<p>I am quite concerned about my DD's reading speed, especially once she gets to college. That 450 wpm? As if. How does a student build that skill? </p>
<p>"Of time and the reader"
By Minna Jaffery, ’15;
Kathryn Vandervalk, ’16 |
University of Chicago Magazine
—
Sept–Oct/14</p>
<p>How well do you keep up with the page-turning pace?</p>
<p>Speed-readers scan text at about 1,500 words per minute (wpm), but high-performing college students read at 450 wpm. We’re sure that first-years getting an initial taste of the humanities and social sciences Core are asking, “How do I make that jump?” </p>
<p>My dyslexic son will never read that fast…ever. He is in engineering but makes sure that he never has two heavy reading classes at one time (which is easy to do in engineering). In my opinion, kids that gravitate toward humanities and social sciences are heavier readers by nature, even in the digital age. My oldest son who was always a heavy reader and still is post-college stayed in humanities (English minor) while my second son who went to college and wasn’t sure what he was going to major in and the son that I had a terrible time getting to read at all except for Rolling Stone magazine slowly migrated to the sciences and ended up with a degree in Environmental Science. For the most part, kids in college don’t generally push rocks up a hill - they gravitate to what they do well in and the “doing well” gives them satisfaction. </p>
<p>My son was the slowest reader when he read at all. I used to tell him if he didn’t start reading more he would never make it through college. He is a political science major/history minor and can have 1000 pages of reading a week. Somehow he figured it out. </p>
<p>Reading speed can vary based on the information density of the work, and how much thinking the reader must do to comprehend the information. This varies even within the same subject. For example, reading Freakonomics is a lot different from reading the academic research papers on the topics that the popular book discusses.</p>
<p>Or, compare these two articles from the same author on the same subject:</p>
<p>I do not think my son is a particularly fast reader, and I think he is on the academic track that requires a lot of reading. But he survives.</p>
<p>He seems to be relatively good at a standard test, especially its verbal reasoning part. When he took SAT, he was quite confident that he answered every question correctly when he walked out of the test room. But it is likely because the ceiling of such a test is not that high.</p>
<p>He once said to us that he thinks some of his suitmates in college are not particularly efficient in their study. (It may be quite arrogant for him to say this, considering the perceived caliber of the students there. But he of course did not say this to them.)</p>
<p>Somehow he thinks his girlfriend is very smart.At one time hinted to us that she is smarter than him so he is not a person who always thinks highly of himself. (He also thinks his roommate for many years in college is very smart.)</p>
<p>I heard that if a child tries too hard to learn to read before he or she is ready, he or she could pick up some “bad” reading habit which is difficult to undo. I am not sure if it is true.</p>
<p>My kids can… but they have been avid readers since they started, consuming piles of books every week throughout elementary and middle school. Like other skills, it can be developed (obviously not when there is a disability involved, but I think for the average person it can be). I read very fast (and with good comprehension) as well. Maybe there is a gene for it… </p>
<p>I can connect to OPs concern, D. reading / verbal score was always the lowest. For example, her ACT verbal (Reading?) was wooping 7 point lower than her highest score in section, which was English.
we finally saw much higher scoring…why…because in Med. School there is no Verbal / Reading section on Borad exams.
D’s way of Reading (slower) has served hre very well in college and Med. school. Her way of reading has enabled her to absorb material better and deeper and resulted in starght As in UG. Well, I should not underestimate her superior writing and overall communication skills. Writing is definitely essential and will pull grades up in EVERY single class, including all challenging science classes. The ease and the speed of D’s writing gave her advantage in every single exam in her life.<br>
BTW, we put her in several speed reading classes, that were complete waste of time and money.
I would not be concern with the slower reading spoeed based on D’s personal experience. Skeaming and scanning is a very bad habit while reading very detailed science oriented material and actually learning whole bunch of new vocabulary</p>
<p>What my eldest lacks in speed, she makes up in stamina and enjoyment. I wouldn’t say she’s below average in speed but certainly no speed reader. She has a need to have the formal definition of every single unfamiliar word (thank goodness for kindle who makes it easy.) No inferring meaning for her. She will often turn back to previous chapters and re-read WHILE she’s reading a book just to get the full scope of a reference. She’s only got one reading heavy class this semester and it’s fine (still has room for lots of personal reading) but we’ll see what happens when she’s got 2 or 3 (or 4) heavy reading classes. My youngest is a speed reader with fantastic comprehension and an unusual vocabulary. He doesn’t enjoy reading though… rarely reads for his own entertainment. I suppose if you don’t like to read, it’s a good thing to be a speed reader lol. I always wished to be a speed reader but just wasn’t in the cards for me. </p>
<p>I’m a very fast reader, but I despise “speed reading” techniques. </p>
<p>E.D. Hirsch’s “mental velcro” concept worked well for me. (The more you know about a subject, the easier it is to learn more about it. That first paper you read on a new topic is inherently slow, as you’re dealing with new vocabulary and concepts. The second goes faster, since you’re layering on what you’ve already learned. The tenth is faster still, and re-reading the first after you’ve read a bunch of others builds even more understanding.) </p>
<p>And sometimes it helps to take a detour. Reading “What Jane Austen Ate and What Charles Dickens Knew” greatly clarified my understanding of life in nineteenth-century England, which made a lot of other reading make a whole lot more sense. </p>
<p>Our son’s school offers a speed reading course through a third party. It did increase his reading speed significantly but, as @momofthreeboys notes, comprehension is more important. The course DS took emphasized both. His “natural” talent is math, but he scored just as high on the reading sections of his standardized tests (on one test even higher) he feels due to what he learned in that course. He’s been practicing these skills since sophomore year.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of that, but I am definitely trying to create it for my DD. Even though my DD (HS junior) acts like she’s put out (and she does have a reading learning disability), I give her a lot of “gateways” into material she’s learning in school. Like a historical movie set in a time period she’s studying. Or, a humorous book that plays with some subject from school. Or, narratives of Shakespeare’s plays so she’s “gets them” better. What I’m hoping is that she’ll start to be the one seeking to build her mental velcro (thanks for the term!). I just guessing that it might help with her reading. It helps with our discussions about her reading, as the text is not so much in a vacuum. </p>
<p>This is a terrific response. It’s true. Just read more. Your eyes will start racing ahead for more because you know the context. You have to be a great reader BEFORE college. </p>