Is Reading Rate Constant or Flexible

Bibliographic Data

ID10718129
AuthorsRonald P Carver (corresponding author)
Year1983
Volume18
Issue2
Pages190
Publication date1983-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueReading Research Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-0553 • E-ISSN: 1936-2722
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/747517
OpenAlexW2066847648
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited7

READING RATE under a variety of conditions was investigated. Passages varying in difficulty level from grades 1-16 were read by 435 students varying from Grade 4 through college. For each reading ability level, reading rate was found to be approximately constant when estimates of rate were corrected for differences in word length. For example, college level students typically read the passages at each of a wide range of difficulty levels at an average rate of about 300 standard length words per minute, and they typically changed their rate about 14% from one difficulty level to another. Under one condition, an extra space was added between the words. Passages with these additional spaces were read by most ability levels at the same rate as normally spaced passages. Most readers, in typical or normal reading situations, appear to be able to move their eyes in a way that adjusts to differences in the spacing between words but does not adjust to differences in the information carried by the words. These data support the theory that individuals typically read at a constant rate rather than adjusting their rate to the difficulty level of the material

Constant (computer programming) · Linguistics · Mathematics education · Programming language · Reading (process) · Reading comprehension · Reading rate · Computer Science · Educational Methods and Media Use · Philosophy · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development · Text Readability and Simplification

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