MEMORIAD™

SPEED READING WORLD RECORD STANDARDS

The following standards of the scores and records for ‘Speed Reading’ were introduced in 2015 by "MEMORIAD™ World Mental Sports Federation" and have been in practice since then. They consist of national and international standards which are supposed to be followed by the people serving and to be served in the ‘Speed Reading’ field.

The standards are isted under the following headings:

  1. The Standards of Speed Reading Testing Materials
  2. The Standards of Testing Comprehension
  3. The Standards of Scoring
  4. The Standards of the Judge(s)
  5. The Standards of Degrees
  6. The Age Standards of the Competitors
  7. The Standards of National and International Ranking
  8. The Standards of Precautionary Rules
  9. The Standards of Official Record Registration, Certification and Their Announcements
  10. Ethic Rules in the Speed Reading Competition

1. The Standards of Speed Reading Materials

The materials to be used in Speed Reading Competitions and Record Trials are supposed not to have been published before; They must be the reading texts certified by "MEMORIAD™ World Mental Sports Federation". The following procedures are followed in preparing the reading materials;

1.1. An Original Reading Text is to be Written for Testing:

The rule eliminates the possibility of the competitior having read the text before anyway but claiming to have completed reading the text without actually reading it in the competition.

1.2. The Reading Material Is Not to Consist of Encyclopedic Information:

The rule removes the possibility of a competitior who is a well-read reader of encyclopedias having read the text before anyway but claiming to have completed reading the text without actually reading it in the competition.

1.3. The Reading Text is not to Focus on a Specific Topic Only:

The rule removes the the possibility of a competitior who is a specialist in a specific field having read the text before anyway but claiming to have completed reading without actually reading it in the competition.

1.4 The Speed Reading Material is prepared by the "MEMORIAD™ World Mental Sports Federation":

The rule prevents the unprofessional and non-authoriative people and institutions to exploit the process.

1.5. All the Competitors Participate in The Competition and Record Trials in Any Language They Would Like.

Each competitor is free to choose any language they like to compete in Speed Reading Competition. "MEMORIAD™ World Mental Sports Federation" have the text translated into varied languages, but not all languages, for each competition and record trial. While announcing each competiton and record trial, "MEMORIAD™ World Mental Sports Federation" also announces which languages are available in each competiton and record trial to prevent any confusion.

2. The Standards of Testing Comprehension:

The testing material unable to grade the comprehension level of the competitors is meaningless and does not have any validity. Reading the text without comprehending it means being disqualified from the competition and from the record trial without any grade and degree.Therefore, "MEMORIAD™ World Mental Sports Federation" has determined the level of comprehension under 60 % as ‘Reading without Comprehending’ (Reading with no Comprehension).

The following criteria are taken into consideration in the process of preparing a Reading Text:

2.1. The Questions in the Reading Material Must Be related to the Whole Context of the Text:

The rule needs the questions to be concerned all through the text, so that the competitiors will not give correct answers for all the questions just by reading a small part of the text but not reading the whole text.

2.2. The Level of Comprehension refers to the Ratio of the Total Correct Answers to the Total Number of the Questions.

The comprehension level of the competitor is represented by "RC (Reading Comprehension or Ratio of Comprehension)" and the percentage of his comprehension is calculated with the Formula given below;

RC = (Number of Correct Answers / Total Number of Questions) x 100

2.3. The Competitor Whose Reading Comprehension Rate (Ratio of Comprehension - RC) is under 60% is disqualified:

The competitor is expected to have a comprehension level (RC) of 60% or above to get a grade and a score, which is a rule of great importance.

2.4. The Questions in the Reading Comprehension Test Are Supposed Not to Be Open-ended Questions:

The rule helps to prevent assessing the answers which are in the text form (open-ended texts, articles, essays, etc.) and which are based on assumptions and comments, so that there will not be any controversial results. The assessment is carried out through Multiple-Choice or True / False questions providing the absolute value.

2.5. The Number of True / False Questions Must Not Exceed 50% percent of the Total

The rule minimises the chance factor.

2.6. The Number of Multiple-Choice Questions Must Be at least 50% of the Total Number of the Questions; There Must Be at least Three Options for Each Answer:

Like the previous rule, this rule also minimises the chance factor

3. The Standards of Scoring:

When scoring in the Speed Reading Competition, the number of the words read per minute called "Raw Reading Speed (Raw RS)" is calculated first and then the obtained result is calibrated by multipliying it with the "Comprehension Constant (CC)" that is related to both the level of comprehension (RC) and the Raw Reading Speed. The final score is called "The Speed Reading Score" or "The Calibrated Reading Speed (Calibrated RS).

3.1. Calculating the "Raw Reading Speed":

The "Raw Reading Speed (Raw RS)" is calculated by dividing the number of the words in the text into the time spent (in minutes) for reading. It is abbreviated as "Raw RS" and the unit value is "Word / Minute".

