Legislation based on the Science of Reading has spurred changes in teacher preparation and K-12 schools. Texas, a frequent leader in educational policy, adopted its own Science of Teaching Reading (STR) Framework with a focus on scientifically based instructional practices. Adoption of these standards is intended to improve methods of teaching…

This article discusses the current contradictory policies surrounding the push for phonics instruction in Texas schools. Focusing on this current iteration of the reading wars, this article seeks to help teachers develop a historical context for reading instruction, review existing research on learning to read, and turn that knowledge into…

This paper provides a literary review and research-based techniques for teaching reading. The paper also examines the different philosophies of reading to ascertain beneficial commonalities. Based on the literature review, a manual was produced to support administrators, teachers, and parents in securing quality reading instruction. Appendix A…

Traces research citations noted in advocacy and policy documents to their original sources to determine whether use of"decodable text" in early reading instruction is research-based. Researchers could locate no reliable, replicable research to support policy assertions that using decodable text, as defined in California and Texas policy…

Reports on a survey of 40 school districts in Texas showing that they needed approximately 3,500 teachers of developmental reading, 130 administrators of reading programs, and 290 clinical personnel in reading. (FL)

The austerity of the Great Depression, the popularity of progressive education, and scholarly research in reading from 1900 to 1930 initiated five golden years (1933-1938) of reading improvement in West Texas rural schools. Financial restraints relieved the schools from close scrutiny by the state's education agency. Schools were forced to…

A study compared the effectiveness of computer-assisted reading instruction to that of a direct teaching model. Nineteen adult male inmates from Windham School System's Ellis II Unit (located in Texas) special education classrooms served as subjects. The subjects were divided into two groups each of which spent one hour a day on reading. One group…

A study examined the experiences of students, teachers, and principals involved in the day-to-day teaching of early elementary reading in four of the 12 Texas "Spotlight Schools" (schools that emphasize early elementary reading and are useful in helping all children to read). Data were collected during four-day site visits to each…

This report presents case studies of the three exemplary projects within the Special Emphasis Project, a federally funded national study of how intensive reading programs might change the patterns of elementary school students who read one or more grades below grade level. An introductory section provides information on the history, organization,…

A study focused on 41 eighth-grade students from a south Texas middle school who read self-selected books for 30-minute periods 5 times weekly from October 1996 to May 1997 to determine if increased reading time and book self-selection would improve their reading achievement. The study also sought to determine the students' attitudes towards…

A growing number of American students are nonnative English speakers. These students are vulnerable to early school exit and schools are facing more and more such students each year. Presently, about 56% of all public school teachers in the United States have at least one English language learner (ELL) student in their class, but less than 20% of…