disabled readers in the processing power condition received repeated reading instruction that included isolated word practice to improve the efficiency of word decoding skills, widely spaced words to reduce the amount of competing textual information, and increasingly complex visual formats to reacquaint the reader with the left-to-right sequencing of text. The second method of repeated reading practice, the Reading Shell program (IDDEA Inc. and SIMPAC Educational products, Inc., 1986), provided disabled readers in the repetitive reading condition with standard text formats during all passage readings. / Forty seven reading disabled students, matched in groups of three based on intelligence, age, and word recognition ability were randomly assigned to either the processing power condition, repetitive reading condition, or no-treatment control group. Contrasts between the oral reading fluency rates of subjects in the two repeated reading programs indicates that disabled readers are able to process standard text without the visual interference hypothesized by Fisher's (1979, 1980, 1981) Complementary theory of reading. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-07, Section: A, page: 1746. / Major Professor: Joseph K. Torgesen. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to observe, identify, and describe literary experiences and activities provided for students during the elementary school years. This study sought to describe literary information presented to students, along with how and why teachers use children's literature in the overall elementary curriculum. / In order to fulfill these purposes the researcher became an observer within the context of one elementary school for a period of five months. During this time the researcher observed extensively in all grade levels and the school library media center. The researcher also utilized a variety of other qualitative research strategies, such as interviewing, examining instructional materials, and inspecting students' work related to literature. Triangulation involved follow-up interviews with teachers, school administrators, and district supervisors, examination of lesson plans, and repeated classroom and library media observations in order to confirm findings. Two broad perspectives were used to present the overall use of literature at one elementary school. The perspectives were: children's literature as a separate subject area and children's literature as an instructional tool. / Based on the qualitative data gathered the following conclusions were derived: (1) no consistent, well-coordinated curriculum in children's literature was currently in use, (2) no system for ensuring coverage of certain literary concepts across grade levels and for preventing excessive rereading of stories was provided, (3) an implicit curriculum in children's literature existed in which teachers drew upon personal craft knowledge and creativity to bring literature into their classrooms, and this curriculum varied greatly from teacher to teacher and grade to grade, (4) most students preferred having literature read aloud to them, rather than reading independently, (5) school library media specialist played a supplemental role to the implicit literature curriculum, but in this school the resident literature experts who served as resources to other teachers were two classroom teachers, (6) reading aloud to students was the most routinely implemented literature activity, with other literature activities typically occurring spasmodically, (7) there was no consistent pattern for purchasing literature for individual classrooms, (8) teachers typically used whole class grouping for reading instruction, rather than providing varied grouping patterns. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-10, Section: A, page: 3525. / Major Professor: Carol Lynch-Brown. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.