COUNSELING AND READING SKILLS FOR THE TERMINAL STUDENT.

THE COUNSELING TECHNIQUES AND READING SKILLS FOR TERMINAL STUDENTS AT MIRACOSTA COLLEGE IN CALIFORNIA ARE DISCUSSED. AT MIRACOSTA COLLEGE, STUDENTS ARE ADMINISTERED A STANDARD GROUP DIAGNOSTIC READING TEST. TO INSURE COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR ABILITIES AND DEFICIENCIES, THEY ARE INFORMED OF TEST RESULTS. READING MATERIALS 2 YEARS BELOW THE LEVEL INDICATED BY THE STANDARDIZED TEST ARE USED INITIALLY. INITIAL SUCCESS AS WELL AS CLASSROOM CLIMATE IS IMPORTANT. COUNSELING IS CONDUCTED AT THE SAME TIME AS REMEDIAL READING IS TAUGHT AND IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS. SELF-EVALUATION IS ALSO CONTINUOUS. PROBLEM AREAS INCLUDE THE LACK OF DIVERSIFIED MATERIAL, THE LACK OF TRAINED TEACHING PERSONNEL, THE LACK OF PUBLIC AWARENESS, AND THE USE OF LETTER GRADES AS AN EVALUATIVE DEVICE. THE BENEFITS FROM THE PROGRAM ARE INCREASED ENROLLMENT, LOW DROPOUT RATE, DEMANDS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE, REALISTIC SELF-APPRAISAL BY THE STUDENT, AND DEMAND FOR INSERVICE TRAINING. THIS PAPER WAS PRESENTED TO THE NATIONAL READING CONFERENCE (ST. PETERSBURG, DECEMBER 1, 1966). (BK)