The study compared the effects of different verbal formats--visual (printed) and aural (recorded tape)--on the performance of 60 vocational high school boys (30 each of high and low reading abilities). Findings indicated high reading ability students performed significantly better; findings relating performance to verbal format were inconsistent.…

Examines associations of multiple measures of naming speed, phonological awareness, and verbal intelligence with word reading in poor readers and good readers. Reveals that for poor readers naming speed and phonological awareness were associated with word reading, but not verbal intelligence--for good readers, phonological awareness and verbal…

Examined educational competence and predictors of reading ability among 152 Illinois foster children, ages 16 and 17. Found that 34 percent had been placed in special education and 20 percent had dropped out of school in the preceding 2 years. Also found that aspiration for higher education, placement in kinship care, participation in…

Details a study of students' text usage that used observations and interviews. Concludes that retrieval strategies are not transferred to learning from texts during science lessons. (Contains 41 references.) (DDR)

Investigates the strategic literacy knowledge, abilities, and potential of five Latino/a subjects (three were bilingual). Employs qualitative research methods and cognitive strategy lessons. Finds that students, with instructional support, implemented the focal strategies emphasized during the experiment and engaged in extended discourse which…

Relates children's experiences with parents and teachers to the acquisition of academic skills from preschool through second grade. Children tended to show better academic skills across time if their parents had more education and reported progressive parenting beliefs. Family background and teacher-child relationships indicated that a closer…

Examines whether inference training affects skilled and less skilled comprehenders by instructing children six to nine years old in how to make inferences from and generate questions about a text. Reports that the less skilled group improved more than the skilled group of children. (CMK)

Investigates effects of reading group placement upon first and second grade students' growth in reading. Focuses on the balance between pace and success rate and on the effects of group characteristics on individual growth. Finds that group placement begins to adversely affect reading development only after children have acquired basic reading…

Investigates the reading behaviors and perceived reading status of 42 teacher education majors. Finds that teacher education students, whether labeling themselves as "frequent" or "occasional" readers, view themselves as readers in a literate society who will serve as role models to promote literacy in prospective students.…

Examined effects of orthographic context on the letter recognition skills of dyslexic children, comparing their performance to that of adults and of chronological and reading age-matched groups. Results showed that the two matched groups showed strong word superiority effect (WSE) for words and pseudowords over nonwords. Dyslexic readers did not…

Results from a study to determine whether the effects of repeated readings are comparable for learning-disabled (LD) and nondisabled readers (N=50) indicate that, regardless of classification (LD or nondisabled) or level of functioning (instructional- or mastery-level), repeated readings produced more fluent reading and greater recall. (IAH)

Dialogue writing samples from 54 sixth grade students in three classrooms were compared with standard narratives written by the same subjects. Results show that children wrote longer stories and enjoyed the sessions more when writing dialogue. Children's reading levels and academic motivation had no affect on this result. (TJH)

Examination of the effects of transferred vocabulary knowledge on college students' (N=24) acquisition of Japanese linguistic knowledge, verbal processing skills, and reading comprehension indicated that vocabulary knowledge was most highly correlated with reading comprehension. This initial advantage magnified its effects over time as task…

The importance of instrumental use of curriculum-based measurement in planning reading programs was investigated with 53 mildly handicapped students and 29 teachers. Students whose measured reading performance was used to design instructional reading programs achieved better than control group students and students whose reading performance was…

Investigates whether the Nelson-Denny Reading Test's time restrictions may bias the performances of marginal students. Finds that the Nelson-Denny scores alone may provide biased measures of reading ability. Recommends that test makers develop extended time norms. (MG)