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