Speed Readers Set Stride, Find Comprehension High Editor’s Note: This is the last in a series of articles summarizing changes made in the teaching of reading since a year ago, when The Salt Lake Tribune found widespread discontent with the effectiveness of the reading program. By Bob Carrington Tribune Staff Writer Several students at Jordan High School who six weeks ago thought they’d never read faster than 100 or 200 words a minute today can’t slow their reading to 1,000 words a minute without difficulty. Most of the 21 students in an experimental speed reading class conducted by girl’s counselor Mrs. M. Douglas Wood effortlessly read 2,500 and 3,000 words a minutes in average magazine articles and books. Textbooks Tougher They don’t do as well on textbook material, but their speed on a history assignment for example is a passable 800 to 1,500 words per minute. Can they remember what they read? Yes, more than when they read slowly. Tests indicate that the average student’s comprehension is improved about 25 per cent. In a demonstration, class members’ speed ranged from 1,000 to 3,000 words per minute with 90 to 100 per cent comprehension. “They should be doing better,” Mrs. Wood apoliogized, “but we’ve missed about two weeks.” Average Students Class members don’t take any special vitamins or get more sleep than other students, they’re just average, intelligent boys and girls from the sophomore, junior and senior classes. Most of them had slow reading habits and the ability to do better. They were recommended for the special class by their instructors and were tested by the school’s pupil personnel department to determine ability. Mrs. Wood said the problem is selling students on the idea that they can read rapidly. “They’re afraid they’ll miss some of the facts so we don’t worry about comprehension at the beginning - just reading. Can Remember “As their speed improves they discover that they can remember what they’re read.” Students testify that the system works. Several of them said they can notice a definite improvement in their school work with just six weeks speed reading study and practice. Ardine Toone, 17-year-old senior, recalled that she was able to read about 105 words a minute with about 20 per cent comprehension when she started the course last semester. Five months later she is reading easily at 1,000 words a minute (a drop of 100 from classroom level) with 90 to 100 per cent comprehension. “I read more books and spend less time on studies,” she said. “And I think my grade average has gone from a B plus to an A minus.” Mrs. Wood has developed six See Page 30, Column 1