This led me to think about ways to motivate them to read more outside of class. I decided to investigate two related areas. My primary research question was whether the students in my ABE program would experience greater gains in reading fluency and comprehension after reading for 15 minutes or more a day than they had without doing this reading. The second focus was the influence of personal incentives on student motivation to do the reading outside of class. Initial interviews with each student determined what, if any, materials they read at home and how much time they spent reading outside of class.
Some students read the local weekly newspaper and a few tried to read the Bible.
Next, I gave a battery of tests to measure reading ability and fluency before the project. The results of these tests showed the students to be reading at a wide range of ability levels. Scores ranged from below first grade level to 6.7, with the average score 5.6. I then gave the students weekly reading logs. They filled in their logs with the titles of the material they read outside of class, the amount of time they spent reading, and what they thought about the material.