AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

In recent years there has been much criticism of the teaching of reading and of the materials of instruction. Critics have deplored the high rate of reading failure among high school students. Others claim that there is a lack of interest among adults and youths in good books. It has been alleged that reading materials lack interesting content, have been over-simplified, and are unduly repetitious. A more insistent criticism has been that reading problems and failures can be attributed to the lack of phonetic training in reading instruction. The controversy over the methods of teaching reading probably reached its peak in 1955. It was at that time, that Rudolph Flesch’s articles, entitled, "Why Johnny Can’t Read”, were syndicated in 120 American newspapers.