Recent initiatives in the United States and United Kingdom have added greatly to the amount and quality of research on the effectiveness of secondary reading programs, especially programs for struggling readers. In this review of the experimental research on secondary reading programs, the authors focused on 69 studies that used random assignment…

In education, it is possible to find dozens of examples of "forced" reading incentive programs that categorize student reading levels, provide limited reading lists coordinated with those reading levels, assess student reading through computer-based tests, and award tangible prizes when they pass the test. Those who perform best get the most…

Although converging evidence favors fostering phonemic segmentation and phonic decoding knowledge in the primary grades, there is little agreement on best ways to accomplish these goals. The well-documented importance of teacher expertise is often ignored. Administrators evaluating reading programs should exercise considerable skepticism and…

Research in reading comprehension was reviewed in order to characterize, summarize, and evaluate its contribution to principles of instructional practice. Studies were divided into four major research traditions: existential descriptions, existential proofs, pedagogical experiments, and program evaluations. An examination of these four frameworks…

The Chapter 1 Developer/Demonstration Program: Learning To Read through the Arts (LTRTA) was developed to offer intensive reading instruction to eligible New York City students through the integration of a total reading program with a total arts program, from October 1984 to June 1985. Evaluation of the program showed the following: (1) that all…

A study examined how culturally diverse students increased their reading/writing performance through a structured volunteer tutoring program. Two university professors developed volunteer tutoring programs at six elementary schools in southeastern Michigan. Program objectives were to: (1) increase the reading performance of culturally diverse…

The following articles are included: "Reconceptualizing the Language of Adult Literacy" (Ilsley, Stahl); "Expanding the Definition of Literacy for Adult Remedial Readers" (Heathington); "Adult Literacy Programs" (Davis); "Stages in the Reading Development of Adults" (Norman, Malicky); "Reading Concepts…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providng information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 9 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the effect of subject and training variables on the SQ3R study method; (2) the effects of affective-oriented and cognitive-oriented prereading instruction on seventh grade students'…