World War I and II

1914 - 1918, 1939 - 1945

When the United States entered WWI, the military began using scientific measurements, large-scale testing programs, to determine which men enlisting were to be considered as “leaders” and “followers.” Thorndike’s measure of reading comprehension, Binet’s IQ test, and Gray’s “Standardized Reading Paragraphs” were among the first tests used to measure cognitive ability and processes. During WWII, it was discovered that many soldiers were unable to comprehend the written instructions in training manuals. This brought the awareness of the lack of instruction in reading expository text.