Suggests some important ways in which commercial informal reading inventories (IRI) differ from one another, reviews a representative sample of those currently in use, and includes a chart outlining the variable characteristics of the sample IRIs. (JM)

A comparison was made between the recognition memory of 18 fifth-grade good readers and 18 fifth-grade poor readers, all males. (BRT)

This paper reports a small scale study which investigated the agreement between two measures of reading and one of receptive vocabulary in a sample of first-year junior pupils. (Author/JDH)

Reports a study intended to examine whether there is a relationship between reading ability and the size of the visual units attended to during visual word processing. Concludes that both good and poor readers read holistically but that poor readers are deficient in analyzing a word's components. (JAD)

Reveals that story grammar research has provided educators with new insights into how children comprehend simple stories. Describes evidence for the existence of story schema, presents results of developmental story grammar research, and recommends teaching strategies based on the research. (RWB)

The author writes about the importance and timeliness of systematic changes in the spelling of English and considers the wide range of learning needs of language users as well as the traditional assumptions that account for the resistance to spelling change. (Author/CT)

Church records of adult reading abilities as evaluated yearly by Swedish priests were examined from the eighteenth century in families characterized by poor reading and good reading ability. Although descendents of poor readers tended to demonstrate lower reading scores, transmission patterns did not indicate a simple genetic mechanism. (Author/DB)

Background knowledge is a critical relationship in reading comprehension. Includes a discussion on the classroom application of background knowledge in reading instruction. (MD)

The authors stress the need for teaching gifted children to read creatively, which includes synthesizing information into meaningful relationships, and propose a 20-item checklist to generate objectives and activities for fostering creative reading development. (MC)

Between 1981 and 1983, market progress was achieved in both reading achievement and reading parity (equal proportions of Black and White students at each grade level achieving a minimum reading level) in the Cleveland public schools. (GC)

Addresses the question of the relative contributions of surface word forms and root morphemes in word representation and recognition. (FL)

Assesses the factors influencing the word pronunciation of seventh-grade adolescents who scored either above or below grade level on vocabulary skills. (Author/RB)

Poor reading ability has been identified as a predictor of underachievement among undergraduate students, but little is known about the reading ability of graduate students, especially those of minority background. This study examined the reading comprehension and reading vocabulary of 105 African American graduate students at a historically black…

Analyzes the concept of literacy for the purpose of identifying the parameters that must be specified in literacy definitions, identifies related measurement problems, and describes literacy assessment procedures currently available. (RB)