Reading ability of entering freshmen international students at a Southwestern state university :

Abstract

Students were administered the Nelson-Denny Reading Test, Form A, a General cloze test (representing the upper one-third of reading difficulty of those general textbooks examined), a content cloze test (Non-Science or Science) representing the upper one-third level of reading difficulty of those Journalism and Engineering textbooks examined, and a grade level reading score for general and content reading determined by the professional judgment of a panel of reading experts.

In cooperation with the University of Oklahoma and ELS Language Center of Norman, a stratified random sample of 70 entering freshmen international students, of which fourteen were randomly chosen from each of five TOEFL Total score range groups, were selected for use in this study.

More specifically, this study was designed to provide answers to the following questions: (1) In predicting the general and content reading ability of entering freshmen international students, which test used (TOEFL, Nelson-Denny Reading Test, or tests using the cloze procedure) is the most valid instrument when compared to a reading grade level determined by the professional judgment of a panel of reading experts? (2) To what extent are entering freshmen international students seeking enrollment at a Southwestern state university, able to read general textbooks and textbooks of their designated major as determined by cloze tests and the professional judgment of a panel of reading experts?

The Pearson product-moment correlation was utilized to test the hypotheses and to measure the relationships that may exist between variables. In addition, Scattergrams were constructed to illustrate graphically the spread of scores and to further demonstrate the relationship between scores among the five TOEFL groups.

The following conclusions were drawn based on the test results of the sample of entering international freshmen students under investigation: (1) Thirty-seven percent of entering freshmen international students should be able to read at least two-thirds of their general course textbooks. (2) Fifty-five percent of entering freshmen international student Non-Science majors should be able to read at least two-thirds of their Journalism textbooks. (3) Eight percent of entering freshmen international student Science majors should be able to read at least two-thirds of their Engineering textbooks. (4) Students were determined to be reading at a higher grade level on textbooks of their major than on general textbooks. (5) There was no significant difference found between students in the 500 to 549 and the 550 to 599 TOEFL Total range groups on the General cloze test. (6) There was no significant difference found between students in the 500 to 549 and 550 to 599 TOEFL Total range groups on the Total score of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test and the general reading grade level as determined by the professional judgment of a panel of reading experts. (7) The Nelson-Denny Reading Test Total score was found to be a moderate predictor of international students' general reading ability. (8) The TOEFL Total score was found to be a moderate predictor of international freshmen students' general reading ability. (9) The Nelson-Denny Reading Test Total score and the Total score on the TOEFL taken together was the best predictor of international freshmen students' general reading ability. (10) No test used in this study was found to be an acceptable predictor of content (Journalism and Engineering) reading ability.

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent entering freshmen international students can read their textbooks, and what implications this may have for international students seeking admission to a Southwestern state university.