This study is a descriptive analysis of community college reading programs since the passage of the College Level Academic Skills Test (C.L.A.S.T.), mandated by the Florida legislature in 1979. Also, it is conceptually designed to ascertain the scope and effectiveness of mastery learning in those reading programs. The population was the forty-two campuses of the twenty-eight Florida community colleges. / Four research questions were examined: (1) What are the past and present practices of the reading programs? (2) What is the scope and productivity of mastery learning in the reading programs? (3) What modifications has the implementation of C.L.A.S.T. caused in the reading programs? and (4) What are the probable courses in the future for the reading programs? / Data for the study were collected by means of a 68-item questionnaire mailed in September of 1983 to reading coordinators of each of the forty-two campuses. The response was 100 percent and indicated that every campus, except one, had a viable reading program. / The data, analyzed by the proof-by-inspection method, led to the following conclusions: (1) there is a great commonality of effort and perception of success with current practices; (2) mastery learning has been fairly successful for the 21 (50%) campuses that use it; (3) at the present time, some changes because of C.L.A.S.T. have been implemented, but it may be too soon for the full effects to be manifested; and (4) most respondents are optimistic about the future of their reading programs. / General recommendations include distribution of remedial/developmental philosophies, a learning assistance center using peer tutors, mandatory placement, credit for remedial courses, a common evaluation system, more than one semester for completion, and greater utilization of Computer Assisted Instruction. Since the results of mastery learning appear inconclusive, it is recommended that further mastery learning studies be conducted. Further changes as a reaction to C.L.A.S.T. should be delayed until all the ramifications of C.L.A.S.T. have been fully realized, with further study recommended. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-09, Section: A, page: 2819. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75375 |
| Contributors | CUPPETT, THOMAS HENRY., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 255 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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