Achievement in reading, verbal language, listening comprehension and locus of control of adult illiterates in a volunteer tutorial project.

This study examined the effectiveness of specific psychoeducational tutoring methods on achievement in reading, verbal language, listening comprehension, and locus of control. Subjects were 76 youths and adults reading below fifth grade who volunteered to participate in an adult tutorial project. After the assessment of entry level achievement, subjects were tutored for 34 hr. by trained volunteers. Comparison of pretest and posttest scores with a control group that received no tutoring indicated that subjects made significant improvement in both general reading and discrete reading subskills. As gains in verbal language, listening comprehension, and locus of control were nonsignificant, further research is needed over a longer period of time or employing other standardized measures. Results support the use of well-trained volunteers in ameliorating problems of adult illiteracy.