The problem of this study was to investigate how good and poor comprehenders utilize passage structure and task instructions to acquire information from a prose passage. To give a more detailed picture of what type of information processing occurred during reading, both verbatim and paraphrase items were used to assess comprehension.There were two strong but nonsignificant patterns in the data for task instructions. Poor readers were sensitive to both attribute and relation instructions. Good readers, however, were not affected by attribute instructions, but were sensitive to relation instructions. The results for good readers tentatively suggest that they encode attributes as a natural part of reading, but only encode relationships when they are specifically instructed to do so. Based on these results, three observations were made. First, good readers appear not to be easily affected by text organization, but poor readers may be aided in comprehension by slight improvements in the organization of the text. Second, all students need more assistance and practice in drawing inferences from the text. Third, written instructions may be a weak aid for increasing the comprehension of poor readers and may help good readers attend to information they would normally miss.

This study determined the instructional approaches and teaching techniques and materials reading specialists perceived to be the most effective for the seventh and eighth grade remedial reading courses mandated by Texas House Bill 246. It also determined the most effective inservice procedures for training teachers assigned to teach these courses. Fifty-four Texas reading specialists, representing school districts, service centers, and colleges and universities, participated as panelists in the Delphi, completing three rounds of questionnaires. Perceived recommendations were rated by panelists according to levels of effectiveness.