Why has large-scale standardised testing attracted such a bad press? Why has pedagogic benefit to be derived from test results been downplayed? The paper investigates this question by first surveying the pros and cons of testing in the literature, and goes on to examine educators' responses to standardised, large-scale tests in a sample of low…

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), together with controls matched for age and ability participated in three experiments that assessed the therapeutic benefit of colored overlays. The findings from the first experiment showed that a significantly greater proportion of children with ASD, than controls, increased reading speed when using…

This study investigated the relation between field independence/field dependence (FI/FD) and reading success. One hundred kindergarten children from a predominantly white, middle-class community were administered a Portable Rod and Frame Test as a measure of cognitive style. The upper and lower 27% were identified and designated Field Dependent…

A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEASURE OF PREREADING VISUAL DISCRIMINATION AND FIRST-GRADE READING ACHIEVEMENT IS GIVEN. THE RELATIVE PREDICTIVE POWER OF VISUAL DISCRIMINATION OF LETTERS, WORDS, GEOMETRIC DESIGNS, AND PICTURES WHEN THESE ABILITIES ARE STUDIED INDIVIDUALLY AND IN COMBINATION IS INDICATED. STUDIES…

This study explored whether visual discrimination problems impair achievement in children with and without learning disabilities. Children (N=66) with learning disabilities were tested for visual discrimination problems, tracked throughout elementary school, and compared to a normally achieving sample. Results indicated lower reading and general…

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which a preassessment of motor development and perceptual skills predicts achievement in word recognition for kindergarten children. The instruments used for evaluation were the Lincoln-Oseretsky Motor Development Scale, Thurstone's Identical Forms Test, Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test,…

This annotated bibliography on visual perception and its relation to reading is composed of 55 citations ranging in date from 1952 to 1965. Its divisions include Perception of Shape by Young Children, Perception of Words by Children, Perception in Backward Readers, and Perception of Shapes, Letters, and Words by Adults. Listings which include…

Results confirm previous findings that the ability to integrate auditory-visual stimuli is significantly related to reading achievement. (AG)

Examined the efficacy of the McCarthy Scales as a predictor of reading readiness and achievement in a kindergarten sample (N=33). Results confirmed the predictive validity of the McCarthy Scales and suggested that, for this sample, visual discrimination and sequential ability skills may have been more important factors than verbal abilities.…

Arithmetic and reading achievement scores of 84 children were correlated with power and precision of Bender Memory using the Bender Visual Memory Technique (BVMT). Of the 20 correlations, 16 were significant. Support for recommended use of the BVMT as a screening instrument for early assessment of arithmetic skill is provided. (Author/SJL)