Toward a theory

01 reading comprehension and rauding*

RONALD P. CARVER
University 01 Missouri 01 Komas City
PRESENTS A THEORY which describes the process of reading compre-
hension under typical reading conditions. The theory purports that
the rate of reading is constant and that the accuracy of compre
hension during reading can be predicted from a measure of material
difficulty and individual ability. The per cent of a reading passage
that will be comprehended may be predicted given a knowledge of 2
characteristics of the reader, 2 characteristics of the passage being
read, and the amount of time spent reading the passage. Techniques
for measuring all the important variables in the theory are described,
and empirical data supporting parts of the theory are presented.
Typical reading comprehension is considered to be a special case of a
more generallanguage comprehension phenomenon called rauding.
En vue d'une theorie sur la comprehension ala lecture et sur
le "rauding"
L' ARTICLE OFFRE UNE THfoRIE decrivant le processus de compre-
hension a la lecture dans des conditions de lecture typiques. Cette
theorie montre que la rapidite de lecture est constante et que \'exacti
tude de la comprehension pendant cette lecture peut etre prevue si
on tient compte du degre de difficulte de \a matiere et de la capacite
individuelle. On peut prevoir le pourcentage du texte que sera
compris en basant sur la connaissance de 2 caracteristiques du
lecteur, de 2 caracteristiques du texte a lire et du temps passe a \a
lecture de ce texte. Les techniques employees pour mesurer toutes
les variables importantes dans la theorie sont decrites, ainsi que les
-The preparation of this article was supported in part by the V.S. Offiee of Naval Research,
Personnel and Training Research Programs, Contract No. OOI4-72-C-0240, and in part by the
National Institute of Education, Grant No. NE-G..()()...3-OO43. Over aperiod of several years, this
article was substanliaHy revised mony times. The following individuals contributed eritical
commentary which influenccd these revisions in a substantive way: Gcorge Klare, Gcorge
McConlde, John Sherk. John Tarpinian, and Mark Condon. Although the author of this paper has
never collaborated with John B. Carroll, it is evident that several of the ideas contained in this
theoretical presentation were influenced by his ideas and his discussions of the work of other
researehers. 'Rather than listing his extensive writings, one of his review worb will be provided as a
general background referenee: Carroll, John B. Learning from verbal discourse in educational
media: A review of the literature. Educational T"esting Service. Final Report for Project No. 7-1069.
Contraet No. for the V. S. Office of Education. Decembcr. '1970. The more
controversial or questionable ideas contained herein are likely to be solely attributable to the author
and not intluenced by Carroll or other researchers.
9 A theory ofreading comprehension andrauding CARVER
donnees empiriques venant a I'appui de certaines parties de la
theorie. La comprehension ala lecture typique est consideree comme
un cas particulier d'un phenomene plus general de comprehension
du langage appele "rauding".
Hacia una leorla sobre la comprension de
leclura y " rauding"
SE PRESENTA UNA TEORiA QUE DESCRIBE el proceso de comprensi6n
de lectura bajo condiciones tipicas. La teoda implica que la velo-
cidad de lectura es constante y que el grade de dificultad de com-
prensi6n durante la lectura puede predecirse dei grado de dificultad
deI texte y de la habilidad individual. EI porcentaje dei material que
sera comprendido puede pronosticarse si se conocen 2 caracteristicas
dellector, 2 caracteristicas dei tfOZO de lectura y el tiempo que
demora Ia lectura dei mismo. Se describen las tecnieas usadas para
medir las variables preponderantes de la teoda y partes de esta se
respaldan con datos empiricos. Se considera que la comprensi6n
t(piea de lectura es un caso especial deI fen6meno general de com-
prensi6n dei lenguaje lIamado "rauding".
w
READINO RESEARCH QUARTERLye Number J, J977-J978 XlIII I
The theory of reading comprehension to be presented applies
to the most typical reading situation. One of the ultimate goals of this
theory is to be able to randomly select an individual from the population
of individuals in the United States and randomly select a passage from
the population of written materials in the United States, and then to be
able to accurately predict how much of the passage the individual will
comprehend, or understand, when the passage is read. This prediction
would be made froma knowledge ofcertain characteristics ofthe individ-
ual, the passage, and the time allowed for reading. It is assumed that our
knowledge of reading comprehension is less than adequate until we can
achieve the preceding goal. Given this goal, the theory will concentrate
upon variables that probably can be measured, that is, estimated, using
existing measurement techniques or easily conceived measurement tech-
niques. The intent is to present the theory with enough precision to allow
it to be proven wrong or highly inaccurate.
After the theoretical background has been presented, the
procedures for measuring the most important variables will be outlined.
The initial focus of the theory will be upon predicting the accuracy of
comprehension during reading, that is, how much of a passage an indi-
vidual comprehends upon reading it once. At the end of this article, the
theory will be expanded so as to be able to predict the per cent of a read-
ing passage that has been comprehended, no matter how much time is
allowed for reading the passage.
The theoretical rationale
This section contains the background information and sup-
porting rationale for the theory. Those fundamental aspects ofthe theory
that are not susceptible to empirical refutation will be summarized in the
form of numbered definitions. Those fundamental aspects of the theory
which seem unlikely to require revision as a result of future research will
be summarized in the form of numbered generalizations. Those funda-
mental aspects of the theory that seem to be more vulnerable to revision
as a result of future research will be summarized in the form of numbered
hypotheses.
Communication of thoughts
The primary purpose 01 most reading and auding is to
comprehend thoughts that have been written or spoken. (Generalization
1) Farr (1971) has pointed out that as early as the 1920's reading compre-
hension was usually defined as "thought-getting." More recently, Shank
11 A Iheory ofreading comprehemion andrauding CARVER
(1972) proposed an extensive theory of naturallanguage understanding;
and he states that "... language exists as a medium for expressing
thoughts." (p. 627) Kingston (1961) has stated: "Reading compre-
hension can best be understood as a product of communication that
results from interaction between the reader and writer." (p. 105) It seems
reasonable to consider most reading and auding as involving the com-
munication of thoughts from the writer or speaker to the reader or auder.
Sentences
The sentence is the unitary expression o[a thought. (Generali-
zation 2) The theory of natural language understanding noted earlier
(S,hank, 1972) also uses the sentence as an important unit. The most
important unit in that theory, however, appears to be the "conceptualiza-
tion." That is, concepts are the basic unit of the conceptualization, and
underlying every sentence there is at least I conceptualization. The fo'llow-
ing quotations, spanning aperiod of 60 years, indicate that the choice of
the sentence as the primary unit of thought communication is certainly
not innovative.
Language begins with the sentence, and this is the unit of Janguage
everywhere. A sentence is a unitary expression of a thought. (Huey,
J908, p. 123)
. It is also obvious that words are used to make up sentences, and
that the sentence is the real unit ofthought and thus the essential unit
of reading. (Dolch, 1948, p. 242)
Learning through language is the acquisition of ... knowledge
vicariously-through the experience of ODe who formulates a sen-
tence or discourse. (CarroJl, 1968, p. 9)
Typical situation
In most situations where reading or auding is occurring, most
o[ the thoughts that are being attended to by the reader or auder are
simultaneously being comprehended. (Generalization 3) In the case of
auding, support for this generalization is largely intuitive. It seems
reasonable to assume that most of the conversations between individuals
involve situations where most of the thoughts are being comprehended
by the auder. Otherwise, the responses or replies would not make sense
and the dialogue would probably cease. Another bulk of auding
situations involves television and radio communications. It is assumed
that most individuals are comprehending most of the complete thoughts
represented by the sentences that are emitted on television or radio;
otherwise they would not attend to the stimulus. Of course, with tele-
12
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLy. Number I. 19771978 XIII/ I
ViSion there is also the visual imagery that attracts attention. Dut it
seems reasonable to assume that if the spoken dialogue were to be turned
off on a television set, there would be Httle television viewing because
there would be Httle or no comprehension oe" the thoughts being
presented.
For reading, there is more than intuitive evidence for
Generalization 3. Sharon (1973-1974) conducted a survey of how much
and what American adults read in a day. The data were presented in
terms of how much time, on the average, is spent reading in certain cate-
gories, such as books, newspapers, and magazines. It was found, for
example, that 33 per cent of the adults spent about 47 minutes a day
reading books. The data Sharon presents was analyzed in another way.
By multiplying the per cent oft he adults by the time spent reading, the per
cent of the total amount of reading done by all adults in each of the
various categories was calculated. This analysis revealed that about 80
per cent of all the reading that goes on in a day by adults involves books,
newspapers, magazines, and work-related materials. These data suggest that
almost all reading by adults (about 80 per cent) involves material that
contains sentences or complete thoughts (books, newspapers, etc.) One
of the survey questions indicated that only about 1per cent ofthe sampie
reported having difficulty with any material that they read, and one
interpretation that Sharon gave for this finding was that almost all
individuals who find material hard to understand simply do not bother
reading it. These data and this interpretation seem to support General-
ization 3. The data collected by Sharon suggest that almost all the
thoughts that are being attended to by the reader are simultaneously
being comprehended because 99 per cent ofthe readers do not seem to be
reading anything they have difficulty understanding.
Obviously, there are many occasions where individuals attend
to words but are not comprehending sentences. One may scan the names
in a phone book to find the phone number of a friend, may skim the
words in a research publication to get some indication ofwhat it is about,
or may read a very difficult college textbook but comprehend very few of
the thoughts. Such situations are definitely important, but they do not
appear to occur frequently enough in comparison to all the reading that is
done to be considered typical.
It appears reasonable to contend that most of the time when
individuals are attending to spoken or written words, they are
simultaneously comprehending most of the complete thoughts
represented by the words that make up the sentences.
13 A 'heory o!readingcomprehension andrauding CARVER
Rauding
Rauding is a term that is used 10 refer 10 those frequently
occurring /anguage comprehension situations where most of the
thoughts being presented in the form of sentences are being
comprehended as they are being presented. (Definition l) The term
rauding has been introduced so as to be able to refer conveniently to a
frequently occurring and important phenomenon that seems to have
some rather stable characteristics with respect to comprehension. It may
be difficult to predict how much, or how little, comprehension occurs
during studying situations that involve reading difficult materials
because various study strategies may be employed. However, there seems
to be a great deal of stability about the comprehension processes that
occur during the most typical reading and auding situations. This rather
stable process across modes was given the name rauding so as to focus
upon the common attributes involved.
Sticht, Deck, Hauke, Kleiman, and James (1974) recently
presented a developmental model oflanguage skills in which they refer to
the 4 primary language skiHs as auding, reading, speaking, and writing.
They used the term oracy to refer to the 2 skilJs that involve oral
language, and they used the more traditional term literacy when referring
to the 2 skills that involve written language. They also noted that 2 of
these 4 skills-speaking and writing-are productive, while the other 2-
auding and reading-are receptive. Traditionally, the concept
comprehension has been associated with the 2 receptive skills but not
the 2 productive skills. The term rauding focuses upon the 2 primary
receptive skills, auding and reading, which involve comprehension. The
relationships among these terms are summarized in Table I.
Table I Interrelationships and terminology used for various combinations of the
4 primary language skills
Oraey Uteracy
Rueptive (Rauding) Audina Reading
Productive Speaking Writing
The Rauding process
Probably the best general description of the raudirig process
during reading comes from Spache (1963), who was describing what he
called the "process of reading comprehension":
14
READlNG RESEARCH QUARTERU- Number 1,1977-1978 XIII/l
The reader first recognizes words by their form, shape, structural
parts or by the implications of the context. Each word caUs forth one
or several meaning associations which the reader tries out for
appropriateness in this contextual setting. 'He accepts what seems to
be the most relevant meaning or associative thought and proceeds to
tbe next word, again choosing an association which seems logically
related to the preceding word. Various groups of words form
cohesive associations as he reads througb the elements of the
sentence. These groups of ideas or details coalesce into the stated or
implied meaning of the sentence. (p. 65)
The above description of rauding during reading would also fit rauding
during auding except for the first sentence. That is, words would be
recognized auditorially instead of visually.
