86 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
86 lines
4.5 KiB
Plaintext
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June 1990
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POLICE PRACTICES:
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THE NELSON-DENNY EXPERIMENT
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The Arizona Law Enforcement Training Academy (ALETA)
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provides statewide law enforcement basic training to officers who
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have no other basic training available to them. Over 100
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agencies train their cadets at ALETA.
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THE PROBLEM
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A major problem encountered at the academy was the large
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number of academic failures among minority police recruits,
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especially Native Americans. One of the critical areas in which
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the trainees were deficient was reading comprehension, which
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impacted on their ability to read and understand material from
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the required reading list.
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THE SOLUTION
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To address the problem, at the outset of basic training, the
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Nelson-Denny Reading Test was administered to the recruits in
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order to determine their individual reading comprehension level.
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The test has been standardized and validated with a primary
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purpose of providing a trustworthy ranking of a student's ability
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in reading comprehension, vocabulary development, and reading
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rate--the three most important skills in the reading process.
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In addition to being standardized and valid, the
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Nelson-Denny Reading Test has a simple format, is administered
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easily, can be graded quickly by converting answer sheets to a
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computer Scantron grading process, and is equated to a public
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school grade level range of 3.6 to 16.9. Total administration
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time is less than 45 minutes. Forms of the test can be used
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interchangeably as a pretest and post-test to measure the
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recruits' growth in vocabulary and comprehension.
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Pretest scores showed that Native Americans, Hispanics, and
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blacks usually scored in the low grade levels (5 to 11), while
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the majority of the nonminorities scored in the higher levels (12
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to 16.9). In an effort to improve minority reading levels, it
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was decided to have recruits with high comprehension levels tutor
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those with lower comprehension levels. After the pretest was
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administered during orientation, the cadet classes, which ranged
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in size from 40 to 50 recruits, were divided into four squads of
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10 or more recruits. The high Nelson-Denny scorers were assigned
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to tutor (or be a mentor to) the low scorers throughout the 12
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weeks of training. This concept was facilitated by assigning a
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pair as roommates in the dormitories, whenever possible.
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THE RESULTS
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The results of the Nelson-Denny experiment were immediate
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and dramatic. The academic failure rate among minorities fell
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from around 80 to 85% to below 15%. Overall academic failures of
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all ethnic classes fell from 20% to 10%, excluding terminations
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due to physical training deficiencies or resignations.
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After a minimum of 300 recruits had been tested for a
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statistical base, a grade level of 10.9 was determined to be
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critical for success in the basic training. Thus, a police
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recruit with a Nelson-Denny grade level below 10.9 would
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experience academic difficulties at ALETA. The critical grade
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level proved to be extremely accurate with each new recruit
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class.
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The Nelson-Denny Reading Test has gained statewide
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acceptance as a pre-employment screening instrument once the 10.9
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grade level was identified as critical for success. On September
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1, 1989, the Arizona Law Enforcement Officers Advisory Council
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made it a requirement that all certified basic training academies
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in Arizona administer a reading test, with the recommendation
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that the Nelson-Denny Reading Test be used. And while the test
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should never be the sole determinant of success in police basic
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training, it can be a screening device, in conjunction with other
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test results, for pre-employment screening of a police applicant,
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if properly used.
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____________
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Information for this column was submitted by Lt. Samuel T.
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Ragland of the Arizona Law Enforcement Training Academy, Tucson,
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Arizona.
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