Six previous studies of the variables affecting anagram solution are re-examined for the evidence that number of syllables contributes to solution difficulty. It was shown that the number of syllables in a solution word was confounded with imagery for one study and with diagram frequency for another. More importantly it was shown that the number…

The acknowledgement that educational achievement is highly dependent on successful reading development has led to extensive research on its underlying factors. A strong argument has been made for a causal relationship between reading and phoneme awareness; similarly, causal relations have been suggested for reading with short-term memory and rhyme…

Current theoretical interpretations of naming speed and the research literature on its relation to reading are reviewed in this article. The authors examine naming speed's effects across languages and the shape of its relationship to reading. Also considered is the double-deficit hypothesis, by which students with both slow naming speed and low…

The purpose of this study was to examine the developmental trajectory of speed and accuracy of words in context and in isolation among skilled, average, and less skilled readers (N = 201). The authors assessed fluency of words read in isolation and in contextual measures in the fall, winter, and spring of 1st grade. They performed a multivariate…

The present study used latent semantic analysis (LSA) to analyze verbal protocols that were collected while participants read expository passages. In the study, participants were asked to type their thoughts after reading each sentence of 2 scientific texts. The semantic similarity between the protocols and the current sentence and prior causal…

Demonstrates the wide variability among children learning to read and explores the consequences of this variability for reading instruction. Shares some examples to demonstrate that variability. Demonstrates what happens when very different children read identical text. Describes a way to organize classrooms that will better accommodate the…

Details a project in which cognition, language, early literacy, phonological awareness, and reading skills were examined in a group of adolescents and children with Down syndrome and a group of typically developed children match for nonverbal cognition. Concludes that language was a strong predictor in the group with Down syndrome. (PM)

Although over 15 years have passed since Witt (1990) noted that no empirical evidence exists to support the contention that a collaborative approach to consultation leads to more positive outcomes than a hierarchical or expert driven approach, this issue generally remains unaddressed (Schulte & Osborne, 2003). While the literature documenting…

The procedures used to establish the validity of the Minnesota Reading Assessment (MRA) are described in this paper. The MRA is described as a measure designed for use with students in community colleges, business schools, technical schools, and other secondary and postsecondary training institutions in order to measure student competence in…

Reports on a study in which 12 good and 12 poor fourth-grade readers read selections in their original format and with the words in random order; concludes that the results indicate that word identification errors elicited on tests in isolation do not constitute a solid basis for predicting errors in connected text. (ET)