During rauding, each successive word in a sentence is checked
10 determine whelher a comp/ele Ihought is being successfully formu-
/aled. (Hypothesis I) One ofthe most important, but often overlooked,
aspects of the above description of the rauding process concerns the
monitoring or checking of each successive word to formulate the
complete thought represented by the sentence. This process of checking
each successive word to determine if a complete thought is being formed
could be calied "word-by-word sentence monitoring," or simply
"sentence monitoring." It has been hypothesized that rauding cannot
occur without this type of sentence monitoring.
The hypothesis that the rauding process involves a check on
each successive word to see if a complete thought is being formed, arises
primarily from the desire to be explicit with the theory. For some,
reading involves simply getting meaning from print (e.g., see Neisser,
1966). This very vague and general way of approaching reading allows
the word "reading" to be used when referring to an individual who
skims or ski ps over material at 1,000 words per minute or more, and gets
sorne meaning. It might be inferred from rauding theory that it would be
impossible for an individual to raud a passage at 1,000 words per minute
or more. Suppose we have a situation where an individual is given easy
material to read and the individual supposedly "reads" it at 1,000 words
per minute with a high accuracy of comprehension score. It is highly
lilc:ely that the individual simply skipped over the material and correclly
inferred a great deal about the contents, as if the material had been read
on a previous occasion. It does not seem likely that the individual could
have operated a sentence monitoring function at this rate. If, somehow,
the sentences were tampered with so that they did not make sense (were
I not complete thoughts) it is lilc:ely that individuals would not detect these
A rheory ofreading comprehension andrauding CARVER '15
incomplete thoughts at these high rates. Hence, the individuals might be
said to be reading but not rauding.
When an individual reaches the last word in a sentence and
that word successfuJly passes the sentence monitoring function, this
means that the complete thought has been comprehended. Another
traditional term may be used here: It may be said that the complete
thought has been understood. Using more recent terminology from
information processing, it may be said that the complete thought has
been stored.
The Short Term Store and Long Term Store concepts of
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) also may be used to describe the rauding
process. The words in a sentence may be considered as being held in the
Short Term Store while the complete thought is being formulated; then
the complete thought may be considered to be deposited or stored in the
Long Term Store. Finally, a new word from the next sentence is then
entered into a cleared Short Term Store.
The idea that the complete thought is cleared from the Short
Term Store when it is comprehended or understood and is subsequently
deposited automatically into Long Term Store is supported by Gough
(1972). Gough reports that when a subject is required to recall a 5-word
sentence together with a list of 5 words, recall is higher when the sentence
precedes the list. This supports the idea that the Short Term Store is
cleared because when the sentence is presented first, it can be cleared to
allow room for the list. If the list is presented first, some of it is lost while
the sentence is being processed. Gough does not elaborate upon the
storage system for the sentences; he simply says that they are deposited in
the "Place Where Sentences Go When They Are Understood (PWSGW
TAU)." Gough also has a mechanism called 'Merlin," which operates on
the sentences as they are being input. If Merlin succeeds, then the
sentence is registered in the PWSGWTAU. If Merlin fails, then a regres-
sion is a likely possibility. It appears that Gough's Merlin is a sentence
monitoring function that incorporates the same sentence monitoring
function described earlier and that PWSGWTAU incorporates the same
function as the Long Term Store.
Internal speech model
During rauding, most peop/e say the words 10 themse/ves;
that is, they interna//y articu/ate each successive word in a sentence.
(Generalization 4) Huey (1908, 1968) appears to be one of the first
advocates of an internal speech model, or mechanism, for reading. He
16
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY. Number I. 1977-J978 XIJI/I
states: "The simple fact is that the inner saying or hearing of what is read
seems to be the core of ordinary reading, the thing in itself, so far as there
is such apart of such a comptex process." (p.122) Atkinson and Shiffrin
(1968) contend that words presented either visually or auditorily are
encoded into the audio-verbal-linguistic store which is part of the Short
Term Store (an internal speech type of storage).
Probably the best basic research in this area comes from
Sokolov (1972). He studied electromyograms of hidden articulation
while reading to oneself, while listening to speech, during mental repro-
duction, and during the recollection of verbal materials. He concluded
that inner speech, and the concealed articulation associated with it, was
the principal mechanism of thought. Whereas subvocal speech has been
regarded by some as detrimental to good reading, McGuigan (1973)
reviewed research that rnay be interpreted as indicating that "... covert
oral behavior facilitates reading proficiency," (p. 362) and the "... ex-
perimental reduction of oral response amplitude decreases reading
proficiency." (p. 363)
Kohlers (1972) advocates an internal, cerebral process of
generating language during reading which is "... a kind of storytelling or
reconstructive process that is sirnilar in many ways to what one does
when speaking." (p. 90) However, Kohlers argues that this process is not
subvocalized speech. It does appear reasonable to advocate that during
rauding, some type of an interna1articulation is made of each word and
that this articulation enhances comprehension. If the word is not
articulated, this would likely make the comprehension process more
difficult. It is considered to be next to impossible to peiform a sentence
monitoring function without checking each word that makes up the
sentence and this checking of the words probably occurs most efficiently
when there is some form of an internal articulation ofthe word. Although
Kohlers seerns to discriminate between an interna1articulation language
and inner speech (or subvocalized speech), this fine a discrimination will
not be made in rauding theory, at least not until there are data which
force this type of discrimination. The above rationale may be sum-
marized in the form of Hypothesis 2: The internal arliculalion 01 each
successive word in a sentence (internal speech) is an aid lO compre-
hension during both reading and auding. At present, the available data
seerns to provide strong support for Hypothesis 2.
There does appear to be a small particle of evidence that an
internal articulation of each successive word does not always occur in
reading (Klapp, Anderson, and Berrian, 1973). What is being contended
here is that sentence rnonitoring can occur much more efficiently when
17
A Iheory ofreading comprehension andrauding CARVER
there is an internal articulation of each word. Some would argue that by-
passing the internaI speech mechanism is not only possible but highly
desirable. (See Goodman, 1973, and Smith, 1971.) However, the research
of Sokolo.v (1972), mentioned earlier, suggests that if individuals did
bypass the internal speech mechanism, the individual would be by-
passing the principal mechanism ofthought-seemingly a pseudo-saving
of time, because reading efficiency would not be enhanced.
In summary, it seems that there is supporting data for the
theory that each successive word in a sentence must be "thought about,"
that is, checked to see ifa complete thought is being formed by the words.
It may be that it is possible to go direclly from the visual form ofthe word
to meaning, that is, to by-pass internat speech. It seems, however, more
likely that some type of interna1 articulation of the word not only
facilitates thinking but is necessary for the complete thoughts repre-
sented by sentences to be accurately formed. This view of internal speech
is highly similar to that of Conrad (1972), who, in an excelJent articJe on
speech and reading, contended that reading is certainly possible without
inner speech but it is a great deal easier with it.
Accuracy, rate, and efficiency
This section will focus upon definitions for 3 of the funda-
mental variables in rauding theory-accuracy, rate, and efficiency.
As indicated in Generalization I, the primary purpose of most
reading and auding is to comprehend thoughts that have been written or
spoken. The thoughts expressed in a passage by the writer or speaker will
be symbolized by T
p
(thoughts presented); and the thoughts compre-
hended by the reader or auder will be symbolized by Tc (thoughts
comprehended). Thus, the communication act which is of primary
interest in this situation may be symbolized as folIows:
I] T
p
Tc
In these communication situations, it is of considerable inter-
est to know the proportion of thoughts that are comprehended; that is,
the accuracy of comprehension (A) is a primary variable. By definition,
the accuracy 01 reading or auding comprehension.(A) is rhe number 01
thoughls comprehended (Tc) per Ihe number 01 thoughts presenred
(T
p
) (Definition 2):
2] A = Tc
T
p
18 READINO RI!SBARCHQUARTEllLye Number 1,1977-1978 XIII/ J
Tbe accuracy of comprehension is a proportion, but when it is converted
into a per cent by multiplying by 100, it can be seen that this variable is
very similar to the more common "per cent comprehension" variable.
The major difference between the common usage of "per cent compre-
hension" and "accuracy of comprehension" (A) is that Ais defined more
precisely. Sometimes, for example, "per cent comprehension" refers to
the per cent of test questions answered correctly. Rarely will the per cent
of test questions answered correcdy directly retlect A because a 75 per
cent score on a test, for example, usually does not mean that 75 per cent
of the thoughts in the passage were comprehended. Some individuals can
make high scores on some reading comprehension tests (50-90 per cent,
for example) when their accuracy of comprehension is actually 0 per cent.
(See Carver, 1972a, or Tuinman, 1973-1974.)
The accuracy of comprehension (A) provides a measure of the
accuracy of the communication act, but there is another variable that is
also very important in these situations-time (t). It would be helpful to be
able to focus upon the rate (R) at which the thoughts are being communi-
cated. By definition, rate (R) is the number of thoughts presented (T
p
)
during a cerlain length of time (t) (Definition 3):
T
p
3] R =
t
In the auding mode, the thoughts are presented orally (for example, via
spoken conversation, radio, television, and record players) and the rate
of presentation of the thoughts (R) is usually not under the control ofthe
auder. In the reading mode, the individual usually controls R himself or
herself. Tbe written thoughts may be presented visually using motion pic-
ture devices, in which case R would not be under the control of the
reader. In the typical reading situation, R would be under the control of
the reader.
The rate at which the thoughts are being comprehended-that
is, the efficiency of comprehension (E)-is also of interest. By definition,
the efficiency of reading or auding comprehension (E) is the number of
thoughts comprehended (Tc) during a certain /ength of time (t) (Defini-
tion 4):
4]
E = T
r
t
It may be noted that another definition necessarily folIows, algebraically,
from the above- 3: The efficiency of comprehension (E) is the product of
19 A theory ofreadingcomprehension andrauding CARVER
the accuracy 01comprehension (A) and the rate at which the material is
presented (R) (Definition 5). In equation form, this definition is
5] E = AR
This is true because
6] Tc _ Tc .1L
-t--1; t
Sometimes in common usage, efficiency and accuracy of
comprehension are terms that are used interchangeably. It cannot be
emphasized too strongly that in rauding theory, the efficiency of com-
prehension (E) and the accuracy ofcomprehension (A) are quite different
variables. For example, an individual might read a passage with high
accuracy of comprehension (A) but low efficiency of comprehension (E)
because the individual spent a great deal of time on the passage and there-
fore had a low rate (R).
There is also empirical data that is in accordance with the
definition of efficiency as the product of accuracy and rate, E = AR.
Carver and Darby (1972-1973) factor analyzed individual differences on
standardized reading comprehension tests and found that 2 factors fit the
correlations among the 11 variables measured by 4 tests. These 2 factors
were readily identified as accuracy (A) and rate (R) by the way they were
measured. A single factor fit forced upon the data yielded loadings on
variables which allowed the I factor to be readily identified as an efficien-
cy factor (E).
Rauding rate
An individual's rauding rate will be symbolized as R
r
By
definition, an individua/'s rauding rate (Rr) is the highest rate at which
an individual can accurately check each consecutive word in a sentence /0
delermine whether the complele thoughl it represents in the context 01
the passage is being understood (Definition 6). Rauding rate may be
caJculated by dividing the time required to raud a passage (t,) into the
number of thoughts in a passage (T
p
):
7] Rr = ~
1,
and
8] 1, =.!e
Rr
20
READlNO IlBSEARCH QUARTERLye Number 1,1977-1978 XIII/ I
The theory presented earlier in connection with the internat
speech model asserted that in a typical reading situation an individual
internally articulates each successive word in a sentence in order to more
efficiently comprehend sentences. Thus, it foliows that the maximum
rate at which an individual can raud is limited in one way by how fast an
individual can say the words to himself. This rationale can be
summarized as follows by Hypothesis 3: Rauding cannot occur at rates
greater than interna/ speech rates. It seems relevant to note that
Landauer (1962) found that individuals could not think about words and
numbers any faster than they could say them aloud.
Saying the words to oneself, however, is not a sufficient
condition for comprehending sentences. The words must also be checked
to see if a complete thought is being formulated. Therefore, there is likely
to be another limitation on an individual's rauding rate which reflects a
basic thought processing rate, or thinking rate. (See BusweIl, 1951.)
Hypothesis 4 is as folIows: Rauding Rate (R
r
) is limited by an individual's
basic thinking rate. This means that if sentence monitoring requires a
certain amount of time for checking each word, then there are likely to be
individual, differences in the minimum time required to do this checking.
