As part of the investigation into the reading comprehension abilities of the under-prepared student, JoAnn Garraway and Pat McCormick met with Patti Smith , instructor for the Basic Reading and Reading Improvement courses at JCJC. Ms. Smith shared some very helpful insights gained from her experiences with these classes coupled with her educational research in the field. The following points highlight and summarize comments made and discussed during the meeting.
- Students need the continual experience and practice of reading complex materials to gain knowledge and information. This should be a primary priority in designing any course curriculum. The requirement of reading for comprehension is greatly reduced and even missing altogether for many students. College students should be expected to read at upper levels of literacy. The lowest level for reading is the literal level of comprehension, and it is at this level that we unfortunately find far too many students.
- Set entry requirement standards for basic levels of performance and stick with them! Benchmarks need to be established. Students frequently are unwilling to voluntarily sign up for reading courses because the courses 1) do not count toward graduation requirements and 2) carry a perceived stigma. Following assessment, course requirements to help achieve desired and acceptable results must be clearly defined.
- Improve course perception by educating faculty and students. There is a vast difference between ability to read words and ability to read with comprehension. The value of improved reading comprehension cannot be understated and is essential to student success. Consideration may be given for an additional future course in “Advanced Reading Comprehension”, open to all students. Perhaps a change in the course title would help alleviate the course stigma.
- Start tracking student success rates. Record assessment scores, course enrollment and completion, with follow-ups for academic course work until graduation or program completion.
- Redesign the curriculum as a two-course series, with students feeding into the courses as dictated by assessment scores. Successful completion of coursework should be required before entry into English Comp I.
