A study investigated the efficacy of a program designed to teach parents how to read to their low-achieving school-aged children to help increase the children's word recognition and comprehension. Parents whose children (grades 1-4) were receiving additional school assistance from a resource specialist were invited to enroll in the program.…

The Summer Academic Skills Enhancement Program was funded by the Private Industry Council (PIC) of Franklin County (Ohio) through the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) to provide JTPA clients with the reading comprehension and language mechanics skills required for employment in entry-level positions. The program was coordinated by the…

Results from the 1993 administration of the Wisconsin Third Grade Reading Test are presented in a 43-page table that lists the results for each school district and school in Wisconsin. Statewide, over 52,000 students from over 300 districts took this test. The following categories for each 4-digit district code and each 8-digit school code…

Taiwanese college students have significant difficulty in reading technical texts in English. Based on information gathered from students in freshman English classes in Taiwan, and on previous research, three significant areas of student confusion are: (1) frequent use of prepositions, particularly when an English preposition with multiple…

The English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT) is a multiple-choice examination that is designed to assess the test taker's ability to use English in day-to-day interactions involving listening and reading. It is intended primarily as an admissions and placement test for college students with English as a second language. The ELPT consists of…

This report describes a program for improving listening skills, lack of which interferes with second language acquisition. The targeted population was first- and second-year Spanish students in one middle school and one high school. Intervention over 15 weeks included changes in the classroom environment (desk arrangement, improved lighting,…

The Polish instructional materials in this volume are designed to accompany the "Reading Authentic Polish" workbooks. Their purpose is to familiarize students, in the classroom or through independent study, with spoken Polish in real-life situations. All materials were taken from Polish radio and television in 1991-92, a period of rapid…

Three empirical studies concerning reflective and rote learning in Finnish schools are described. In the first, a questionnaire given to school beginners reveals that during their first 12 weeks of school the children's estimates of the excitement and pleasure of learning and their conception of the role of understanding in learning decrease. The…

The Cognitive Education Project conducted a 3-year longitudinal evaluation of two cognitive education programs that were aimed at teaching thinking skills. The critical difference between the two experimental programs was that one, Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment (IE) method, was taught out of curricular content, while the other, the…

To what extent can photographic readability be formalized for use as a criterion in the evaluation of instructional materials? The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test a readability index for evaluating photographic illustrations in instructional materials. The index uses an interdisciplinary battery of methods adapted from the…

This monograph examines the relationship between intellectually gifted children and television and summarizes research on this subject, primarily conducted by Project KIDVID at Cleveland (Ohio) State University. After an introduction and discussion of the available scientific literature, research-supported facts and related questions are presented…

A joint enterprise by Sanford Public Schools of Sanford, Maine, and five partners established and operated a program of literacy, math, and reasoning/problem-solving skills instruction and support services at five work sites. The business partners were Sprague Electric Company; The Baker Company; Jagger Brothers, Inc.; Greenwood Center; and…

"Effective Reading" (ER) is a community college course designed to help developmental readers succeed in college reading through improved reading comprehension. The course is based on current research which indicates that successful comprehension can take place if students follow three steps: predicting (pre-reading strategies such as surveying…

This manual provides information concerning the administration of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) Pre-Enrollment Appraisal. The IRCA testing program uses the following tests, which are designed to provide an initial assessment of a student's level of English ability in the context of the history and government of the United States:…

This study explored two aspects of language expression (defining words and repeating sentences) in samples of 26 Downs Syndrome (DS) and 26 mentally handicapped (MH) adolescents and young adults matched on intelligence and chronological age. Testing included language tests, a comprehensive audiological assessment, and computer-based memory…