Designs and Organizational Structure of Junior and Community College Reading Programs Across the Nation.

A 34-item questionnaire was sent to 823 junior and mmunity colleges across the nation to collect information about Leir reading programs. Of the 378 responses, 288 were used in this .udy. The survey revealed a high degree of similarity within the !ading courses at these colleges as illustrated in the following. ) Students are admitted through three main criteria: referral, mdent selection, and results of entrance exams. (2) Most of the tculty members hold graduate degrees in English or are reading ,ecialists, and 99 percent of them accept some diagnostic testing ?sponsibilities. (3) Standardized reading tests are given to itering students and at the end of the course; the most frequently 3ed test is the Nelson Denny Reading Test. (() Fifty percent of the :hools reported maximum cless size to be 20 to 25 students, and the )tal instructional hours range from 2 to 5 hro"r eek. (5) The )urse content is primarily the basic readinc ometimes speed