Jeff McQuillan offers case studies of intermediate level language learners who read young adult and adult fiction successfully as an argument against explicit vocabulary instruction. Case studies provide useful insights into whatever is being investigated but may not always be generalizable. However, McQuillan's reference to case studies has made…

Computer-based technologies offer promise as a means to assess students and provide teachers with better understandings of their students' achievement. This article describes recent developments in computer-based and web-based reading and literacy assessment, focusing on assessment administration, information management, and report creation. In…

Articles in this theme issue focus on young adults and genealogy, music videos, public access microcomputer software selection, literature for and about Black adolescents, library services to reluctant readers, booktalks, historical fiction, the role of young adult services librarians, and the need for adolescents to find their roots through…

Describes the use of Accelerated Reader, a computer program that instantly provides scored tests on a variety of books read by high school ESL (English as a Second Language) students as free voluntary reading. Topics include reading improvement programs, including writing assignments; and changes in students' reading habits. (LRW)