Advocates of the science of reading have invoked the simple view of reading (SVR) to justify an approach that foregrounds decoding in early reading instruction. The SVR, which describes comprehension as the product of decoding and listening comprehension, also served as the primary theoretical model underlying the Reading for Understanding (RfU)…

This report reflects a panel presentation and discussion at the 2020 Literacy Research Conference focused on the science of reading (SoR). Each panelist presents a summary of the presentation and incorporates the comments of the Literacy Research Association (LRA) members attending the session virtually and posting in the chat room. Each…

The authors examine the National Early Literacy Panel (NELP; 2008) report from two complementary vantage points: (a) the historical tradition of research syntheses in reading research, beginning with Chall and extending through the NELP report, and (b) other recent attempts to examine or synthesize early reading development. While acknowledging…

Describes problems resulting from certain uses of research in practical situations that indicate that reading educators should be cautious about how they use the findings of research in teaching. (MKM)

Provides a perspective of the literature reviewed by Calfee and Drum by discussing the reasons why and the conditions under which researchers and practitioners must better inform each other about their respective work. (Author)

Notes that studies of reading comprehension have increased and discusses some possible reasons for the changing research emphasis. (MKM)

Continues discussion of Ronald Carter's Rauding Theory. (AA)

Critiques Carver's presentation of his theory of reading comprehension and rauding (see article in same issue), interpreting the theory as a limited, serial, mathematical "model." (JM)

Presents open-ended and semistructured interviews to assess reading comprehension. Highlights the potential value of interviews in aligning assessment practices with instruction and learning theory. (MG)

To characterize basic processes of reading comprehension, this report focuses on how the reader's schemata, or knowledge already stored in memory, function in the process of interpreting new information and allowing it to enter and become a part of the knowledge store. The paper first traces the historical antecedents of schema theory, then…

Provides an assessment of the linguistic variables which affect the way in which children comprehend verbal data when they read. (RB)

The existing literature on reading comprehension instruction is organized and reviewed. The authors question whether explicit training to improve comprehension or monitoring strategies should be offered, since these behaviors improve with maturity and experience and in the absence of any apparent training, but conclude that it is possible that…

Through a series of three studies, the facilitative effect of metaphors on children's recall of expository passages was evaluated. Data supports the view that metaphors can serve the function of bridging new and old information in unfamiliar textual settings. (HOD)

Reports on a study stemming from schema theory that assessed the role that background knowledge plays in determining young children's ability to process relationships that are explicitly and fully specified in a text, in comparison to those that are only partially specified by the same text. (Author/HOD)

Reflects on the 30th anniversary of the publication of the "First-Grade Studies." States that what can be learned is that "It all depends" is the most effective approach to teaching reading and that pretty much any alternative method was superior to the "look-say" basals popular in the early 1960s. (PA)