M.H. Ashcraft found that people tend to know more properties of items they rate as typical of a category than of items they rate as atypical, suggesting that variations in typicality result from variations in familiarity. Three experiments were designed to challenge this suggestion. The first investigated whether familiarity is necessarily…

Using the format of a think-aloud protocol, this paper critically reviews a study from "The Journal of Reading" from the perspective of a not-so-typical high school reading teacher. In this situation the hypothetical secondary school reading teacher came from an English major background, had 15 years experience teaching reading and…

A study was conducted to identify Bible references useful to adult reading teachers in special educational settings. Bible references to reading were first identified by analyzing papers written by education students on the Bible and the teaching of reading. From these papers, 49 key words relating to reading found in the Bible were identified.…

Among the advantages of a well-written review of the reading research literature are that it lays down the framework of the topic for the reader and provides exercise for both the synthesizer and the reader in integrating widely scattered, incompatible research findings. These benefits are intimately related to the problems in such syntheses, such…

A study of 180 seventh grade students was conducted to discover the relative value of teaching vocabulary by teaching whole words contrasted with teaching prefixes. Two experimental groups and a control group were formed of equal numbers of high, middle, and low ability students based on their scores on the Nelson Reading Test. One experimental…

Fifty-seven secondary school students were involved in a study that examined the effects of three types of initial tests on later retention: a short answer test, a multiple choice test, and a full free recall test. Questions on the first two of these tests covered only half of the passage contents. The subjects studied a brief history text before…

As the number of older adults in the United States increases, more must be understood about their reading behaviors so that adequate services might be provided for them. In addition, carefully documented reading behaviors might yield valuable clues to the early establishment of lifelong reading habits. With these goals in view, a study…

A study examined the reading behavior of 101 older adults enrolled in a summer "elderhostel" program offered by a small eastern college. Each subject responded to a questionnaire concerning reading habits, interests, attitudes, and motivations. Results showed that the older adults had a wide range of reading interests, including mysteries,…

A method and apparatus for collecting and interpreting eye movement data is described that is both relatively inexpensive and portable. The study lists and describes hardware and software components of a data collection and data analysis system which provides precise information regarding the location, duration, and sequence of eye fixations while…

Two experiments were conducted to explore the role of pictures in comprehension and recall of written text and the effects of pictures on eye movement patterns during reading. Conducted in a laboratory setting, the first experiment examined the effects of three picture conditions (picture before text, picture with text, and no picture) on free and…

A study tested the assumption found in schema theory that scripted knowledge automatically provides specific content details about scripted activity, thereby biasing a reader's immediate interpretation of a text. The study measured how quickly and accurately 16 college students could verify script related words. Subjects listened to four scripted…

Adults use linguistic context to assist in understanding words that may have multiple meanings. However, elementary school children are not able consistently to use this method of clarifying ambiguity. Research has shown that a three-component training method can help upper elementary school students develop the use of linguistic context. To…

A study examined the effects of within domain processing on the recall of idea units as well as the potential reversals in performance resulting from the passing of time. Subjects for the experiment were 89 undergraduate students randomly assigned to six conditions related to target words in a reading passage: counting e's, determining the…

In the most adequate psycholinguistic model of the reading process the proficient silent reader decodes directly from graphic surface structure into deep structure, with no decoding into oral surface structure. Three cue systems used by all proficient readers include graphic cues (letters and words), syntactic cues (the grammatical arrangement of…

The accomplishments of the Right to Read Effort of tbe District of Columbia Public Schools since its implementation, with specific emphasis on accomplishments during the 1978-79 program year, are documented in this evaluation report. The first part of the report provides a description of the program and of the evaluation design. The report's…