Specific Reading Disabilities of Disadvantaged Children

A study designed to identify specific reading skill development among children generally described as disadvantaged is reported. In October 1966 1,057 children in grades 3 through 6 from two New Orleans elementary schools were tested in intact classroom groups using the reading subtest of the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT), the Silent Reading Diagnostic Tests (SRDT), and the California Test of Mental Maturity (CTMM), Long Form. Computer histogram analyses of raw score data were made by class and grade level for each school and for the combined schools and were then considered in terms of the percentage of pupils in each grade scoring at or above grade placement level on the SRDT. Findings showed that visual analysis skills tended to develop at a rate consistent with normal growth, while other skills developed more slowly. The most severe disabilities were found in the area of phonetic knowledge at the higher grade levels. It was concluded that disadvantaged children were not necessarily retarded in all areas of reading skill development and that specific diagnosis was necessary for prescription of instructional strategy. References and tables are included. (MD)