This article presents 34 characteristics of texts and tasks ("text features") that can make continuous (prose), noncontinuous (document), and quantitative texts easier or more difficult for adolescents and adults to comprehend and use. The text features were identified by examining the assessment tasks and associated texts in the national…

The purpose of this study was to assess the role that phonological, orthographic, and contextual sources of information play in a group of adults who were learning to read compared to adult skilled readers. Participants read short paragraphs that contained a correct homophone, an incorrect homophone, or a spelling control. Target words were…

Discusses adult literacy and the need for appropriate instruction to prepare workers for job-related reading. (MG)

The DeFord Theoretical Orientation to the Reading Process was administered to 148 ABE and GED instructors to determine how they viewed the reading process. (HOD)

The process model of reading suggests that even the effective reader makes recurring regressions to lower levels of functioning when faced with unfamiliar topics or texts. The gradual formulation of new linguistic and cognitive structures necessitated by the task of reading is similar to the acquisition of language, and the process model suggests…

States that previous research shows links between children's reading comprehension and various writing skills but little is known about reading-writing relationships in adult students. Investigates such relationships in health-care workers attending an adult literacy program. Finds that writing of poorer readers showed significantly lower level of…

The first of two volumes of proceedings for the 19th annual National Reading Conference contains 41 addresses generally concerned with the reading process. In most cases these are descriptions of research studies examining facets of the reading process. A few others are position papers describing models of reading. Among the topics considered are…

Presents the results of a study on how adult illiterates process text, which showed that adults engaged in a greater degree of meaning-related processing and more graphemic and graphophonic processing in expository text. Adults were more successful with narrative text. (JC)

A study was conducted to determine if visualization could be used as an organizational tool to help adult education students improve their reading comprehension by helping them to see the structure of what they are reading in a sort of verbal picture of organized ideas. Following a review of research, which identified five areas in which…

Describes a research project to evaluate the progress of adult beginning readers. States that the project gave the authors insight into designing and carrying out research; broadened their understanding of how students learn about the learning process; enriched their teaching; and helped them view others' research in a new light. (RS)

TRENDS EVIDENT IN ADULT READING DURING THE 1960'S IN THE AREAS OF ADMINISTRATION, PROGRAMS, TEACHING, TECHNIQUES, RESEARCH PROJECTS, AND METHODS OF PROMOTION OF READING PROGRAMS ARE DISCUSSED. TWO INSTANCES OF COMMERCIAL EXPLOITATION BASED ON INTENSE AND OFTEN FALLACIOUS ADVERTISING AND ON PUBLIC IGNORANCE ARE CITED. A POSITIVE TREND IN THE AREA…

In view of the fact that 13% of the 9, 13, and 17-year-old students in the United States have been found to be functionally illiterate in a national study, this booklet was produced by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) to review efforts that have been undertaken to strengthen students' command of reading skills. Among the topics discussed are…

The articles in this issue focus upon the implications of new research and trends in the psychology of the reading process, reading interests of children, the developmental values of reading, content analysis of children's books, adult reading studies, the adult new reader, and the implications of research for the publishing world. The articles…

Describes a college level reading development course in which students kept records on aspects of their reading, reflected on changes in their reading, and wrote an analytical report about their reading development. Asserts that encouraging autocritical skills should become a crucial part of adult literacy instruction. (MM)

Describes the lack of substantial knowledge base about the nature of adult reading schemata and adult skill acquisition processes, posits reasons for the lack, and points out areas in adult reading that need to be addressed by researchers, such as materials, programs, and instructional methods. (SKC)