When schools and teachers adopt core reading programs they can use them with fidelity or make intelligent decisions about the texts, lessons and components they select to use. The evidence suggests that these programs are not research-based documents, but rather compromises between what the research suggests about effective reading instruction and…

Presents a brief outline ofthe evolution of the basal reader and notes the predominant role it p plays in today's reading instruction. Comments on the impact reading research has had and is likely to have on the basal reading program in the future. Includes a pro-reaction and a con-reaction paper. Bibliography

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)

Investigates whether analogical reasoning is included in four major basal reading series and, if so, the nature of such instruction. Finds that three of the four series examined taught analogical reasoning directly, but that the nature and extent of each series' instructional recommendations varied widely. (RS/JAD)

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)

This paper examines reading research and fosters awareness of limitations in such studies. It begins by discussing the historical aspects of the basal reading program and the language experience and individualized reading approaches. It continues by reporting early studies conducted in these areas, and investigating problems with such studies. The…

A study of 46 first-grade children to determine how basal instructed and language experience instructed children would differ in their use of written language cues revealed no significant differences between the two groups in their use of these cues. (TJ)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether significant mean differences exist in standardized reading scores between a district that utilized a single basal series to develop reading ability and a district utilizing a tri-basal approach to reading. A cross-section of elementary teachers from two similar suburban school districts that…

The effectiveness of the Three Owls Reading Method was tested, using 53 children from a Head Start program. The Three Owls system combines sight, phonic, and linguistic reading methods with movement and touch modes of instruction. After a pretest for phonic letter recognition, the students were matched and assigned to one of two classes in a…

Presents results of a survey of teachers using basal readers in their classrooms. Responses included (1) though the concept is good, specific series do not satisfy children's individual needs, (2) most basal series are easily integrated with other approaches, and (3) a basal reader is only as effective as the teacher. (AEW)

A study investigated how the beliefs of literacy scholars affect the development of basal reading programs, the roles literacy scholars play in the development of new reading programs, and some of the critical factors that affect the disposition of innovative ideas. Two literacy scholars who had actively collaborated on the development of separate…

Poses six unanswered questions in need of research that concern school reading programs. Questions address (1) advisability of a uniform sequential reading series, (2) relative effectiveness of materials, (3) generalists vs. specialists, (4) usefulness of workbooks, (5) permanent assignment of class reading texts, and (6) parental involvement. (TE)

A study examined the effect of direct instruction on increasing students' reading competency. The study followed several studies done between 1977 and 1995 on the Direct Instruction Model for reading instruction, developed and implemented in the 1960s. The population of the 2-year study included 105 southwest Chicago area third-grade students from…

The six tables in this report rank the combinations of reading materials used in the classrooms of 34 elementary schools of Washington, D.C., during the 1976-77 academic year. The data are based on teacher reports about first through sixth grade students for whom there were both pretest and posttest scores. The tables indicate that a wide variety…

A study compared selected language features of children in five different reading programs. Selected for study were two first grade classes from each of five urban school districts that were using either the Lippincott, Language Experience, Houghton Mifflin, Open Court, or the Ginn 720 basal reading programs. A prereading test was administered to…