The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1922-11-13
Reading for Cash
Amount of Extra Work Accomplished in One Year
Would Operate Ward School One Year Free.

Everybody reads, at least letters
and newspapers
Every child in school studies reading
for seven or eight years.
How Well do you read? How well can
you read?
Fairly well, pretty good, poorly, or
excellent.
That is not the answer-these terms
are too general and may mean anything
or nothing. certainly we viii not all
agree as to what is fair reading.
That kind Of an answer used 10 go,
but not now, in the Ardmore city
schools. Ask teacher today how welt
that red headed boy in the front row
reads and she will turn to u little filing
cabinet, draw out a card and say. We'll
his reading last month was 7 score
of 81, his reading age is l52 months,
reading quotient 100, he is in the 9Th
grade and is 152 months Old; he is a
perfectly normal reader for his grade
his age and his intelligence. There IS
nothing the matter with his reading
because he has red hair"
Great Scots! What is al this? II
sounds like market quotations Of some
unknown commodity.
And yet these are the facts, not
fancies or fables, and this is the Ian
guage Of the modern school marm.
Things Have Changed
Things have changed in school.
l.,sttr ~
ing to discover that the reading was
not up TO standard, as measured by n
Standardized Reading Test. II worried
the school people. for they thought
they were doing Just fine. Now reading
is very important in school. Almost
everything in education depends on
reading. Many children Were failing in
arithmetic. not because they did not
have the ability to figure, but because
| they could not understand the problems
and instructions in the books. Likewise
/ in history and grammar and geography.
| And so the school authorities decided
TO remedy the condition in reading, to
improve the ability of each child 10
read and understand what he read.
How was 1t done?
Judge by Work
II l. now possible for each teacher
10 measure each pupil and find out
Just exactly how well or how much
each child ought 60 be able TO read.
This was found in an unbiased, objec'
tive manner 10y means OF measures
Vhlch measure reading something like
a grocer weighs 100 pounds 90; sugar
Each teacher was furnished a printed,
scientifically constructed reading test
Each child was given a copy and was
lluo,sd thirty minutes TO read as much
rs he could and answer as many ques'
l. ons as he could Each paper was then
.cored by u printed key 80 that anyone
l.now!ng how to score the paper would
lr.t exactly the same grade regardless
ot what he thought Of the child's abil
luy 10 read In this manner a child ir
one building answering correctly .,
items would get exactly The same grade
las child To another building answer
iug the same number This testing wa'
repeated each month, The score On th'
test was converted 10y a table into wha
iNW tNANUff tNNlN lN'hNiIh sNNANes
Keep Record
Each teacher kept track Of thrs
reading months FOR each child and thel
chartcd q ON card so that each chill
d could see his progress. Each rrIncipa
could see the progress OF any room II
. lhs building and IN the uff.c, OF th
director ut research was a large char
showing the progress OF each room. eac
building. each grade and the Who'll
school. This chart looked like "a pictur
uf many thermometers. with the ten
} lrpraturc trcadnE ability rising ever
I month In other words, everybody froi
the child up had definite gcil and
. definite goal Is much easier reachc
THAN an indefinite goal that nobod
!. knows
. n "a series of tests. made recently
b. t was shown that grade 3 is year
IS and months above required. is
n months above required. is year an
;. months above required. is \ month
. above required. is months above r
], luujred: is 5 months above required.
b. Money Value
nI A. remarkable as this progress is
d Hooks larger when We look at the none
value OF this reading-tor reading b,
money value. Teachers have to be pa
to teach.
Cost of reading is about s. per chi
Der year. or &c a month. counting u
n school year y months long
" Here Is a problem in arithmetic
reading costs &c a month a child an
h On children learn 10 months more rea
T. ng than is required. what is the Walt
f, a. the additional reading learneda No
most any third grade hoy win wor
!. hls problem This 77c a month for
months Is t7To and FOR ~ children
4. t55oe which is the value u the add
l,israi amount of reading learned No