This issue of "Reading Research Quarterly" ("RRQ") marks the journal's golden (50th) anniversary and 200th published issue. Given this historic milestone, an understanding of the journal's content and impact might inform its readership about the field of literacy broadly and the contribution of "RRQ" in…

Offers and applies a set of design criteria to characterize ten alternative models of reading or understanding. (MKM)

Discusses how research in the developmental cognitive neurosciences can contribute to an understanding of the complex relations between various aspects of naming and reading processes. Reviews findings from both neuropsychological and reading research on letter-naming and general naming speed, and analyzes the methodological differences between…

Presents examples of current instructional conceptions, illustrates one way to broaden thinking about teaching, and argues that a lack of such thinking poses its own methodological problems for reading instructional research. (AEA)

Defines comprehension monitoring as a metacognitive process that is affected by person, strategy, and task variables. Reviews research in the area and draws conclusions based on that research. (FL)

Concludes that methodological problems must be overcome and certain critical assumptions validated before the results from oral reading error analysis can be used confidently. (AEA)

Concludes that attempts to maintain objectivity by measuring surface features of text end up describing effects rather than causes of coherence in text. (FL)

Reviews research on the effects of world knowledge and text structure variables on reading comprehension. Concludes that text structure variables exert influence only when the subject matter is moderately unfamiliar and are redundant in reading familiar or very difficult material. Suggests knowledge and structure variables should be manipulated…

Discusses the outlier paradigm, then (1) reviews some major studies in reading program effectiveness at the elementary school level that have followed the paradigm (2) synthesizes findings from these studies into what they suggest are the key elements of effective reading programs (3) offers some critical commentary on the studies in question and…

Discusses hypotheses (facilitation, inhibition, and no-effect hypotheses) explaining television's influence on children's development of reading skills. Surveys and discusses empirical research on this complex relationship and evaluates the utility of the five research approaches used in the past. (SR)

Considers the limitations of experimental studies of classroom interaction and suggests how naturalistic research approaches may complement them. (FL)

Evaluates the methodological quality of 39 studies of phonological-awareness interventions in children. Finds only seven studies met two-thirds or more of all the evaluative criteria (internal and external validity), although all of these investigations demonstrated at least one fatal flaw. Suggests improvements for future intervention research.…

Reviews research relevant to understanding the conditions in which elaborative inferences are made, with a particular concern for the implications for schema-theoretic notions of comprehension. (FL)

Proposes a list of studies that have influenced instructional practice. Considers how literacy instruction has changed. Discusses the role of literacy research in instruction. (PA)

Reviews literacy and reading achievement trends over the past century and places the current debates in a historical perspective. Concludes that upgrading literacy skills now requires new initiatives by coalitions of educators, community groups, employers, and governments. (FL)