Reports on two experiments which examined whether normal and disabled readers differed in the ability to use orthographic structure information to process printed material. Finds that disabled readers use orthographic structure information as much or more than normal readers. (MM)

Examines and supports the notion that many of the problems evidenced by poor readers are related to their passive response to the interactive task of reading. (MM)

Outlines three constructs of text difficulty: text-based (objective), performance-based (behavioral), and a combination of the two (subjective). (HOD)

Concludes that adult disabled readers perceive reading as a decoding process rather than as a meaning constructing or comprehension task. (HOD)

Eye movements of good and poor reading fifth grade students, third grade students, and adults were assessed with results indicating that poor reading fifth grade students had relatively unsystematic eye movement behavior with many more fixations of longer duration than did good reading fifth grade students and adults. (HOD)

Investigates visual processing asymmetries in normal and dyslexic readers to determine whether differences between dyslexics and normals were due to structural hemispherical differences or to strategical processing differences. Results indicate dyslexics behave as normal readers if they are unable to predict whether the stimulus will be verbal or…

Reports on a study that examined seventh-grade students' ability to recall prose passages to determine whether the size of the semantic processing unit increased across three orienting task conditions, thereby increasing comprehension and recall. (HOD)

Investigates the effect of phonemic awareness training on the phonemic awareness and reading ability of low- and middle-achieving first graders. Finds that training which provided subjects with a conceptual connection between phonemic skills and reading was generally ineffective for low readers. Suggests that phonemic awareness training for low-…

Examines cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational factors as predictors of individual differences in the reading comprehension abilities of good and poor readers. Finds that regression analyses within subgroups indicated word recognition was the most important predictor variable for poor readers, whereas perceived competence predicted the…