This study examines how Chinese ESL learners recognize English words while responding to a multiple-choice reading test as compared to Romance-language-speaking ESL learners. Four adult Chinese ESL learners and three adult Romance-language-speaking ESL learners participated in a think-aloud study with the Michigan English Language Assessment…

The aim of the study was to explain the difference between the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 reading results for Finland and Estonia using characteristics of teaching and learning, and characteristics of the overall development of these countries. PISA data were collected via a reading test and student questionnaires…

International achievement comparison studies assess students on core subjects such as Reading, Mathematics and Science. Students who do not speak the test language at home can be expected to be disadvantaged because of language proficiency. The test language effect has not been given sufficient attention. The present study investigated probable…

In recent years, the Education for All movement has focused more intensely on the quality of education, rather than simply provision. Many recent and current education quality interventions focus on literacy, which is the core skill required for further academic success. Despite this focus on the quality of literacy instruction in developing…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of student achievement during comprehension lesson using metacognitive strategy and examine the effects of the strategy used in reading and understanding expository text lessons. Besides, this study also identified metacognitive strategy used by students in all three reading processes…

Is there an achievement gap for online reading ability based on income inequality that is separate from the achievement gap in traditional, offline reading? This possibility was examined between students in two pseudonymous school districts: West Town (economically advantaged) and East Town (economically challenged; N = 256). Performance-based…

Multiple-choice (MC) reading comprehension test items comprise three components: text passage, questions about the text, and MC answers. The construct validity of this format has been repeatedly criticized. In three between-subjects experiments, fourth graders (N[subscript 1] = 230, N[subscript 2] = 340, N[subscript 3] = 194) worked on three…

With illiteracy in the United States at a staggering rate, school districts are spending more and more instructional dollars searching for intervention programs to address students' reading deficits. While, in the past, school districts have received funds through various state funding sources, the financial forecast for school districts is no…

The three-fold purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the impact of the computer-based reading program Fast ForWord (FFW) on the reading achievement of second-grade students in an Ohio school district. The sample included 360 students (treatment group, n = 85; control group, n = 275) from four elementary buildings. FFW is an…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether there was a significant increase in the reading achievement during second- and third-grade of the 12 students who attended Midway Elementary Professional Development School (PDS) from kindergarten through fifth grade. Additionally, the study was seeking a possible relationship between the in-service…

Many articles and reports have reviewed, researched, and commented on international assessments from the perspective of exploring what is relevant for the United States' education systems. Researchers make claims about whether the top-performing systems have transferable practices or policies that could be applied to the United States. However,…

Empirical evidence shows that the quality of learning in public schools is very low in India. There is also a robust belief that private schools offer better-quality learning at a lower cost and are a cost-effective alternative to public schools. Most of the evidence on which this latter claim is based does not correct for selection bias--students…

A study evaluated comparatively the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) Interactive Test and Advantage Learning Systems' STAR Reading Computer-Adaptive Standardized Test. Due to the different methods used for collecting and calculating norm-referenced scores in the two tests, scale score measures of reading performance were used for the comparative…

A study investigated whether a positive correlation existed between scores obtained by incoming freshman on the recently developed Degrees of Reading Power Test (DRP) and the required Reading Comprehension subtest of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT). The subjects, 217 William Paterson College freshman enrolled in a…

To determine the most accurate group-administered measure of reading achievement, a study explored variations of the cloze and maze procedures with second grade students who were native English speakers or who were being taught English as a second language. Subjects--108 second grade volunteers (1% American Indian, 49% Asian, 39.8% Black, 1%…