This rationale also can be summarized by Hypothesis 5: There is a certain
minimum amount oftime required to raud a sentence in apassage-Ihat
is, a Ihresho/d amount of time. There are data which have been
interpreted as indicating support for a threshold for auding passages
(Carver, 1973b).
If the above theoretical rationale is valid, then in a typical
reading situation, individuals should read at approximately a constant
rate, that is, at the rate that is associated with the minimum or threshold
amount of time. This is because as long as the individual has no trouble in
comprehending the thoughts, reading should only be limited by how fast
the individual can say the words to himself and concomitantly check
their meaning in the sentence. The preceding rationale can be
summarized by Hypothesis 6: Individua/s lend to read al a rale that is
most efficient for them and this rate is their rauding rate (R
r
).
H seems reasonable to contend that the behavior of
individuals would be shaped so that reading proceeded in the most
efficient manner possible. That is, most individuals would probably try
to read at a rate which maximized the number of thoughts comprehended
(Tc) per an amount of time (t). Reading at a rate greater than the rauding
rate could not be most efficient; that is, it would not maximize E because
the threshold amount of time would not be met and thoughts would not
get comprehended. Reading at a rate less than the rauding rate would not
21 A theory o!readingcomprehension andrauding CARVER
like'ly be the most efficient since any rate less than the rauding rate would
produce less thoughts comprehended per a unit of time. The preceding
rationale will be summarized as folIows: Reading rate is reJatively
constant in typical reading situations (Generalization 5).
Rauding rate (Rr) is considered to limit reading rate at the
point where it is maximally efficient. That is, E is a maximum. Therefore,
reading rate is relatively constant because most people tend to read at the
fastest rate they can and still have their highest reading efficiency. The
predictions to be made from rauding theory are all crucially tied to
Generalization 5-that reading rate is relatively constant in most reading
situations. It seems appropriate, therefore, to present as good a rationale
as possible for the constancy of reading rate. The foUowing quotations
reflect how other investigators have summarized their data regarding the
constancy of reading rate:
The readers showed a strong rhythmic tendency. Each would fall
into a reading pace that seemed natural to hirn, and would then read
page-by-page in almost exactly the same time. (Huey, 1908, p. (75)
Generally speaking, as long as the reader is not reading material
too far above or below his level, he will maintain a fairly
characteristic pattern. (Taylor, 1965, p. 196)
The data are consistent with a senal processing model of thc
following sort: as the subject reads a passage, chunks of information
(probably in the form of strings of words which form coherent
phrases) are read in at a constant rate. Each chunk of information is
checked against the memory list, one word at a time in aserial,
exhaustive fashion. (Calfee and Jameson, '1971, p. 504)
Probably the best available evidence that individuals typically
read at a constant rate comes from the empirical data where college
students were asked to read material ranging in difficulty from beginning
reading to college. These data are contained in aseries of publications
(Carver 1972b; MiHer and Coleman, 1972; Carver, J976). Superficially,
it appeared that college students read the easy materials at a faster rate in
words per minute than the harder materials; that is, their rate decreased
linearly with difficulty. However, the easy materials contained shorter
words so that the length of an easy lOO-word passage was physically
shorter than a difficult IOO-word passage, whether the length is measured
in letter-spaces or syllabies. (Note: Coleman, 1971, found a correlation of
.97 between average word length measured in letters and average word
length measured in syllables for 36 passages varying in difficulty from
very easy to very difficult. Therefore, controlling for rate in either word
22 READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY. Number 1.1977-1978 XIII/ I
length in letters or word length in syllables should produce almost exactly
the same result.) In this research, when rate was measured in standard
length words per minute (6 letter-spaces per standard length word), the
rate of reading tended to be constant across difficulty levels. Also, Coke
(1974) studied oral and silent reading rate, and concluded that both
... remain constant across the entire range of difficulty of English prose
when rate is measured in a unit smal1er than a word." (p. 409) Thus, as
10ng as rate is measured in a manner that controls for length (using
average word length in letters or syUables), empirical data supports the
contention that reading rate is relatively constant. In turn, these d ~ t a
provide indirect support for the preceding theoretical rationale regardmg
the constancy of rauding rate for an individual.
Rauding during reading appears to be a rather automatie
process because the individual is comprehending most of the thoughts
with little or no difficulty. For example, he or she rauds with few regres-
sions. This rather automatie aspect of reading during rauding seems to be
the same phenomenon that LaBerge and Samuels (1974) refer to as
"automaticity:' This means that the eye movements seem to require little
or no attention, while almost an the attention can be directed towards
reading comprehension (sentence or thought monitoring). From the
standpoint of rauding theory, this means that the individual has
developed his visual performance skills .(eye movements and visual
decoding) so that they operate as efficiently in comprehending the
thoughts as would be the case if the thoughts were presented auditorially.
None of the above discussion should be interpreted as
suggesting that reading rate cannot be manipulated using certain
instructions or experimental tasks. It is being contended here that
rauding rate is stable and that this tends to stabilize reading rate in the
typical reading situation because the rauding rate represents the limit in
minimal thinking time required to read sentences (the minimal time
required to comprehend thoughts in passages).
If rauding rate (R
r
) limits reading rate, then it should have a
similar effect upon auding rate. As mentioned earlier, in typical reading
situations, individuals have control over the rate at which the material is
presented, or covered. It is atypical for there to be external control over
the rate at which material is presented, as is the case when reading
material is presented via a motion picture film. In auding, the reverse is
true. It is typical for there to be external control over the rate at which the
material is presented auditorially (for example, by spoken dialogue or
radio). Seldom, if ever, will there be a situation where the rate of
presentation of an audio message can be controlled by the individual.
23 A theory ofreadingcomprehension andrauding CARVER
However. since efficiency (E) is considered to be at a maximum at the
rauding rate and since reading is considered to take place typically at a
rate equal to the rauding rate because E is a maximum at this rate, it
follows that the same should be true for auding. That is, the most effident
auding rate for passages should equal the rauding rate. If rauding rate is
the most efficient rate for hoth reading and auding. then it follows that
the most effident rate of reading should equal the most efficient rate of
auding. This rationale can be summarized as Generalization 6: In typical
reading andauding situations, the rate where efficiency (E) is a maximum
during reading is equal to the rate where E ;s a maximum during aud;ng.
Since the rauding rate (Rr) is also the rate at which efficiency
(E) is a maximum, R
r
mayaiso be referred to as the optimal rate. It is
optimal in the sense that any other rate produces a lower efficiency of
comprehending. R
r
is also associated with the minimum amount of
time required for comprehending sentences in passages, so R
r
mayaiso be
referred to as the "threshold rate." The commonality between reading
and auding that has been asserted in rauding theory is supported by the
extensive data presented by Sticht, Heck, Hauke. Kleiman, and James
(1974). They surveyed many research studies, and one of their findings
was that reading rate typically does not exceed auding rate for
individuals.
Rauding accuracy
Rauding rate (R
r
), covered in the preceding section, is perhaps
the most important variable in. rauding theory. The sccond most
important variable is rauding accuracy (Ar). Definition 7 is as folIows:
The accuracy 01 comprehension that occurs at the rauding rate is the
rauding accuracy (Ar). As defined earlier, rauding is said to occur when
most of the thoughts being presented from a passage are also being
comprcllended. Stated differently, rauding occurs when Ar is high (Ar>
.75). It should be noted at this point that by definition, rauding might not
be occurring at the rauding rate because the individual may be reading
very difficult material at the rauding rate and comprehending very little
of it. for example Ar = .25 when R = R
r
.
Rauding accuracy reflects an interaction between the
difficulty level ofthe material and the ability level ofthe individual who is
reading. When the ability level of the reader is high in relationship to the
difficulty level of the material being read, then Ar should be high. When
the ability level of the reader is low in relationship to the difficulty level of
the material being read, then Ar should be low. If an individual is reading
material that is highly familiar to hirn (for example, he has al ready read it
24
READINO RESIlAJlCH QUARTBJlLye Number 1.1977-1978
XIlI/ )
on an earlier occasion), then Ar should be higher than it was during the
first reading.
Rauding efficiency
Earlier, in Definition 7, rauding accuracy (Ar) was defined as
the accuracy of comprehension that occurs at the rauding rate. Also by
definition, rauding efficiency (Er) is the efficiency o[comprehension (E)
that occurs at the rauding rate (R
r
) (Defination 8):
9] Er = ArRr
It should be noted that an individual's rauding rate (R
r
) is considered to
be constant across different levels of material difficulty, but the rauding
accuracy (Ar) will vary as the difficulty level varies. Therefore, rauding
efficiency (Er) will also vary as the difficulty level varies. However, for a
particular level of difficulty, R
r
, Ar, and Er will an be constant for a
particular individual.
Difficulty and ability levels
Materials can be meaningfully scaledwith respect to their level
o[ language-knowledge difficulty (LJ)-that is, the complexity o[ the
vocabulary and concepts involved (Generalization 7). Readability
formulas have been used for many years as an indicator of the
comprehension difficulty of reading material. Generalization 7 is simply
a formal statement of a condition that is often assumed in reading
research. Generalization 8, which folIows, is not anormal explicit
assumption: The ability level o[ individuals (La) can be scaled with
respect to levels o[material difficulty (LJ). Ordinarily, ability levels are
scaled using standardized tests and these measures are not scaled with
respect to material difficulty. Yet a common sense not ion does exist that
the reading ability of the individual is somehow tied to the difficulty of
the materials the individual can read and comprehend.
The next generalization seeks to tie together the 3 previously
introduced variables: Art Ll. and L.. Generalization 9 is: The higher the
difference between the level o[ability and the level o[difficulty (L..-LJ).
the higher the accuracy o[comprehension (Ar) at the rauding rate (R
r
).
It is an oversimplification to consider the difficulty of reading
material to be unidimensional, as most readability formulas do. It has at
least 2 dimensions-vocabulary difficulty and conceptual difficulty. For
example, it is possible to present a simple idea that a second grader could
understand using words that are so foriegn that comprehension is
impossible. Although it is important for some purposes to keep these 2
25
A theory 01reading comprehension andrauding CARVER
dimensions separate (vocabulary and conceptual difficulty), the
distinction will be bJurred somewhat in rauding theory. This is because
the concept of an ability level (L.) refers to both dimensions
simultaneously. This is a practical decision that has some justification.
Usually, the vocabulary difficulty is almost perfectly correlated with
conceptual difficulty. It is somewhat unusual, for example, for Einstein's
theory of relativity to be explained using the vocabulary of the second
grader, and it is also somewhat unusual for the simple concepts dealt with
by second graders to be presented using the vocabulary normally
associated with college students. Thus, the language load and the concept
load normally go together, and they will be dealt with simultaneously
when levels of ability (L,,) or difficulty ( ~ ) are used.
The ability level (L.) is always an ability level in relationship to
the particular mode of presentation of the thoughts. For example, an
individual may have an ability level of 3 for auding English, an ability
level of 2 for reading English, an ability level of I for auding Spanish, and
an ability level of 0 for reading Spanish.
Sticht, et al. (1974) have estimated from their data that for
the typical person in the United States, reading competency equals
auding competency by the time they are in the seventh or eighth grade.
This may be translated to mean that the ability level for reading the
English language equals the ability level for auding the English language
around the seventh or eighth grade for the typical student in the United
States. Thus, if a reading measure is used to estimate rauding ability, it
will probably give a relatively accurate estimate at the junior high level
and beyond. However, a reading measure in some cases may
underestimate the ability level for auding simply because the individual
has not learned to decode the printed words at a level that is
commensurate with what he can raud during auding. Stated differently,
unti) about the junior high level, the typical individual might
comprehend more of the thoughts presented in reading material if they
were presented auditorially. However, beyond the junior high level, the
typical individual probably could not comprehend any more thoughts if
they were presented auditorially because decoding is no longer a problem
in comparison to conceptual difficulty.
Instructional implications
Some of the instructional or educational implications of
rauding theory will now be discussed. There is liule that is startling or
new about these implications. They are primarily presented so as to
26
RIlADING RESEARCH QUARTERLY. Number /.1977-/978 xm/l
reinforce an understanding of rauding theory, rat her than to influence
instructional practices.
