Optimal Rate of Reading Prose.

CONVENTIONAL THEORY dealing with the cognitive processes involved in reading prose has tended to deny or disregard the existence of an optimal rate. Rauding theory is based upon the existence of an optimal rate during both reading and listening. This research investigated whether individuals have a certain optimal rate where reading and listening efficiency is a maximum. Eighty 100word passages at four different levels of material difficulty were administered under reading and listening conditions to 102 college students. Reading rate was manipulated using motion picture film. Listening rate was manipulated using time-compressed speech. Accuracy of comprehension was estimated using (a) jugments and (b) two different types of objective tests. All three of these measures of comprehension yielded comparable results. For material that varied in difficulty from Grade 5 through Grade 14, there was a constant optimal rate of reading where efficiency was a maximumaround 300 words per minute. The optimal rate was almost exactly the same in listening as it was in reading in every comparison. It was concluded that: (a) there is an optimal rate of reading prose and listening to prose, and (b) these data provide support for the interrelationships among accuracy, rate, and efficiency of comprehension advanced in rauding theory.