A study investigated the effects of the literature-based reading instruction on the reading achievement of Mexican-American first graders in Spanish. Using a posttest-only control group design and "t" test for independent samples, results indicated that after three months the experimental group of 30 students (attending a 100% Hispanic…

This practicum was developed to encourage the at-risk urban elementary school student to read for pleasure daily. Participants listened to their favorite rap songs, wrote lyrics for their own rap songs, and then read the lyrics as a text. The practicum was performed in a neighborhood community recreation center that serves urban students from…

Noting that many teachers and some states have abandoned traditional testing methods of public school students in favor of authentic and performance-based assessment, this paper shares alternative assessment methods used by two teacher educators. After a brief introduction to the issues of authentic assessment in reading education courses, the…

This study evaluated a Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools summer remedial reading and language mechanics skills program for participants in a job training program. The Summer Academic Skills Enhancement Program provided clients with the skills required for employment into entry-level positions in 160 curriculum hours. Seventy-one clients were…

A year-long study examined the effects of a computer-based reading project on students' attitudes and performance in reading and writing. Subjects (73 "at-risk" eighth-grade students in an inner-city school in Paterson, New Jersey) were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group used a software package…

Students in an Ohio community (363 males and 332 females) took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in the spring of their eighth-grade year and the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency Test (ONGPT) in the following fall of their ninth-grade year. The scores from both tests, for a period of 3 consecutive years, were correlated to determine the predictability of…

The objective of this study was to determine if the Accelerated Reader Program significantly improved reading skills of middle-school students. This computerized enrichment program combines over 750 classics with computers. Subjects for the study were college-prep freshmen from two junior high schools within the Gaston County (North Carolina)…

The All Day Kindergarten (ADK) Program was implemented in the Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools in January 1972 to provide full-day instruction to prepare underachieving kindergarten pupils for first grade. The ADK is an individualized language-based program that reinforces skills, concepts, and educational experiences taught in regular kindergarten…

A study assessed the strengths, weaknesses, and degree of implementation of the reading dimension in the English Language Arts curriculum in grades 4, 8, and 11 of English language schools in Manitoba, Canada. At each grade, the student test assessed five major areas of reading performance. Assessment materials consisted of a student test, a…

This report compares information gathered from the Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test administrations of 1986 and 1988 with data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests given those same years (mathematics and science in 1986 and reading and United States history in 1988). The focus is on how…

A study compared teachers' assessments of students based on alternative evaluation techniques to student assessments based on standardized tests. Teachers in seven kindergarten classrooms evaluated their students (approximately 130 each year) in each of 3 successive years according to how well they had mastered a set of criteria which the teachers…

A program was developed and implemented to improve the reading achievement of 56 learning-disabled (LD) students in grades five through eight in a rural school district in South Carolina. Only 12% of the students were meeting the state standard in reading. Baseline test data indicated that reading achievement was from two to six grade levels below…

As part of the National Adult Literacy Survey in 12 states, approximately 1,250 adults in Iowa were surveyed as representatives of the 2.1 million adults in the state. The aim of the survey was to characterize literacy skills based on performance on diverse tasks that reflect the materials and demands that adults encounter every day. Fourteen to…

This study examined the possibilities that young children's gender elicits differential academic expectations from aspiring teachers, and aspiring teachers' gender and (socioeconomic) SES affect their academic expectations for young children. A questionnaire asked 103 university students majoring in education: (1) how difficult and how interesting…

This document presents the effects of variations of a schoolwide restructuring program, Success for All, on student reading achievement and other outcomes in elementary schools serving large numbers of disadvantaged students. Success for All includes the following elements: (1) research-based preschool and kindergarten programs; (2) beginning and…