The variable nature of literacy is discussed in chapter one of this paper, including problems of arbitrary standards, instruments, and criteria. In the second chapter, some of the historical roots of the concept of literacy are traced both to show how the concept of literacy evolved and to show how literacy has always been closely tied to the…

SEVERAL DEVELOPMENTAL HYPOTHESES DRAWN FROM THE SUBSTRATA-FACTOR THEORY OF READING WERE TESTED AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL. TO ELABORATE ON THEORETICAL ASSERTIONS THAT READING ABILITY IS AN AUDIOVISUAL PROCESSING SKILL OF SYMBOLIC REASONING, THE SUBSTRATA FACTORS ACCOMPANYING DEVELOPMENT OF SPEED AND POWER OF READING WERE DEPICTED IN…

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DEVELOP, TRY OUT, AND EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF BEGINNING READING METHODS FOR FIRST-GRADE CHILDREN WHOSE SCORE FELL BELOW THE 60TH PERCENTILE ON THE METROPOLITAN READINESS TEST. SEVEN METHODS FOR TEACHING BEGINNING READING WERE SELECTED FOR INVESTIGATION--(1) LANGUAGE APPROACH, INVOLVING READING, WRITING,…

A study was conducted to compare the effects of two types of word-attack correction procedures within the context of the "Decoding B" component of the S.R.A. corrective reading program and to evaluate the effectiveness of the program with remedial students. Ten teachers and 58 students (aged 7 to 14) were randomly assigned to one of two treatment…

This paper provides a brief survey of current theory concerning reading comprehension and suggests that the role of the reader's knowledge has been largely neglected. Factors that influence the assessment of information or idea gain are the nature of the learner, the nature of the material, the nature of the purposes for reading, and the means…

Three studies were conducted as part of a series designed to identify the subskills of word identification that correlate most highly with reading comprehension and to examine various methods of assessing these subskills. In the first study, the prototype of a decoding (word identification) test was administered to 282 first, third, and fifth…

Students receiving certificates and Associate of Arts (A.A.) degrees from Cerritos College in spring 1977 (241 A.A. and 48 certificate students) were asked to take the Comparative Guidance and Placement reading test. Forty-four degree and 8 certificate students complied. The A.A. students averaged a reading grade level of 12.6, had an average age…

The Nelson-Denny Reading Test was administered to 525 community college students in English courses to determine the relationship between reading test scores, success in English courses, and overall grade point average (GPA) and to examine how expectancy charts could be used to predict which students were likely to experience academic difficulty.…

This report describes a study undertaken to refine the guidelines of the Wisconsin Design for Reading Skill Development and to suggest general procedures for implementing any skill-centered approach to teaching reading. The first part of the report sets forth the purpose and focus of the study, with a literature review to define the nature of…

A brief review of the research leads to the conclusion that children learn to read equally well with very different teaching methods and that the truly important factor in creating good or poor reading achievement is the quality of the teacher. Recommendations for preservice, inservice, and graduate training of teachers are given. The great influx…

The widely accepted 95 percent word recognition criterion used for designating the instructional reading level is re-evaluated. A survey of the original study of Betts and Killgallon indicated (1) that the 95 percent word recognition criterion was based on a 41-case sample at the fourth-grade level, (2) that repetition errors occurred most…

Standardized reading tests exert a great influence on curriculum materials, teaching methods, and student perceptions of the nature of reading; these tests must reflect the best recent research findings. Passage dependency research has attempted to increase the accuracy of reading tests, and has focused on the following four areas: (1) reading…

This dissertation discusses specific aspects of reading programs in thirteen selected countries: England, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, Iran, India, Nepal, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Chapters examine such topics as present educational policies, teacher training, native language, reading methods, research in…

The contents of this issue consist of articles concerning various facets of the teaching of reading. A guest article by Patrick Groff is entitled "Phonics Teachers: Join the Consumer Movement." Other articles focus on volunteers in public schools, the high risk child, the importance of good vision, the testing of tests, the…

As part of an investigation of the appropriateness of the original Anchor Test Study equating results for black and Spanish-surnamed students, this Appendix lists the detailed results of the analyses for grade four, organized by vocabulary, reading comprehension, and total reading scores. For each analysis, a two-page set of results is presented.…