The rationale presented in conjunction with rauding rate
suggests that education can do very little to affect an individual's Rr. The
primary variable that is considered to limit rate is a basic thinking rate of
the individual. Rauding rate would be expected to increase with age (that
is, with maturity) in a manner similar to general inteUigence. However,
education or instruction would not be expected to have a major effect
upon this variab'le other than to help the student's reading rate progress
until it was equal to the student's rauding rate. This part of rauding
theory seems to be in keeping with current instructional practices since
there is generally not much emphasis put upon reading rate in reading
instruction.
A variable that could be expected to be amenable to
instructional or educational influence would be the time spent reading:
that is, extra time spent auempling 10 raud a passage will result in higher
accuracy 01 comprehension 01 the passage (Generalization 10). Of
course, this generalization is only appropriate up to, but not including,
the poinfwhere all (100 per cent) ofthe thoughts in the passage have been
comprehended. Beyond this point, there still may be progress associated
with additional time spent reading; but such progress is beyond thought
communication (beyond Levels land 2 as described by Carver, 1973c
and into Levels 3 and 4, which involve "finding the main idea" and
Uquestioning the author's intent," etc.). Generalization 10 focuses upon
one ofthe most important and readily manipulatable factors that affects
the accuracy of comprehension (A). Carver (1972c) has reviewed some of
the studies which reinforce the importance ofthe time variable, reporting
that as early as 1931, Greene had collected data from which he concluded
that the process of I slow reading was just as effective and no more
effective than 2 fast readings. Poulton and Chir (1963) suggested a model
based on previous research which postulates that an individual can store
a certain amount of information from I page by spending I minute on it,
or he can store this same amount of information from 2 pages by
spending half a minute on each page. Arecent article by Simon (1974)
reviews and supports the importance of the time variable in basic
Iearning research. Again, there is little controversial or new about this
aspect of rauding theory since it is a common instructional practice to try
to get students to increase their comprehension of material by reading the
material more than once.
The most common way that the educational system seeks to
improve comprehension is by focusing upon the level of ability of the
27 A Iheory ojreading comprehemion andrauding CAkVER
individual (l.) in reading English prose. By administering decoding
practice, the La in reading can be increased initially to a point where it is
equalto the La in auding. Beyond this point, probably the best way to
increase an individual's L... in reading is to get the individual to read more
and more materials. The individual's vocabulary and conceptual base is
expanded by reading, and this increased context increases the probability
that the individual can raud new and more difficult material. Stated
differently, techniques for increasing an individual's l. are techniques
that result in a higher rauding accuracy (Ar) for more materials.
Finally, the educational system can also increase Ar by
reducing L,. An individual is more likely to raud a passage if it is wrilten
in a manner that does not use unnecessarily difficult vocabulary and
presents new concepts in the least complex manner.
Measures
The measures used to estimate values of some of the theoreti-
car variables are being presented now so as to reinforce the meaning of
the theoretical variables that were presented earlier. A firm grasp ofthe
meaning of the variables and the symbols used to designate the variables
will be helpful in later sections where the variables are used to describe
and to analyze data.
Estimating T
p
and R
The number of thoughts presented (T
p
) could be estimated by
simply counting the number of sentences presented in the material.
However, sentences vary considerably in length, both within and
between prose passages. So, the best method for estimating T
p
would
seem to require an estimate of a standard length sentence.
A standard length word will be used to derive a standard
length sentence. Definition 9 is: Six charae/er-spaces in 0 prose passage
consitutes a standard /ength word (W). Carver (1972b, 1976) proposed
that a standard word length of 6 lelter-spaces be adopted as an
important controf variable in studies of reading rate. Six letter-
spaces may be considered to be the same as 6 on
a standard typewriter (including punctuation marks, J space after each
word, and 2 spaces after each sentence). Thus, the number of standard
words in a passage (W) may be determined by counting the total number
of character spaces, that is, by counting the totallength of the passage in
lelters and spaces (L) and dividing by 6:
28 READING RESEARCH QUARTERLYe Number 1,1977-1978 xm/l
L
10] W =-
t>
For low diffieulty passages, the number of standard words will be less
than the number of aetual words. For high diffieulty passages, the
number of standard words will be greater than the number of aetual
words.
An inspeetion of the 330 paragraphs extraeted from sehool
curriculum materials by Bormuth (1969) revealed that 16 words per
sentenee is about an average value for these materials. Thus 16 words per
sentenee times 6 eharacter spaees per word would yield 96 eharaeter
spaces per sentence. Rather than define a standard sentenee in this
manner, it was arbitrarily decided that 100 letter-spaees would constitute
a standard Jength sentence. Definition 10 is: The number of standard
sentences (S) is the total number of character spaces in a passage (L)
divided by JOD. In equation form, this definition is:
]1] S = 1&0
Combining Equation 10 and Equation 11, algebraieally, we find that,
]2] S =1':.7
Definition I] is: The number ofstandard /ength sentences in a
passage (S) equals the number ofstandard length words divided by /6.7,
which is the number ofstandard length words per each standard /ength
sentence. There are 6 letter-spaces per standard word, 100 letter-spaees
per standard sentence, and 16.7 (or 16 2/3) standard words per a
standard sentenee.
Definition 12 is: The estimated number of thoughts in a
passage (Tpf is equal to the number of standard sentences in the
passage. Ir.!. equation form:
13] T
p
= S
So the standard method for estimating T
p
is to count the number of
character spac.es in the prose and divide by 100, with the result sym-
bolized by f p It should be noted again that S only provides an indicant
of the number of thoughts presented in most prose passages. S is
equivalent to an estimate of T
p
that is symbo]ized as T
p
; S is not con-
sidered as equivalent to T
p
Letting 1001etter-spaces rep'resent a thought
I. The lilda ( ~ ) on top of a lheorelical variable such as T
p
indicatcs lhallhe variable is being
eSlimaled by an emplfical measuremenl technique.
29 A theory 0/reading comprehension and rauding CARVER
is a very gross and mechanical technique for estimating Tpo However.
it does provide results which are meaningfully interpreted. as will
become evident when empirical data are presented later.
The estimated rate variable (R..) is obtained by simply dividing
f p by the estimated time (f) the individual spent attempting to raud the f
p
sentences that were presented.
- f- S
14] R =~ or k. =
r t
If time is measured in minutes as units, then the units of Rare standard
length sentences per minute (Spm). Rin sentences per minute (Spm) is
considered to be an empirical indicator of R in thoughts per minute.
When rate is measured in standard length words per minute. it will be
abbreviated by use of a capital W (Wpm) in contrast to the traditional
lower case w in wpm when the words are not of standard length.
Estimating Tc and A
The estimated number of thoughts comprehended (Tc) may be
determined algebraically by using Equation 2 and multiplying the
estimated accuracy of comprehension () by the cstimated number of
thoughts presented (Tp):
... "'
15] Tc=AT
p
The estimated proportion of the thoughts comprehended (that iso A)
may be measured using 2 different approaches-the subjective approach
and the objective approach. The subjective approach that will be
recommended was used by Schwartz, Sparkman, and Deese (1970) to
estimate degrees of understanding of isolated sentences. In this
technique, individuals are simply asked to rate their per cent of
understanding. Carver (1973a) used this technique to estimate the
per cent of the sentences in prose passages that an individual understood
or comprehended. The data suggested that this technique provided
reliable and valid results, at least when used in conjunction with an
objective test. In essence, this was a direct technique for measuring A,
e'tcept the per cent comprehension scores are transformed into the
accuracy of comprehension scores, i.e., a proportion, by dividing each
per cent value by WO. The data from this study will be presented later.
The objective approach for measuring refers to aJl the
possible objective tests that might be used. Carver (1975a) has developed
a promising measure called "the reading-storage test" which appears to
provide a completely objective method for estimating comprehension.
30
REAOING ReSEARCH QUARTEIlLYe Number /. /977-/978 XlIII J
This technique appears to be better than the cloze technique (Carver,
1974b) and about as good as the subjectively developed paraphrase test
(Carver, 1975b). However, as yet there is no objective techniq,ue which
aHows scores to be automatically transformed into values of A without
having a concomitant subjective measure of A. This means that, at
preserit, there is no objective measure which can be administered which
will provide a score (for example, 18 out of 20 correct) which can be
automatically transformed into an accurate estimate of A (for example,
.90 or 90 per cent accuracy of comprehension).
Estimating R
An individual could be asked to read 1 or more easy passages
and then the time required for the individual to finish could be measured.
The time required could be substituted in the following formula, adapted
from Equation 7, to give an estimated rauding rate:
-
- T
p
16]
R = -y
r {r
The above procedure would provide a measure of i but it
might provide a highJy unreliabJe estimate of Rr in certain situations since
there would be 00 control over the accuracy of comprehension (A) while
rate (R) was being estimated. It would be possible for an individual to
skip over material. thus decreasing A so that it was difficuJt to contend
that rauding was occurring (for example, A< .75) and thereby giving an
incorrectly high estimate of R
r

At present, probably the best standardized technique for
measuring it comes from the National Reading Standards (Carver.
1977), a test that will be described in more detail in a later section. The
score on this test has been used to provide an estimate of reading rate in
standard length words per minute (Wpm). This value from the test may
be divided by 16.7 (using Equation 12) to transform the estimate of
rauding rate (R
r
) from Wpm to an estimate in Spm:
17]
R in Spm = Wpm
r
16.7
Ordinarily in rauding theory. rate will be expressed in
thoughts per minute (Tpjt) or sentences per minute (Spm). Sometimes it
wiIJ be expressed in Wpm. However. it mayaiso be expressed other ways.
such as minutes per sentence (min.jS), standard words per second
(Wjsec.). and milliseconds per standard word (msec.jW). Table 2
31
A theory ojreading comprehension andrauding C.4RVER
contains a number of formulas for converting from one type of unit to
another.
Table 2 Conversion Formulas
Desired Conversion Conversion f'ormula
I.L
W
(11) L :: (t) W
2. L S
(x) L :: ( 100)s
3. W .. L (x) W :: (6x) l-
4. W S
(x) W ::( Il) S
s. S

L (11) S =( 1(011) L
6. S
W (x) S :: ( Il ) W
7. Wpm min./W (x) Wpm = min./W
8. Wpm .. Spm (x) Wpm:: Spm
9. Wpm W jsec. (x) Wpm :: (to-) W /see.
IO.Wpm

sec.{W (Il) Wpm :: sec./W
J1.Wpm

msec.{w (x) Wpm :: msee./W
12. Spm I Wpm (x) Spm :: Wpm
13. Spm min.{S (x) Spm :: min.jS
14. Spm
I msec./W (x) Spm:: msee.IW
15. W{sec. Wpm (x) W{sec. :: (60x) Wpm
16. sec. {W -....- Wpm (x) sec./W :: Wpm
17. msec./W .. Wpm
(11) msec.{W :: Wpm
18. msec./W - Spm
(11) msee.{W :: Spm
Estimating Li
In recent years, there has been a high degree of interest in the
cloze technique for estimating material difficulty. (See Bickley,
Ellington. and Bickley, 1970; Bormuth, 1966; or Rankin, 1965).
SuperficiaUy, it may appear that cloze would provide an acceptable
estimate of material difficulty level Yet the cloze measure has an
inherent disadvantage which precludes its being used as standard for
measuring the language-knowledge difficuhy of the material (Let). Cloze
is a rubber yardstick because the cloze difficulty estimate depends both
upon the ability level of the particular group which was administered the
32
IlI!ADINO RESEARCH QUARTERLye Number J. /977-/978 XliII I
cloze test, as weIl as the difficulty level of the material. For example, a
prose passage may have a difficulty estimate of .30 if a cloze test on the
passage is administered to a group of third graders, but it may have a
difficulty estimate of .70 if administered to a group of twelfth graders.
Without a standard method for adjusting the cloze scores to
controJ for differences in the ability of tbe individuals filling in tbe
blanks, the cloze technique could never be used to estimate Li. Even if a
standard ability adjustment for cloze were developed, it would still be an
impractical method in many situations because it would always be
necessary to have a group of people complete the blanks on a specially
constructed cloze test before an l.1 estimate could be obtained. Most of
the readability formulas reviewed by Klare (1963)-including the Flesch
Reading Ease Formula and the Dale-Chall formula-as weil as the more
recent developments by Smith and Kincaid (1970), McLaughJin (J969),
and Fry (1969), could be considered as gross estimates of l.1. However,
none of these methods attempts to directly assess the comprehension
difficulty of material, that is, the difficulty of understanding the material.
