Previous studies show that a listener has the potential to receive recorded information at a rate far exceeding the rates that are used for conversation and for the production of tape recordings. However, few studies have examined listeners' rate preferences. Thus, 48 elementary school children in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade listened to a series of four recorded presentations. While listening to each recorded presentation, the subjects were allowed to manipulate the rate of presentation of the recording through the use of a speech compressor. All subjects listened to the same four recorded passages. The results support the following conclusions: (1) children will manipulate the rate of presentation of recorded information in a self-paced listening situation; (2) children demonstrate a preference for a certain rate; and (3) the extent a listener alters the listening rate is positively related to the difference between the initial rate of presentation of recorded information and the listener's manifest preference for rate. As such, instructional materials that are designed for use in a self-paced listening environment will be more likely to be altered by the subject toward a preferred rate when the initial rate of presentation is more different from the listener's preferred rate. (Author/WCM)