An Exploratory Attempt to Measure Certain Comprehension Skills Necessary for the Critical Reading of Two, Topic-Related Expository Selections

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the results of a researcher-constructed, critical reading assessment administered to 224 college students (133 first-year students and 91 third-year students) enrolled in a three-year degree program. Subjects were tested on two, longer, topic-related, expository selections. Statistical analysis indicated that total performance score and type of conclusion reached about the selections read were significantly related to the ability to recognize overgeneralizations and contrasting views. Analysis also indicated that those subjects (a) with the higher academic averages, (b) who were humanities majors, (c) had a New York State regents diploma, and/or were college seniors scored highest on this assessment. Finally, Gutman scaling supported the difficulty ranking for the opinion/interpretation items. It did not support the rankings for the literal comprehension and contrast items.