Investigates the effects of a classroom reading program in which students who passed pretests on basal skills were excused from subsequent instruction and practice on those skills. Finds that most students were able to pass pretests on reading skills before the skills were covered in the basal reading program. (RS)

Stresses the importance of careful diagnosis for each child, concluding that by working with such related skills as listening comprehension, spatial relations, and auditory association the overall effectiveness of a reading program for spanish-speaking children may be increased significantly. (RB)

Describes a study to determine the effects of visual perception training on beginning first-grade reading achievement with children diagnosed as being deficient in visual perceptual skills and potential reading problems. (JM)

Examines the extent and direction of curriculum bias in standardized reading achievement tests by comparing the relative overlap in the contents of five separate reading achievement tests with the content of seven commercial reading series. (HOD)

Examines the first-grade materials in five new basal programs submitted for the 1993 Texas state adoption, comparing them with program materials currently in use in the state. Finds substantial changes in the more recent series. Interprets findings in terms of historical trends as well as recent developments in the literature-based and…

Describes Simuread, a computer program which is designed to aid in reading instruction, and illustrates its research applications. (RB)

Examines the effects of an intergenerational literacy program on the measured English proficiency of nine bilingual families. Finds significant increases in the families' measured second-language facility. Proposes that teacher scaffolding strategies, as well as parents' and children's efforts to linguistically mediate each other's learning, were…