Addresses concerns that, if a student uses a second-hand textbook already highlighted throughout the text, it may interfere with reading comprehension. Investigates highlighting: in the first experiment preexisting inappropriate highlighting interfered with performance on a reading test; in the second experiment, advance warning on the negative…

Provides a 17-item annotated bibliography addressing issues of measures of readability for languages other than English, the mismatch between student reading ability and text readability, and promising new approaches to readability. (MG)

This is a study of the utility of Lexile scores for predicting adequate oral reading accuracy and oral reading rate in a tradebook. A Lexile score is a quantitative measure of readability that can be applied to texts and also a metric for describing reading achievement through the use of standardized reading comprehension measures. Participants…

Uses an error detection paradigm to examine the ability of college students of different reading proficiency levels to evaluate their understanding of texts. Finds that good readers were more likely than poor readers to detect inconsistent sentences. Finds that students rated passage understanding high regardless of whether they detected…

Examines the effect of training fourth-grade children to use the regulation strategy of rereading as a means of answering questions about previously read text. Finds that subjects trained in the rereading strategy used the strategy more often and were more likely to produce correct responses than were control subjects. (RS)

Concludes that despite the potential disruption to the flow of understanding, readers' use of lookups is a necessary and appropriate fixup activity when reading only is inadequate for remedying text confusions. (FL)

Examines two readers' images of literary characters as a basis for studying text meaning construction. Finds greater variation than commonality between the text and readers, as well as between the readers. Suggests using dialogue and rereadings in instruction to aid in developing and monitoring text understanding. (SR)

Concludes that vocabulary knowledge can produce effects on reading comprehension, but that the nature of the effects depends on the method used to present the knowledge and the manner used to measure reading comprehension. (FL)

Examines some of the intentions that guided research into story structure, considers some of the validity problems inherent in the research, and outlines some flaws in instructional practices resulting from misinterpretations of it. Concludes with some suggestions for using story structures as a teaching tool. (FL)

Examines the role of the teacher in enhancing students' reading comprehension. Finds that the teacher is a more significant factor in the comprehension of lengthy natural texts than is the ease of the text itself. (MG)