For example, if the words within the sentences of a passage were
scrambled into a random order, the difficulty estimates given by the
above readability formulas would not be changed one iota. However, the
difficulty an individual would experience in attempting to comprehend
such a scrambled passage would be changed quite significantly.
Recently, a new method 01" measuring difficulty has been
developed which is sensitive to the comprehension difficulty ofa passage.
This method is the Rauding Scale of Prose Difficulty (Carver, J975
J976). It measures the grade difficulty of reading and understanding, or
comprehending, passages. It uses an anchor scaie of 6 passages which
purportedly are at the following grade difficulties-2, 5, 8, JI, 14, and 17.
The grade difficuJty of a new passage is judged by 3 qualitied raters by
making comparisons to the Rauding Scale anchor passages. The average
of the 3 qualified raters is used to obtain the final grade difficulty value.
Jnorder to become qualified to use the Rauding Scale, an individual
must pass a quaJification test (Carver, 1974a). The Rauding Scale has
been shown to be highJy reJiabJe-.94 to .97. With respect to validity, it
correlated higher than the Dale-Chall and Flesch formulas with the
actual grade levels wherein curriculum passages were used in school
(Carver, J975-1976).
_ This Rauding Scale may be used as a method for determining
Li by letting} grades constitute I level, that is, L, = I when Gd =1,2,3; Ls
= 2, whc:.n Gd = 4, 5, 6, etc. Thus, the Rauding Scale may be used to
provide LJ va)ues.
33
A Iheory o!reoding comprehension ondruuding CARVER
Estimating La
Measuring the ability ofthe individual has traditionally meant
the use of standardized reading tests. These tests often have purported to
measure ability in an absolute sort of way by providing grade level scores.
Superficially, this would seem to provide an excellent method for
providing an estimate of ability level (l.) for reading. The grade level of
material could be estimated by any one of a number of readability
formulas, and the grade level of ability could be estimated by a
standardized reading test. Then, the degree of match or mismatch
between these 2 estimates could be used to estimate the accuracy of
comprehension (). It is strange but true that what would seem logical. in
this regard, is not. The grade level scores produced by current
standardized reading tests have not been designed to be related to the
difficulty of reading materials as estimated by readability formulas. A 7.8
grade level score on a standardized reading test means that this is the
score obtained by the average student in the eighth rnonth of the seventh
grade-nothing more and nothing less. The relations hip between 7.8
grade level ability score and a paragraph with a 7.8 grade level difficulty is
vague at best. For example, if an individual who receives a grade 8.0 score
on the Metropolitan Reading Test is presented 2 passages, one that has a
ninth grade Dale-Chall difficutty score and another that has a seventh
grade rating, it would not necessarily mean that the individual could
comprehend nothing in the ninth grade passage but could cornprehend
everything in the seventh grade passage. Research is lacking regarding
what happens to the accuracy of comprehension when readers at various
tested grade levels on a particular test are presented materials at different
grade levels, as measured by a particular readability formula.
a standardized test calied the National Reading
Standards has been developed which estimates individual ability (La)
along the same scale as it was suggested that be measured (Carver,
1977). Each grade ability score on the test (Ga) has been calibrated to
reflect a .50 probability that an individual can read and understand, or
comprehend, passages at the same grade of difficulty (Gd), according to
the Rauding Scale. For example, it may be estimated that an individual
who receives a grade 5 score on the test can read and understand (raud; A
> .75) about SO per cent of all the passages at grade 5 difficulty on the
Rauding Scale. Stated differently, a grade 5 ability means that the
average (the 50th percentile) accuracy (A) is likely to be 75 per cent for
grade 5 materials. The grade ability scores mayaiso be transformed into
34
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLye Number J. 1977-1978 XlIII J
the estimates of the level of ability scores (L.) using the same grade to
level transformation that was described earlier for L,.
Estimating Ar
One of the primary variables in rauding theory noted earlier
was the accuracy of comprehension at the rauding rate (Ar). The
variables La and Ls are supposed to be variables that affect In this
section, a temporary technique will be described for using L. and to
provide an estimate of the accuracy of comprehension (Ar). It haS been
called a temporary technique because it is a makeshift one that was not
specifically designed to provide
r
data.
Carver (1975-1976) used the Rauding Scale and the National
Reading Standards to investigate the relationship between the following
2 variables: a) difference between the ability level of the reader and the
difficulty level of the material (L -L) and b) the proportion of occasions
where is expected to be greater than .75. This can be interpreted as a
study of the relationship between rauding, that is, reading and
understanding, and the relative difficulty of material (L - L). It was
found, for example, that when reader ability was 1 level higher than
material difficulty = 1), then the probability was about .76 that an
individual could raud the passage, that is, that would be greater than
.75. When L.-L = -I, (the reader ability was 1 level below the material
difficulty), then the probability was .22 that an individual could raud the
passage.
In another study, Carver (1975c) found that these probability
estimates paralleled objective test scores and subjective estimates of
Since these probability estimates provided almost exactly the same
values as subjective estimates of when L. was greater than L, these
probability estimates will be used, at least temporarily, as estimates of Ar.
These values are presented in Table 3. In this table, estimates of are
also provided for grade differences (G.-G
d
) as weH as for leveldifferences
(I..-Li). If you have an estimate of I.. (t) and an estimate of Li (L), then
Table 3 may be used to find an estimate of (A). Forexample, suppose
you have administered the National Reading Standards Test to a group
of individuals and their average level of reading ability according to this
test is grade 6 (G. = 6). Suppose also, that you have applied the Rauding
Scale technique to a new textbook that you are considering for adoption,
and the level of material difficulty according to this technique is grade 8
...
(Gd = 8). Entering Table 3 with a value of -2 for G.-G
d
, we find that =
.32. This may be interpreted as indicating that it is that the
A theory 01reading comprehension andrauding CARVER 3S
typical person in this instructional group would comprehend about 32
per cent of this textboolc upon reading it once-that iSt while attempting
to raud it in a typical reading situation.
Toble 3 Estimating rauding accuracy and rauding rate
Accura9' ________ _____
_ .Ar___Ga-Gd ____ __ _____ ______ ______ __
+4 98 +12 .98 11 8.7
+11 .96
+10 .94
2 154 9.2
+3 92 + 9 .92
3 162 9.7
+ 8 .90
+ 7 .89
+2 87 + 6 .87 4 171 10.3
+ 5 .83
+ 4 .80 IllO 10.8
+1 76 + 3 .76
+ 2 .68 6 Illll 11..1
+1 .61
0 53 0 .53 7 196 IUI
- 1
.43
- 2 .32 8 12.3
-I 22 '. 3 .22
- 4
.18 9 219 13.1
- 5
.13
-2 9
6 .09 10 238 14.3
- 7
.07
- 8
.04 11 256 15.4
-3 2 - 9
.02
-10 .02 12 276 16.6
-11 .01
-4 1 -12 .01 13 295 17.7
-13 .01
-14 .01 14 316 19.0
-5 I -15 .01
15 335 20.1
... Table 3 also contains the estimated rauding rate (R,) values for
each G. As mentioned earlier, the Wpm values have been taken from
manual for the National Reading Standards Test (Carver. 1977). The R,
values in S,pm have been obtained from the Wpm values using Equation
17. These R, values are presented in this table for reference convenience.
If G. and Gei can be estimated, then this table can be entered. and
estimates can be made of the 2 most important variables in rauding
theory. Ac and Rt-. In the previous example, G. was estimated to be 6.
When C. = 6, then using Table 3, rauding rate is estimated to be 188
Wpm. and it = 11.3 Spm.
36
READINO RESEARCH QUARTERLye Number 1,1977-1978 Xlllfi
The above procedure serves the purpose of demonstrating
how values of , and ~ r can be derived from . and Gd or from Land L.
In the future, however, other techniques for estimating A and Rr should
provide even more accurate estimates. For example, the doze technique,
or one of its varieties, such as second generation doze (Carver, 1975a),
may produce more direct and accurate estimates of Ar. Yet, more
research will have to be conducted to be able to transform a doze
completion per cent, such as 50 per cent, into an expected Ar proportion.
The focus has been upon readinj in these discussions of
suggested techniques for measuring Land L. to estimate Ar and Rr
However, there could be techniques developed for estimating La and L!
during auding, also. In this case, we would speak of an "auding ability
level" instead of a "read ing ability level." Furthermore, it can be seen that
this theoretical framework could easily be expanded to cover other
languages. For example, there could be a French auding ability level
determined by developing a corresponding I. and L sca'le for auding
French.
Empirical evidence
After one of the original drafts of the preceding theory had
been written, it became apparent that certain existing data (from Carver,
1973a) could be reanalyzed to investigate relationships among E, A, and
R. These reanalyzed data will be presented to illustrate how some of the
variables in rauding theory are measured, calculated, and used in
research. These data also may be used a) to provided support for some of
the generalizations and hypotheses of rauding theory, b) to demonstrate
how the theory can be used to make empirical predictions of reading
performance, and c) to provide an indication of the relative accuracy of
rauding theory predictions.
In a study ofreadingand auding, Carver(1973a) presented the
relationship between the per cent of thoughts stored and the rate, in
words per minute, at which the passages were presented. By converting
rate into standard sentences per minute (Spm) and by calculating
efficiency in Spm, it was possible to investigate the relationships among
E, A, and R.
Original experiment
Abrief description of the original research will be given to
provide the background necessary to understand the subsequent data
reanalysis and discussion.
A theory ofreading comprehension andrauding CARVER 37
The relationships among understanding, stored information.
and learning from prose materials were investigated using varying
presentation rates. Ten prose passages, each around 325 words in length
and at college level difficulty, were presented visually (N=54) and
auditorially (N=54) to college students. The Gd for each of these pas
sages was determined later as part of another study (Carver, 1975-1976),
and the mean Gd was J3.3. The passages were presented at rates varying
between 75 and 450 standard length words per minute (Wpm). Degree of
understanding of each prose passage, in terms of per cent of sentences
understood, was subjectively rated by each subject after the passage had
been presented and before taking I of 3 types of objective tests-chunked,
20 per cent doze, and revised-cloze. TIlerefore, each ofthe 3 groups had I
objective test score and 1 subjective rating of per cent understanding.
Individual differences in ability, passage differences in difficulty, and
order of presentation effects were co'ntrolled using a counterbalanced
design. The most reliable and sensitive measure of the effect of rate
changes was the per cent of understanding ratings.
Figure I contains a sample of the original per cent
understanding data. Per cent of understanding while listening to the
prose passages (while auding) is plotted as a function of rate in standard
length words per minute for the 3 groups which were subsequently
administered different objective tests. Notice that the understanding
curves from the 3 groups are practicaJly coincident and vary from about
80 per cent to about 0 per cent understanding.
Reanalysis
Combination groups. Since each of the 3 objective test
groups received the same treatment with respect to the accuracy of
comprehension variable (per cent understanding), these data from the 3
groups were combined in the reading mode as weil as in the auding mode.
Rate. Rate, in standard words per minute (Wpm), was
converted into sentences per minute by dividing Wpm by J6 2/3 (using
Equation 17) to provide the variable R, an estimate of the rate of
presentation.
Accuracy. Estimated accuracy (A) was simply the per cent of
understanding variable converted into a proportion. There was 1
additional minor change in the accuracy data. The first step in the
original data analysis was to calculate means ofthe individual data points
for each treatment-condition. Because these data were skewed in many
cases. the reanalysis used the median instead of the mean to provide a
more refined and representative summary statistic.
38
RSADING RIISIlARCH QUARTSRLY. Number I. 1977-1978 XliiI 1
100
L1STENING
+ Chunked
-
80 11
20%-Cloze
~
Z
o Revised Cloze
l&J
U
a:::
l&J
~
-
60
~
Z
Cl
Z
~ 40
<f)
a:::
LU
o
Z
::>
20
o' , , , 'J
o 100 200 300 400
PRESENTATION RATE (WPM)
Figure I. Percentage of understanding while listening to prose passages
that is, auding, as a function of presentation rate in Wpm for 3
groups who took 3 different types of objective tests-chunked, 20
per cent doze, and revised doze. [Taken from Carver, 1973a]
Efflciency. The estimated efficiency (E) was calculated by
multiplying each Rvalue by its accompanying Avalue (using estimated
values in Equation 5).
