This pamphlet provides current information about the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in Reading. In addition to describing the purpose and goals of the NAEP, the pamphlet discusses the reasons for assessing reading, the 1992 NAEP in Reading (including recent changes), the guidelines used to create a framework for reading…

A study investigated the decoding automaticity of elementary students when receiving rule-based instruction (as a process of applying syllable and structural analysis rules and limited phonics), and when receiving holistic instruction in a whole language program (exercises in listening, reading and writing, integrated with classroom instruction…

A study investigated the effect of cultural background on reading comprehension, specifically examining content knowledge (schemata) and overall familiarity with the setting. It tested the hypothesis that when a setting is familiar to readers, the text will be most readable, and will yield the shortest time to read, the best comprehension, and the…

Emphasizing the need for realistic tasks in studying the interaction of readers with text, this report first suggests current problems with research on interactive reading and pedagogical prescriptions on comprehension. It then presents a checklist of reader, text, and task characteristics that should be considered in reader-text studies,…

The investigation involved a comprehensive descriptive analysis of the reading and writing behavior of 13 upper elementary level learning disabled students. Data were collected on student responses to 11 language tasks, including drawing; forming letters, numbers, and their names; being read to; reading; and answering questions about reading and…

To examine the nature of forward saccadic eye movements in reading, eye movement records were collected from college students as they read a short passage. Forward saccades from this data set were analyzed to determine factors influencing the likelihood of any given letter in the text being the recipient of the next fixation. Data indicated that…

To characterize basic processes of reading comprehension, this report focuses on how the reader's schemata, or knowledge already stored in memory, function in the process of interpreting new information and allowing it to enter and become a part of the knowledge store. The paper first traces the historical antecedents of schema theory, then…

Noting that current cognitive theories focus on the belief that knowledge is an organized collection of long-term structures upon which various processing mechanisms operate, this paper argues that mental functioning may be more readily characterized if the idea of abstract long-term associations and structures is abandoned. It proposes a model of…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of a direct instructional paradigm for teaching children to comprehend main ideas of prose passages. Subjects, 69 children in three fourth grade classes, were randomly assigned to an experimental "strategy" group receiving direct instruction in main ideas, an experimental "basal" group…

Three kinds of important and valid educational study are discussed that are needed to provide more research and a better understanding: strict educational research, experimental writing, and policy papers. (ND)

Concludes that steps in instruction that seem logical to adults may not make sense to six-year-olds in beginning reading instruction. (RB)

Identifies, organizes, and discusses research suggestions from "Literature Search in Reading" on such topics as language development, learning to read, and the reading process. (RB)