THE GUINEA PIGS MULTIPLY

Last fall thirty-two Freshmen went to the movies and learned how to read. The Freshmen in this case were volunteer students, and the movies, rapidly moving words and phrases projected on a screen. Gaping eyes were taught to scan the printed page, moving quickly over the lines and making fewer stops than had been their habit. The results gained by the "remedial reading class" were immensely significant despite the justly cautious attitude of the directors of the experiment, for not only did the Guinea Pigs increase their reading speed approximately fifty per cent, but half of their number showed definite improvement in their marks from November to February. In spite of this striking indication of the relation between reading ability and the mastery of courses, the University has conspicuously not leapt into action to hasten the experiment, and make it available to the general student body.

Of course several qualifying factors must be mentioned before concluding that complete success has been realized. It is by no means abnormal for a Yardling to profit from his icy plunge into the November Hour Exams and improve his marks by February, reading class or no reading class. And the number of men who were involved was so small that any sweeping generalizations would be unsafe. But none the less, the Psycho-Educational Clinic has been encouraged this year to conduct larger, general reading examinations in an attempt to secure more comprehensive results; and although the records may not be made public until next fall, there is talk of further expansion.

Already the Clinic has been besieged by upperclassmen who are entranced by the idea of flicking through the pages of their reading assignments. Immediate expansion may be impractical; but scientific zeal for thoroughness should not prevent the University from making more generally available, certainly in the near future, the immense practical benefits of the scheme now in embryo.