ResuJts and discussion. Figure 2 contains the resulting
reanalysis foe efficiency ( i ~ ) as a function of Rate (R). It may be noted
that thcre is an optima] listening rale around ]5 Spm, or 250 Wpm.
Efficiency decrcases slightly on either side of this maximum value where
E= 9.7 Spm. It mayaiso be noted that thcre appears to be no optimal rate
A Iheory ofreading comprehension andrauding
CARVER
39
of reading because at rates greater than about ISSpm, efficieney stays
eonstant at about 9 Spm. The harmonie mean of the 4 Evalues on the
reading asymptote (that is, when R= J8,21,24, and 27) was 9.0 Spm. Tbe
harmonie mean was used because it is most appropriate for averaging
ratios when aU vaJues are greater than O.
15 I /
Reading
+ Auding
-
E
Perfect
/
CL
I
Efficiency
V) 10
>0-
e.:.
:z
.....
-
e.:t
-
5
~
~
.....
0
o 5 1Q 15 20 25 30 Spm
o 83 167 250 333 417 500 Wpm
'RATE
Figure 2. Efficiency in sentences per minute (Spm) as a function of rate in
sentences per minute (Spm) and standard words per minute (Wpm)
for reading and auding.
This apparent lack of an optimal rate of reading is not real, but
an artifaet ofthe eonditions ofthe experiment. Listening rate was direetly
manipulated, using a rate-controlled speech deviee; but reading rate was
not directly eontrolled. The subjeets were presented the entire passage
and were asked to read it at their normal rate until they were told to stop.
If they finished reading the passage before the time limit was up, they
were supposed to begin reading the passage again. They did not know
how long they would be given to read and the time limit order was
randomized, so the eonstant eondition between the listening and reading
modes was, in fact, time, not rate.
There are several extremely interesting aspeets about the data
in Figure 2. The fact that the curve for the subjects in the reading mode
asymptotes at the high rates suggest that the understanding data are
extremely reliable and valid. This is because, theoretically, reading
40
READINO RESEARCH QUARTERLY. Number /,/977-/978 XlIII I
efficiency in thoughts comprehended per minute should remain constant
at Er when the time limits are too short for the subjects to finish the
passage. For these data, the best estimate ofEr is 9.0 Spm, the mean ofthe
4 asymptote values noted earlier. The subjects may have been stopped
before they finished the passage at the higher rate conditions, but
according to rauding theory, this would have no effect whatsoever upon
the efficiency (Er) at which they had been reading. The subjects should
have been reading at aH of the high rate conditions with the same
efficiency of thoughts comprehended per minute, and the data seem to
indicate that they were. Stated differently, the asymptote in Figure 2
suggests that the subjects were, in fact, attempting to raud at a relatively
constant rauding rate with a relatively constant accuracy under those
conditions where they did not have time to finish the entire passage.
Furthermore, these data tend to refute the normal skepticism associated
with using subjective estimates.. There appears to be no way that these
subjects could lower their accuracy estimates at the high rates so that
when A was multiplied by Rthe result would be constant, unless the
subjects were providing reliable and valid self-reports based upon how
much they comprehended out of what they had had time to read.
These data also may be summarized more formaHy as
Generalization 11: Efficiency 01 comprehension (E) during reading is
constant under typical reading conditions where the difficulty level olthe
material is constant. Indirectly, these data provide empirical support for
the theory that rauding efficiency (E.), rauding accuracy (A,.), and
rauding rate (R
r
) are constant under typical reading situations for any
particular individual.
The fact that the reading curve asymptoted at approximately
the same place (9.0 Spm) as the maximum of the listening curve (9.7 Spm)
suggests that the optimal rate in the reading mode is approximately the
same as the optimal rate in the Hstening mode. The maximum efficiency
for reading (9.3 Spm) was also almost exactly equal to the maximum for
listening (9.7 Spm). It is significant that efficieny in the reading mode
never became higher than efficiency in the listening mode. This is exactty
in accordance with rauding theory, which considers the 2 language
comprehension modes as essentially equivalent. These data seem to
provide direct empirical support for one of the basic tenets of rauding
theory-that the sensory mode used to present passages is relatively
unimportant when the individuals are at the junior high level of ability or
higher. More specifically these data provide support for Generalization
6, which was that the maximum reading efficiency was equal to the
maximum auding efficiency. Generalization 6 may be rephrased as
A Iheory 01reading comprehension andrauding CARVER 4/
Generalization 12: Mature readers (La >3) read passagesjusl as weil as,
but no better than, they can aud them.
It is extreme]y significant that when the subjects could process
the visuaUy presented prose at any rate and accuracy providing any of a
number of possible efficiency scores, the rate and accuracy they chose to
cover the material provided efficiency scores approximate]y equal to the
maximum efficiency attainable when auding. These data provide support
for Hypothesis 6, which stated that mature readers tend to read at a rate
which is maximally efficient for them, and this rate tends to be their
rauding rate (R
r
).
For the group of individuals who participated in this research,
it can be inferred that their average rauding rate (R
r
) was around 15-18
Spm (250-300 Wpm) since this was where maximum efficiency occurred
for auding and since none of the rates for reading that were higher than
this resulted in higher efficiency. Rauding theory could have been used to
predict this equivalence between the reading and auding results because
both auding and reading skills should be developed to their maximum
potential-that is, the rauding rate ('R
r
) for a group of mature readers.
In speed reading courses it is often contended that people can
learn to move their eyes in a manner that will resutt in more efficient
reading. (See Carver, 1972a.) The equivalency of the reading and
listening data in Figure 2 suggests that reading efficiency probably cou]d
not be improved with changes in eye movements. It would be difficult ror
rauding theory to adjust to empirical evidence which showed that taking
a speed reading course would increase the maximum efficiency in the
reading mode to a level that was significantly higher than the Iistening
mode, say 2 or 3 times as efficient.
There is an additional aspect of the data in Figure 2 which is
important. Up until the optimal rate was reached, reading efficiency and
auding efficiency were approximately eq ual. Since rate was being
manipulated in the auding mode and since rate was not being
manipulated in the reading mode, this relative equivalence suggested that
the most important variable involved was, in fact, time, not rate. Time
allowed to raud the passages was the only thing the 2 modes had in
common. The time that the subject is allowed to engage in rauding
appears to be the most important factor determining how much is
comprehended, as long as the time allowed is more than the minimal time
necessary for rauding to occur.
These data provided direct empirical support for some of the
generalizations and hypotheses of rauding theory. These data also
42
READING RESEARCH QUAItTERLY. NumbeT 1,1977-1978 XlIl/l
demonstrate how the interrelationships among reading effieiency,
aecuracy, and rate may be investigated. Let us now use rauding theory to
make a predietion about the accuraey and efficieney of comprehension.
Since the subjeets in this experiment were coJlege students, it would be
reasonable to estimate their grade level ability in reading to be around ]4
. (Ga = 14). Another sampie of students from the same university who
volunteered for another research study a year later were administered the
National Reading Standards Test, and their mean G. was 13.5. It seems
reasonable to use this 13.5 value as an estimate of the reading ability of
the subjects in the present experiment. The estimated."rate of reading for
individuals who have a G. of 13.5 is 306 Wpm and Rr = 18.4 Spm. The
mean level of diffieulty for these passages was earlier as
13.3 (Gd = 13.3). From Table 3, the estimated Ar for a G.-Gd ofO.2 is .55.

Using Equation 9, Er may be estimated from the produet of A and Rr (.55
x 18.4 = 10.1 Spm). It may be noted that this value is very similar to the
9.0 value for Er estimated earlier from the empirical data for reading. It is
even closer to the 2 maximum values for reading (9.3 Spm) and auding
(9.7 Spm). For a rate (R) of 18.4 Spm, the A values that eorrespond to the
9.3 and 9.7 Spm, Evalues are .51 and .53 respeetively. These values
eompare very favorabty with the predietion of rauding aeeuraey from
Table 3 (Ar =.55). Thus, it can be seen how rauding theory ean be used to
prediet the aeeuraey and efficieney of eomprehension during reading
when the ability of the individual (Ga) and the diffieulty of the material
(Gd) are estimated. In this ease, the predieted values eompare very closely
with the empirieal values in an actual reading and auding situation.
It appears that one of the primary goals of rauding theory has
been aeeomplished. It has been presented with enough precision to be
proven wrong or highly inaeeurate. The first prediction using rauding
theory seems to have been accurate enough to claim at least minimal
empirieal support for the theory.
Part 1101 rauding theory
A theory has been advanced which foeuses upon thoughts
comprehended in typieal reading situations. Those aspeets of the theory
presented earlier were primarily restrieted to situations where an
individual read a passage once at his/her own rate (Rr); and then the
aeeuraey of eomprehension (A) was predieted from the ability level of
the individual (r..) and the diffieulty level of the passage (l..c). This seetion
will extend the theory to situations where the aecuracy of eomprehension
of an entire passage at any point in time is of interest. Rauding theory
43
A ,heoTy o/reading compTehension andTauding CARVER
will therefore be expanded to cover a prediction of the number of
thoughts in a passage that are comprehended when the individual
has not been given enough time to finish reading the passage, as weil
as when the individual has been given more than enough time to finish
rcading the passage.
Accuracy when time is ShOTt
The most important idea to be presented in the equations and
figures which follow in this section is that the number of thoughts
comprehended in a passage starts out at 0 when no time has been allowed
for reading and then increases as the amount of time allowed for reading
increases. This re]ationship holds, up until the individual is given enough
time to finish reading the passage (tr ). How many thoughts that have been
comprehended at any point in time up until t ~ t
r
depends upon 2 factors:
a) Ar, that. is, how easy or familiar this particular passage is to thc
individual, and b) Rr, how fast the individual can raud while reading.
The number of thoughts comprehended (Tc) as a function of
time (t) may be derived from Equation 5, by substituting Tc / t for E, A for
A, and Rr for R:
Tc
18] -t- = Ar R
r
Then, Equation 18 can be solved for Tc as a function of t, so that
19] Tc = (Ar Rr)t, when ~ t r
Thus, it can be seen that the number of thoughts comprehended in a
passage increases linearly from 0 as a function of time allowed for
reading, with the s]ope of the line heing equal to the product of the
rauding accuracy (A) and rauding rate (R,.). Equation 19 wou)d hold, up
until t > t
r
. Figure 3 contains a graphic portrayal of this relationship.
A concrete example may help explain this relationship.
Suppose the number of thoughts in a passage (T
p
) was 500, that the
rauding accuracy of the individual was .75, and the individual's rauding
rate was 20 thoughts per minute. We can predict the number ofthoughts
comprehended at any point in time, prior to t> Ir, by substituting these
values into Equation 19:
20] Tc =(.75) (20) t
and
21] Tc = 15 t
44
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY. Number 1.1977-1978 XIlI/I
When tS tr,
T C ' A r R r t ~
...
u
c
"'
w
C
z
w
:J:
w
a:
~
:E
o
o 'I
o
...
~
C)
o
~
~
...
O.
t
I
0-- t
r
TIME ALLOWED FOR READING, t
Figure 3. Thoughts comprehended as a function oftime allowed ror readinga
passage when the reading time does not exceed that amount of time
required to finish reading the passage once.
Now, if we want to predict how many ofthe 500 thoughts in the passage
would be comprehended after 10 minutes, we wouJd simply substitute 10
for t in Equation 21 and find that )50 thoughts would be comprehended
after 10 minutes. Using Equation 8, we can calcuJate the amount oftime
that wouJd be required for the individual to finish reading the passage
onee:
500 = 25 min.
22]
t r ="2'Q"
A theory ofreadinK comprehension andraudinK CARVER 45
Solving Equation 2 for Tc, we can calculate the total number ofthoughts
in the passage that woutd be comprehended after the passage had been
read once at the rauding rate:
23] Tc =(.75) (500) = 375 thoughts
This concrete example is depicted graphically in Figure 4.
500
Tp =500 thoughts
u
~
A
r
=.75
....
C
400
Tc =375
R
r
=20 thoughts / min.
w
C'
Z
w
J:
w
300
~
~
~
o
u
200
Vl
~
:I:
C>
:::>
o
100 c
E
J:
~
."
