Adaptive assessment procedures are a means of determining the quality of a reader's performance in a variety of reading situations and on a variety of written materials. Such procedures are consistent with the idea that there are functional competencies which change with the reading task. Adaptive assessment takes into account that a lack of…

This annotated bibliography, intended for researchers and teachers, lists materials about reading while listening. The entries are organized into five sections: materials for reading while listening, descriptions and assessments of reading-while-listening methods, empirical studies of reading-while-listening methods, theoretical issues related to…

The performance of 1,904 entering students taking the Survey of Reading Achievement test for placement in English at Los Angeles City College in fall 1977 was examined and produced the following information: (1) the median reading level was 9.2, compared with 10.0 in fall 1976; (2) the 26% of the test-takers with reading levels above 11.0 were…

The results from two informal measures (a cloze test and a group reading inventory and a standardized reading test were compared in a study of instruments available for measuring adult reading performance. The three instruments were administered to 158 undergraduates enrolled in reading improvement classes. From this group, 75 subjects were…

This study sought to develop an instrument for measuring teacher knowledge of reading at the secondary school level. Multiple-chioce items were generated from a content outline derived from a review of the literature and were submitted to a panel of experts who categorized the items, answered them, and rated each one's importance. After revisions…

This study, using the Self-Observation Scales (SOS) primary and intermediate levels, was conducted to determine whether the self-concept items that were most predictive of reading achievement varied among sex-race-grade subsamples and to examine specific item content in order to focus upon the nature of the relationship between reading achievement…

This bibliography is intended to provide a selective list of references on the cloze procedure and its application to teaching English as a second language. Part one of the bibliography includes seven general references on the cloze procedure in general, i.e., research reviews and bibliographies. These were chosen because they provide extensive…

This paper describes a research project which was designed to analyze the extent of functional literacy at different grade levels in Sweden. Functional literacy is defined here as the use of the mechanics of reading for different information purposes. A test battery was administered to 2600 students in grades six through twelve. The test battery…

This study develops a procedure for detecting items which are biased for particular ethnic groups and utilizes this procedure to evaluate the fairness of reading, mathematics, and occupational information test items for several ethnic groups. The population for each ethnic group was chosen from examinees administered the 1973 version of the…

Articles in this report are based on the data obtained by the Adult Functional Reading Study. This study examined the reading activities of American adults and tested adults' performance on functional reading tasks. The supplement contains several articles concerned with the reading skills required to read and answer or perform the reading tasks…

Teachers need to be proficient in the application of word analysis skills in order to insure their ability to provide adequate instruction to others. This study reports on the development of a word analysis test which evaluates potential teachers' ability to apply nine structural analysis generalizations before and after instruction in word…

In order to understand better the elemental processes involved in beginning reading (specifically, how cognitive skills are acquired and whether a relationship exists among basic skills), Robert Calfee and colleagues conducted a first-grade reading diary study. Forty target children in 1973-1974 and 50 children in 1974-1975 were observed as they…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether cloze procedure could be used in adult literacy programs serving those students reading from about fourth grade reading equivalent level through high school equivalency level. This research investigated three questions: (1) Is cloze procedure acceptable for this group? (2) Can cloze procedure be…

This article presents views of proponents and opponents to standardized tests, isolates the major weakness of testing--questionable validity--and offers several recommendations for the betterment of test development and use. Some major misuses of tests include the following: (a) tests are at times administered with no clear purpose; (b) test…

The role of the classroom teacher as a diagnostician is described. Since the purpose of reading diagnosis is to ascertain the probable potential of each student and to determine what his instructional needs are and where to begin instruction, extensive individual testing is neither possible nor recommended for the classroom teacher. However,…