Following the work of Gillen (1 973) and Hofmann and Vyhonsky (1975) on the reading ease and human interest of books used in introductory courses in psychology and educational psychology, we thought it timely to assess the same factors in textbooks used in introductory survey courses in special education.Gillen (1 973). using the Flesch Reading Ease method, reviewed 34 introductory psychology texts. He found that one was rated as very difficult, 29 as difficult, and 4 a s fairly difficult. Using The Flesch Human Interest method, 10 were rated a s dull, 19 as mildly interesting, and 5 a s interesting. For 36 introductory texts in educational psychology, Hofmann and Vyhonsky (1975). also using the Flesch methods, noted that 8 were rated very difficult, 25 difficult. and 3 fairly difficult. On the human interest score, 32 of the 36 educational psychology texts were ranked in the dull category, with the remaining 4 texts ranking in the next higher category, mildly interesting.The Flesch method (1949, 1951). used in both studies, determines reading ease through a procedure which measures length, Le.. the longer the words as measured by number of syllables and the longer the sentences, the more difficult the reading level. Human interest is determined by the percentage of personal words and sentences. Klare (1974) provides evidence for sentence length and word length as a valid measure of readability. The value of the human interest score or its converse, dullness score, in determining the interest value of the writing is open to question since scientific and academic writing style, at least in this country, tends to be quite impersonal by design. The 15 books concerned with exceptional children selected for this study include all the major books published in

The other aspect is that of "false negatives." These are the students who are missed by the test. Only six children were rated "poor" by tho teachers who were not identified by the test. This is less than 3% of the total sample.The larger degree of error was in identifying more children at risk than actually were at risk. This seems the more acceptable error, since in a screening process such as this the goal is to miss as few children as possible who might have difficulty in order to give them the opportunity for special attention.These results appear to be within acceptable limits. REFERENCESCREDOI.INI,., A. J. Predirtzng achieuemevt with the First-Grade Screening Test. Unpublished Master's Thesis, San Jose State College, 1968. HASE, H. I ) . Evaluation of a sample of rural North Dakota pre-school children by means of a screening test.

No abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of two measures commonly used to predict school achievement of black and white deaf children. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and the Hiskey-Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude correlated significantly with Stanford Achievement Test scores for 23 black children but not for 36 white. Even though the groups differed significantly in WISC-R Performance IQ, Hiskey learning quotient, and in CA, they did not differ in achievement level. While the WISC-R and Hiskey appear to have some predictive validity for the black sample, the findings of no differences in achievement suggest little practical validity of these measures for grouping or placement or for making administrative or instructional decisions.

No abstract