The reading learning objectives for fifth graders contained in this volume are congruent with the Texas "State Board of Education Rules for Curriculum." These objectives and the measurement specifications are provided for use by teachers and other educators responsible for student instruction and for test development specialists involved…

Materials from a symposium on teaching practices and reading problems are provided in this report. Following a description of the meeting and a copy of the agenda, the report presents seven symposium papers that discuss the following topics: (1) teacher preparation in reading, (2) reading and the deaf child, (3) teaching reading in social studies,…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The five titles deal with the following topics: (1) a comparison of manuscript writing at the beginning of first grade with reading achievement at the end of first grade, (2) using text comprehension as a metaphor for understanding…

Educational production can be studied by correlating levels of academic achievement with three independent variables: student's family background, student's mental ability, and school quality. To examine family background and school quality, information was gathered from schools in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru.…

This study was conducted to determine whether changes from traditional organizational patterns in elementary schools make a difference in reading achievement. The study was conducted through comparisons of student populations in three suburban schools. Two schools were experimental (one nongraded, one open space), and the third was a traditional…

The guide describes how to use a 9-point system to teach 11 high-interest, low-level novels about Indians and teenagers to students reading at levels 1-8. The nine steps are (1) determine student's instructional reading level, (2) determine level of novels to be read, (3) choose novel at student's instructional reading level, (4) introduce novel,…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providng information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 9 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the effect of subject and training variables on the SQ3R study method; (2) the effects of affective-oriented and cognitive-oriented prereading instruction on seventh grade students'…

This study was designed to examine the extent to which Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) constructing meaning scores correlate with Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) reading scores and with performance on ITBS items dealing with literal meaning, inferences, and generalizations. In addition, this study assessed the ability of the IGAP reading…

An overview of contemporary assessment practices often used with Latino students is provided, and it is maintained that these practices often overlook the influence of culture and linguistic proficiency on cognitive performance. A new approach, the Sentence Verification Technique (STV), is proposed as an alternative method to assess the linguistic…

A study compared the effectiveness of intensive phonics instruction (a combination of the Distar and Lippincott methods) with a language experience approach (Success in Reading program) in the first and second grades. Subjects, 48 first and second grade students in the Hillsboro School District in Oregon, were divided into two groups (matched…

A curriculum unit on English for mathematics students at the University of Haifa is presented. The text content concerns mathematics while integrating language principles. Exercises are included that involve comprehension of geometric diagrams, reading comprehension, word meanings, and restructuring sentences. The 12 sections cover: projective…

Proceeding from a definition of "story schema" as an idealized internal representation of the parts of a typical story and the relationships among those parts, this paper explores the role of story schemata in reading comprehension. The paper also identifies variables that may affect the way in which schemata function and outlines the…

Noting that successful comprehension, problem solving, and decision making are dependent upon activation and appropriate application of relevant schemata of existing knowledge, this report examines the practice of oversimplifying information in the content areas to make teaching and studying easier, and the dangers inherent in doing so. The report…

A study investigated the appropriate use of item types for testing reading at various levels of proficiency. It was specifically concerned with item types found in the standardized group-administered Defense Language Proficiency Tests. The item formats investigated were signs in the target language, identification of underlined information,…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 39 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) oral reading behaviors of early readers; (2) the effects of pictures and mode of presentation on the prose comprehension of third and fifth grade children of…