N
"
...
-
I
OK I
I
I
,
I
o 10 20 30 40 50
TIME (min.)
Figure 4. A concrete example of thoughts comprehended as a function of the
time spent reading using hypothetical data.
Now, let us transform these equations to focus upon the
relationship between accuracy and time. This is best accomplished by
removing the actual length of a passage (T
p
), a relatively uninteresting
46
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLye Number /. /977-/978 XlIII J
theoretieal variable. If both sides of Equation 19 are divided by passage
length (T
p
), we find that
24] Tc = (Ar R
r
) T
t
Tp p
and
25] A = (Ar R
r
) -
t
, when t ~ t r
T
p
If the hypothetical data depieted in Figure 4 are substituted into
Equation 25, the results are as presented in Figure 5. It may be noted that
since t/T
p
is equal to the inverse of R (I/R), then Figure 5 ean also be
, regarded as presenting the relationship between A and 1/ R.
In tbis seetion, it is also important to note that as time
inereases up to t" the average rate (R) deereases and the aeeuracy of
eomprebension (A) of the passage inereases linearly. However, the
efficieney of eomprehension of the passage remains constant:
26] E = Ar Rr = 15
In fact, the efficiency remains constant at Er, since the product Ar Rr is Er,
according to Equation 9. It mayaIso be noted that the slope ofthe line in
Equations 8 and 14, as depicted in Figures I, 2, and 3, is also Er (15).
In summary, while reading a passage once under typical
reading conditions, the rauding rate (R
r
), the accuracy of comprehension
(Ar), and tbe efficiency of comprehension (Er) remain constant, while the
average rate (R) deereases, tbe proportion of the thoughts eomprehended
in tbe passage (A) increases, and the time allowed for reading (t)
inereases.
This section has extended rauding theory to cover the
relationship between reading comprehension and time allowed for
reading when the time has been short, that is, short of enough time to
finish reading the passage. The most important relationships presented in
this section are represented by either Equation 19 or Equation 25.
.A lheory 01reading comprehension andrauding CARVER 47
1.00
T
p
=500 thoughts
R
r
=20 thoughts Imin.
.8
Ar =.75
I
I
I
I
I
I
.6
1
I
I
<t
I
I
>-'
t
- I
u
J:: I
<t
.4
0)1
::JI
~
0,
J::I
:::) -I
':1
U CI
U
-I
EI
In,
~
0,
.2
11' I
0..
1
.- I
..... 1
..
...
,
,
I
.05 .10
TIME PER THOUGHT PRES'ENTED, }
P
Figure 5. Accuracy of comprehension ofa passage as a tunetion ofthe time per
thought presented using the same hypothetical data as were
represented in Figure 4.
Accuracy when time is long
The theory necessary for predicting the accuracy of passage
comprehension (A) when time is long (t ~ t
r
) will be developed from
empirical data. This section will contain yet another reanalysis of the
same empirical data presented in the preceding seetion entitled
"Empirical data."
In the presentation of the first part of rauding theory, the
efficiency of comprehension ( ~ ) was presented as a function of rate (i{)
for botb reading and listen,ing (auding). (See Figure 2.) Carver (I 973b)
48 READI,NO RESEARCH QUARTERLye Number 1,1977-1978 XliiI I
has a]ready reanalyzed the original auding data with a foeus upon the
time variable. The aeeuraey variable was plotted with respeet to a "time
per word" variable (seeonds per word, Spw), and Carver reported that
those data provided evidenee for a time threshold for listening. lt was
eoncluded at that time that there is a eertain minimum amount of time,
.40 spw, required to understand the words presented in speeded speech.
This threshold of .40 spw eorresponds to a rate of ]50 Wpm.
lf time is such an important faetor, then it seemed reasonable
to analyze the data in Figure 2 with additional foeus upon time. Instead
of plotting Eversus R, the inverse was plotted, that is, time per thought
comprehended (r/f,) versus time per thought presented (t/fp) or II ~
versus li R. Instead of plotting thoughts per minute, minutes per thought
was plotted. This means that the rate variable will be't/Tpinstead ofip/t
.", "w. "." ...,
and the efficieney variable will be plotted as t/T, instead ofTel t. This new
plot focusing upon time 1S presented in Figure 6.
To aid the interpretation of the data in Figure 6, an analogy
will be presented. The rate of flow of an extremely homogeneous
material, such as water, is usually presented as a certain quantity of the
material per a eertain amount of time, for example, eubie feet per minute.
This situation is similar tousing words per minute or thoughts per minute
as in Figure 2. However, in some situations, the quantity in question
comes in ehunks and the rate of flow may be more meaningfully
expressed in time perchunk. Forexample, the rate offlow ofan assembly
line for automobiles may be expressed as 2.5 minutes per car as weil as.4
cars per minute. The 2.5 minutes per ear may be more meaningful for
analyzing the assembly line proeess beeause there are eertain proeedures
for eaeh ear that require a certa in fixed amount of time per ear, and if this
amount oftime is not allowed, then the entire functioning ofthe assembly
line breaks down.
The above analogy may help in interpreting Figure 6 because
the horizontal axis represents rate in terms of the amount of time in
minutes that eaeh thought is presented, and the vertical axis represents
efficieney in terms of the amount of time expended for each thought that
was eomprehended. Another way that the vertieal axis can be interpreted
is by letting it represent "ineffieieney." High values on the vertieal axis
represent high ineffieiency and low values represent low inefficiency.
For the auding data (the dashed line in Figure 6), the lowest
inefficieney value is at 250 Wpm (irt, = .JO when tl1p = .067).
lnefficieney inereases when less time is aUowed per thought presented,
and ineffieieney also increases when more time is allowed per thought
l. "I
:':"l
A theory 01reading comprehension andrauding CARVER 49
.30
Reading
+Auding
l - I l ~
. .25
Q
LA.I
Q
:z
LU
:z: .. 20
LA.I
a:::
~
~
C
c..,:)
.15
....
:z:
c.D
=
c
:z: .10
....
a:::
LA.I Perfect Efficiency
~
.05
.....
~
.....
o
o : 05 .10 .15 . .20 .25
-
TIME PER T"OUGHT PRESENTED, -
t
-
T
p
Figurc 6. Time, in minutes per thought comprehended, as a function of the
time, in minutes per thought presented, for the reading and auding
data presented in Figure 2.
presented. However, the increase in inefficiency is very small when only a
Hule less time per thought is allowed (at 300 Wpm r/f
e
=.11 when r/fp =
.056). The next incremental decrease in time per thought allowed is at
350 Wpm, and this results in a dramatic increase in inefficiency
(ttr
c
= .18 when t/T
p
= .048). The succeeding 2 incremental decreases in
time per thought are at 400 Wpm and 450 Wpm, and these resulted in
such high values of inefficiency that it was not convenient to place
them on thisgraph (t/f
e
= .90whent'jf
p
= .042and i'ri\ = 2.70whent/T
p
so
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLye Number /, /977-1978 xmfJ
=.037). The relative position of these laUer 2 values has been designated
by the arrow at the top of the dashed line in Figure 6. These auding data
provide even stronger evidence than that presented by Carver (1973b)
that there is a threshold involved in auding. These auding data suggest
that the threshold is between 300 and 350 Wpm, between .048 and .056
minutes per thought presented, between 18 and 21 Spm, and between 171
and 200 msee. per standard length word (mseel W). These data analyzed
in this way indieate that the previous interpretation by Carver (1973b)-
that the threshold was around 150 Wpm-was an erroneous judgement.
The dramatie threshold effeet refleeted in Figure 6 has been
interpreted as supporting the part of rauding theory that holds that there
is a eertain minimum or threshold amount of time required for the
rauding process to oeeur, that is, for eaeh word to be eheeked to see ifthe
pereeived thought represented by the sentenee is being formulated. 1fthis
threshold amount of time is not allowed, then inefficieney is extremely
high. Durations greater than the threshold amount of time also result in
higher ineffieieneies. It appears that in the auditory mode there is a
relatively narrow band of time per sentenee that is maximally efficient.
Any time less than the time neeessary for the sentenee monitoring
funetion to sueeessfully operate will automatieally result in a thought
that is not eomprehended. Any time greater than the time necessary for
the sentenee monitoring funetion to sueeessfully operate will
automatieally inerease inefficieney beeause time will be inereasing
without a proportional inerease in the number of thoughts eomprehended.
To interpret the reading data presented in Figure 6, it must be
remembered that the reading situation was exaetly the situation as was
eovered in the preceding seetion when time was short. Time was
shortened instead of directly manipulating the rate the words were
presented; so up until enough time was allowed for reading the passage
onee, the equations in the preeeding seetion hold (effieieney would be a
eonstant, E = Er). The vertieal axis in Figure 6 represents riTe, so this
means that it also represents the inverse of efficiency (I I ~ ) . If ~ is a
eonstant at Er then II ~ should be a eonstant at 1I Er. Notiee that the first
4 data points for reading in Figure 6 are relatively equal, as purported by
rauding theory. The mean ofthe first 4 data points was .111 thoughts per
minute, whieh eorresponds exaetJy with the inverse of the harmonie
mean of the Er values noted in the previous seetion (1/9.0 = .111).
The most outstanding aspeet of the data in Figure 6 is the
linear relationship for both the auding and reading modes beyond about
.07 minutes per thought. Also, it may be noted that both eurves are
A theory 01reading comprehension and rauding CAllVER. SI
almost perfectly parallel to the li ne of perfect efficiency, which has a slope
of 1.00 and an intercept of O. Stated differently. the distance between the
Hne of perfect efficiency and the actuaJ data does not vary; that is. it is
constant, as the time per thought presented increases from .07 to .22
minutes per thought. Thus, it may be said that the amount of inefficiency
at any of these rates is constant when time is 10ng. These empiricaJ data
form the basis for the theory regarding what h'appens to the accuracy of
comprehension of a passage (A) when the time allowed for reading is
greater than that required to finish reading the passage once, that is,
when t ~ t r . These empirical data suggested the hypothesis that the slope
of the line reJating t/Tc to t/T
p
is constant at 1.00 when t/T~ tr/Tp
Stated differently, this hypothesis is as folIows: Each incremenl in Ihe
time per Ihoughl presenled (117',.) results in an equal increment in Ihe
amount 0/ time per thought comprehended (tl Tc) when t . ~ t,
(Hypothesis 7).
For the reading data in Figure 6, a straight line was fit to the 5
data points on the right side of the figure, using a sJope of 1.00 with the
intercept equaling the mean of the deviations from ~ h e slope of J.00. The
result was as follows:
t t
27] ~ = J.000 -;;;r +- .049
Tc T
p
Tbe y-intercept in the above equation is .049 minutes per
thought, and it can be thought of as the constant amount of inefficiency
(i) that results at a)) presentation rates below the threshold rate. The
inefficiency constant (i) is the constant amount of time per thought
presented that is lost in relationship to the amount of time per thought
comprehended for all of the varying presentation rates when t ~ t, or
R ~ R.-. It is a constant for a particular person with a certain R, value who
is reading a particular passage with a certain Ar value.
The general form of the above equation can be expressed as
28] _t = ~ +i when (>-t
Tc T ' :;..--'-r
p
This relationship is represented graphically in Figure 7, together with tht.
reJationship between t/Tc and t/T
p
when t ~ t., as covered earlier.
It will be helpful to analyze the inefficiency constant (i) to see
how it depends upon Ar and R
r
First, Equation 28 can be solved for i as
[o))ows:
52
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY. Number 1, /977-1978 xmfl
29] i =_t _...!...
Tc T
p
Then, A and R ean be introdueed ioto the equation by the foUowing
steps:
I I
30]
i =--f
Tc _.p
t t
I I
31]
i=E"
-
R
I I
32]
-
i = AR
R
. __I (_I _ I)
33]
1- R A
Sinee A = Ar and R = R, at the rauding rate, then
. I I
34] 1 =-
R
(
- - I)
, Ar
Thus, it ean be seen that the ineffieieney eonstant (i) is an inverse funetion
of R
r
and Ar. When the rauding rate (R,) is high, then the inefficiency
eonstant (i) is low, relatively. When the rauding aeeuraey (Ar) is high,
then the ineffieieney eonstant (i) is low, relatively. For a partieular
individual, increasing the diffieulty of the material to be read, that is,
deereasing Ar, will result in an inerease in the ineffieieney eonstant (i).