Raw RS = (Number of Words Read) / (Time Spent to Read)

3.2. Comprehension Constant (CC): This is a constant calculated according to the "Level of Comprehension (RC)" and "Raw Reading Speed (Raw RS)". It’s short form is written as "CC". How the value of "CC" is calculated is shown in the Table given below;

Raw RS Comprehension Constant (CC) CCmax CCmin
Raw RS > 624 CC = (1.40 + RC) / 2 1.20 1.00
625 > Raw RS > 549 CC = (1.00 + RC) / 2 1.00 0.80
550 > Raw RS > 449 CC = (0.60 + RC) / 2 0.80 0.60
450 > Raw RS > 299 CC = (0.20 + RC) / 2 0.60 0.40
Raw RS < 300 CC = (0.00 + RC) / 2 0.50 0.30

3.3. Calculating the "Speed Reading Scores" or "Calibrated Reading Speed"

The " Speed Reading Score" is the same as "Calibrated Reading Speed (Calibrated RS)". The result is obtained by multiplying the "Raw Reading Speed" by the "Comprehension Constant (CC)". Thus, the comprehension ratio has a great impact on scoring.

Calibrated RS = Raw RS x CC

3.4. The Final Ranking is mainly determined by the "Calibrated Reading Speed" not by the "Raw Reading Speed":

This rule highly affects the score. For example, while the final score (Calibrated RS) of the competitor who can read 1000 words a minute with a comprehension level of 60% is "1000 x CC = 1000 x 1.00 = 1000 words / minute, the final score of the competitor who can red 900 words a minute with a comprehension level of 80% is "900 x 1.10 = 990" words / minute.

4. The Standards of the Judge(s):

There is at least one judge appointed by MEMORIAD™ during the competiton or record trials. The possible false and outlaw record announcements are prevented through this rule.

5. The Standards of Degrees

The lower limits are determined for absolute evaluations;

If the "Raw RS" limit of the first three places are under 625 words / minute in any competition, the places under the lower value are not announced. For example, if the first three scores are 540, 500 and 475 in a competition and the highest score is 540, the "First Place" is not given to any competitor because the highest score (540) is under the lower limit (625) for the "First Place". Similarly, because the first and the second scores (540 and 500) are under the lower limit (550) for the "Second Place" , the "Second Place" is not given to any competitor. Thus, it is announced that "No scores are available for the "First Place" and the "Second Place". The competitor with the score of 540 is announced to be in the "Third Place" because his / her score is above the lower limit (450) for the "Third Place".

5.1. The calibrated Reading Speed is counted in ranking the final scores in the competition.

The final scores are first ranked relatively according to their "Calibrated RS" values. Then, the ranks are announced as the "First Place", "Second Place" and the "Third Place" by taking the lower limits into consideration.

5.2. If the lower limits are not exceeded by the competitors, the "First Place", "Second Place" and the "Third Place" are not given to any competitor:

If the highest score is under the lower limit for the first place (625), the "First Place" is not given to any competitor. Then, the "RS" of the highest score is re-examined for the "Second Place", and if the score is under the value for the "Second Place", the "Second Place" is not given to any competitor, either. Finally, the "RS" of the highest score is re-evaluated for the "Third Place", and if it is still under the lower limit for the "Third Place, the "Third Place" is not given to any competitor.

6. The Age Standards of the Competitors:

The age of the competitors who participate in Speed Reading Championships and Record Trials must be over 12 (13+) on the date of the competition. So, the ones who are 12 years old and under 12 are not allowed to participate in Speed Reading Championships and Record Trials. Provided that they announce in advance, "Memoriad™ World Mental Sports Federation" can use a more simple version of the reading text which they use for junior competitors, aged between 13 and 17, in a Speed Reading Championship or a Record Trial. However, junior competitors are given the same text as the adults with no simplification.

7. The Standards of National and International Ranking:

In Speed Reading competitions, the "Calibrated RS" values are taken into consideration for National and International Ranking. The competitor who has the highest score with the "Calibrated RS" value in ranking is titled as "Memoriad Speed Reading World Record Holder". "Memoriad™ also announces the speed reading records in their database in international and intercontinental rankings.

8. The Standards of Precautionary Rules

"Memoriad™ World Mental Sports Federation" may ask to repeat the competition on a different reading text if there is an unusual score. Degrees, scores and rankings in the competitions are offically accepted valid only by the approval of "Memoriad™ World Mental Sports Federation"

9. The Standards of Official Record Registration, Certification and Their Announcements

"Memoriad™ World Mental Sports Federation" serves and certifies the national and international rankings of all scores on their website, www.memoriad.com. The world records broken in the competitions held by "Memoriad™ World Mental Sports Federation" are generally publicized in "The Guinness Book of World Records" and "The Book of Alternative Records".

10. Ethic Rules in the Speed Reading Competition:

The aim of "Memoriad™ Speed Reading Standards" is both providing the reliability of the records and scores announced all around the world and secure the justice among the competitors. Basically, the standards serve the purpose of protecting the rights of mental athletes and their being cheated of their rights by some questionable scores and records.

© 2015 – Melik Duyar & Memoriad™ World Mental Sports Federation – www.memoriad.com