The amount of time loss per eaeh thought presented (i) deereases as the
rauding rate (R
r
) and rauding aceuraey (Ar) inerease. This means that
individuals who have higher rauding rates also lose less time per eaeh
thought eomprehended aod individuals who have the same rauding rate
lose less time per thought eomprehended on passages when their rauding
aeeuraey is higher.
In the preceding seetion, Tc was presented as a funetion of t
when ~ t , (Equation 19), and then A was presented as a funetion oftjT
p
(Equation 25). Now, these same relationships ean be presented when
t ~ t , . Equation 28 ean be solved for Tc as folIows:
A Iheory ofreading comprehension andrauding CARVER
S3
- I ~
0'
W
o
Z
w
::I:
w
0'
Q.
:E
o
U
t-
J:
Tc =ArRr
C)
'-Perfeet Comprehension, Ar =1.00 & i=O
o
~
::I:
t-
0'
w
Q.
w
:E
-
....
t
r
T
p
TIM"E 'PER THOUGHT PRESENTED, {
P
Figure 7. Time per thoughl comprehended as a function of time per thoughl
presenled.
35] Tc =
t
t +.
- 1
T
p
80th sides of Equation 35 can be divided by T
p
:
36] Tc = 1 . -!...
Tp -.1.. +i T
p
T
p
and. therefore:
t
37] A = _t
-
+
-
i
T
p
T
p
54
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY. Number /,1977-/978 XlIII 1
Equation 37 may be expressed in terms of Ar and R
r
by substituting for i,
using Equation 34:
I t
A
- I (_I_I)
T
p
38] - _t + -R Ar
Tp r
Figure 8 contains the theorized relationship between the accuracy of
passage comprehension (A) and the time allowed for Figure 8
includes the entire range of times from 0 time to read the passage (t = 0) to
the point where time approaches infinity (t-
oo
). The equation developed
in the preceding section (Equation 25) is represented by the straight li ne
on the left side of the function, and the equation developed in this section
from the empirical data (Equation 38) is represented by the curved line on
the right side of the function.
Equations 25 and 38, as depicted in Figure 8, summarize all of
rauding theory. However, it will be helpful to present these relationships
other ways, focusing upon R instead of t/T
p
Figure 8 mayaiso be
regarded as a presentation of A as a function of 1/ R. The term 11 R may
also be substituted for t/T
p
in Equation 37 to produce:
I
._1
39] A=
-
I +.
I
R
R
or
40]
A = I +
I
iR ,when
Equation 40 expresses a hyperbolic relationship between the accuracy of
passage comprehension (A) and the average rate at which the passage is
presented (R) when R As the average rate of passage presentation
(R) is increased up to the rauding rate (R
r
), the accuracy of passage
comprehension decreases and the form of the decrease of this function
is hyperbolic; that is, the function follows a hyperbola. The relationship
between A and R when the average R is greater than R
r
may be derived
quite simply from Equation 25:
1
41] A = (Ar Rr)-, when
R
and is another hyperbolic function.
55
1.00
A theory ofreading comprehension andrauding CI\ItVER
A= I t
A r ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
t I ( I . -
T
p
T + - - - I)
P R
r
Ar
ca:
..
>
o
ca:
a:
::)
o
o
c(
t < tr I t > tr
- - - ~ ' r ~ - -
Tp - Tp ~ Tp - Tp
o !
t
r
Tp
TIME PER THOUGHT PRESENTED, :/p
Figure 8. Accuracy of comprehension of a passage as a function of the time
per thought presented.
The relationship between A and R is graphically portrayed in
Figure 9. It may be noted that empirical data relating accuracy and rate
could be easily mistaken for 1 linear reJationship instead of 2 separate
hyperbolic relationships, given the error ordinarily inherent in such
research. (For example, see the data presented by Jester and Travers,
1966.)
56
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLye Number 1.1977-1978 XlIII I
1.00 ~
1
A=
1 + iR
I
"-
0<
.
z:
c::::>
-
V')
::z:
LU
::z:
LW
ac::
0-
:E
c::::>
I
I
I
I
~ / A =
ArR
r
R
~
.....
c::::>
>-
~
0<
ac::
=
R=R
r
~
~
I
~
CI: I
I
I
I
.00
o--
CD
AVERAGE RATE, R
Figure 9. Accuracy of comprehension of a passage as a function ofthe average
rate at which the passage is read under typical readin,g conditions.
There is one other empirical data curve that deserves dose
scrutiny-the relationship between the estimated accuraey of
eomprehension () and the time allowed per sentence presented (t/T
p
)
for the reading data represented in Figure 2. These data are eontained in
Figure 10. For this figure. 2 theoretical eurves were fit to the data.
Theoretieal Curve 1 was derived using estimates not direetly eonneeted
with the data itself, that is, the Ar = .55 and R
r
=18.4 used earlier. Curve 2
in Figure 10 was fit using the empirical data itself. A straightline was fit
to thedata where t ~ t
r
by taking the average ofthe slopes oflines passing
through the first 4 points. This provides the same result (9.0) as using the
inverse of the harmonie mean of the efficieney scores (.11 J) noted earlier.
The eonstant (i) was ealculated earlier (i = .049). Then
- -
57 A Iheory ofreading comprehension andrauding CARVER
42] Er = Ar Rr = 9.0
and
i = _I 1
43]
AR - R = .049
r r
These 2 equations can be solved simultaneously for R
r
and A: Ar = .56
and R
r
= 16.1. These va]ues were substituted into Equations 25 and 38,
and plotted as Curve 2 in Figure 10. It may be noted that the actual data
points are very close to the values that were derived from the theory
z
o ,"0
-
V)
Z
w
CURVE 1
J:
.8

r
' .55
w
R 18.4
0:::
r
I
a...
~
.6
o CURVE 2
.< u

r
'.56
u..
R
r
16.1
.4
o

>-
~
.2
0=
::J
U
~
.05 .10 .15 .20 .25
TIME PER THOUGHT PRESENTED, t/T
p
Figure 10. Accuracy of comprehension of a passage as a function of the time
per thought presented for the reading data presented in Figure 2.
Curve 1 is a theoretical prediction curve generated from estimates of
Ar and R
r
, estimates not associated with data. Curve 2 is a theoreticaJ,
curve fit to the data using estimates of Ar and Rr developed from the
data itself.
58
READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY. Number I, /977-1978 Xliii J
(Curve 2); the mean of the 9 differences between the theoretically derived
value for each data point and the actual data point was only .02.
Therefore, it may be said that the theory fit the data quite well; the
average error of the fit was 2 percentage points. It should be noted that
the accuracy of comprehension scores predicted from Theoretical Curve
I, which was not derived from the data itself, deviated only 4 percentage
points, on the average, from the actual data. It seems possible that even
this degree of accuracy in prediction for Curve I could have been
improved had actual estimates of the rauding rate (Ra and rauding
accuracy (Ar) for the group being studied been obtained. In any event, the
data in Figure 10 indicate that the theoreticaJ formulations regarding a
typical reading comprehension situation fit the actual data quite weIl.
It was noted earHer that the subjective estimates were more reliabJe and
more sensitive, or valid, than the objective test scores. The subjective
estimates were considered to be more reliable than the objective test
scores because their curvilinear functions were smoother, that is, less
erratic. In order to demonstrate that the same genera] results may be
obtained from objective test scores as was obtained from the subjective
judgments. Figure J1 has been presented. This figure contains the
relationship between the scores on the chunked test (one ofthe objective
tests used in the research) and the time, in minutes, aIlowed to read each
passage. Passage length was estimated to be about 19.5 thoughts long,
using the mean number of standard length sentences (S); the time in
m i n ~ t ~ s alJowed for reading was estimated by multiplying 19.5 by each of
the t/T
p
values presented in Figure 10. There were 20 5-choice items on
each chunked test on each passage; the scores in Figure J I have been
corrected for guessing. Scores on the other 2 objective tests (forms ofthe
cloze test) have not been presented because they were not reliable or
sensitive to the changes in comprehension. It may be noted that the data
from the chunked test suggests an initial linear increase with time, and at
the end a negatively accelerated function. The linear prediction equation
based upon the correlation between the 10 mean chunked test scores and
the 10 mean subjective judgments taken from all 3 reading groups was
used to convert Theoretical Curve 2 into the predicted chunked test score
units in Figure 11. The chunked test was administered under one con-
dition where the subjects are not alJowed to read the passage for any
Jength of time, and this is the 0 minutes condition in Figure 11. It may be
noted that this curve, derived from rauding theory, predicts the actual
scores on the chunked test quite well. Thus, it can be seen that the support
of rauding theory is not limited to subjective data.
A theory ojreading comprehens;on andrauding CARVER 59
l-
V)
w
15
e __
I
I-
C
W

Z
::)
::r:
u
z
0
w

10
je
/0
/0.
5

0 .
u
V)
01
0
I
1
I
2
I
3
I
4
I
5
TI,ME ALLOWED FOR READING (min.)
Figure 11. Score on the chunked test, corrected for guessing, as a function of
the average time allowed for the reading of a passage. in minutes,
together with a different form of the same prediclion curve from
Figure 10.
Conclusions
Rauding involves the communication ofthoughts between the
writer and the reader, and it is the most frequently occurring type of
reading. It is a basic kind of reading to be compared with other kinds of
reading such as surveying, and studying. Reading
may be considered a generic term covering rauding as weil as these other
more familiar types of reading.
Using rauding theory, the number of thoughts in a passage
that have been comprehended by the reader (Tc) may be predicted from a
knowledge of a) 2 characteristics of the passage-Tp and Ld, b) 2
charaeteristics of the individual- R
r
and L. and c) the amount of
time the individual spends reading the passage-t. The reading
ability level of the individual (L.) and the difficulty level of the passage
(Lt) are used to predict the accuracy ofthe individual's comprehension at
the rauding rate (Ar). This variable (Ar), together with rauding rate itself
(R
r
), can be used to predict the accuracy ofcomprehension ofthe passage
at any point in time after reading has begun.
60
READING IlESEAIlCH QUAIlTEIlLY. Number 1.1977-1978 XlIII J
This prediction process may be summarized in the following
steps:
I] Estimate the difficulty level (Li) of the passage that the
individual will be given to read, and estimate the reading
ability level of the individual (L.)..
2] Enter Table 3 with a) the ability level (La) to get an estimate of
rauding rate (R
r
) and with b) the difference between the ability
level and the difficulty level (L.-Li) to get an estimate of
rauding accuracy (Ar).
3] Estimate the length of the passage (T
p
).
4] The proportion of the passage that has been by
the individual (A) at any point in time after the individual
begins reading (t) can be predicted by substituting the above
estimates of Ar, R" and TI' into Equations 25 and 38.
Future research will be needed to assess more fully the
limitations of these theoretical formulations. Data collected recently
from college students-but as yet unpublished-has already provided
support for the following parts of the theory: a) reading rate is constant
across different difficulty levels, b) reading efficiency decreases when
individuals are forced to read at rates above their rauding rate, c) the
maximum efficiencies during reading and auding are equal, d) the
relationship between 1/ E and 1/ R is linear with a slope of 1.00 at
different levels of material difficulty, when the average rate is less than
the rauding rate, and e) accuracy of comprehension of a passage increases
linear]y from 0 as the time allowed for reading increases from 0 up until
enough time is allowed to finish reading the passage once. Other
objective test techniques for estimating the accuracy of comprehension
have also been used and the data from these measures also have
supported the theory. In summary, there exists empirical support forthe
validity of the 2 equations which summarize rauding theory (Equations
25 and 38). This represents empirical support beyond the data contained
in this article which was partially used to develop the theory.
Rauding theory has provided a description of the reading
process, and it has provided relatively precise predictions regarding
reading comprehension under various conditions. The theory is also in
accordance with intuition regarding how reading comprehension may be
increased-that iSt by increasing the ability level of the individual (La) by
decreasing the difficulty level of the material (Li) and by increasing the
amount of time (t) the individual spends reading. Rauding theory
61
A theory ofreoding comprehension ondrouding CARVER
appears to represent progress toward the scientific goals of description,
prediction, and control of reading comprehension.
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