Language comprehension is an immensely complex process involving the dynamic interaction of diverse sources of knowledge. In order to model this process, tools are needed which allow detailed specification of the process components. In this paper, the essential characteristics of a model of reading comprehension are discussed in the context of the…

This study tested two long-standing assumptions in education: that reading ability in the elementary grades is differentiated by sex and that boys experience a higher incidence of reading disability than do girls. In addition, three biological explanations for this difference were tested: maturational lag, cerebral dominance, and vulnerability of…

A review of the literature that examined the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) profiles of retarded readers indicates that the populations studied and the criteria used for selection of retarded readers varied greatly from study to study. Rather than concluding that no WISC profile exists for individual retarded readers, researchers…

Bibliographical information is provided for 50 studies of the teaching of vocabulary. The students involved, length of instruction, methods of instruction, evaluation instruments, and findings are briefly listed. (AA)

This study examined the relationships between the reading achievement of college students, the readability of the textbooks they used, and college achievement. Measures included reading-grade levels from the Nelson-Denny Reading Test, functional reading levels as measured by cloze scores, Dale-Chall readability estimates for textbooks used by the…

High school juniors and seniors participated in three studies of the effects of a thematic organizer on passage comprehension. Comprehension was measured using a cloze procedure in the first study and using a passage-reproduction task in the second and third studies. A thematic organizer (material presented to provide a context for the passage)…

This study investigated test-wiseness in a sample of urban high school seniors. Fifty-four academically talented black and minority students were matched on reading comprehension scores from the California Achievement Tests and were assigned to cells in a seven-group, before/after design. Specially constructed forms of the 1973 Iowa Silent Reading…

In order to understand the process of reading, it is important to determine how strings of letters are perceived. This study tests the hypothesis that units of visual perception may include pairs of letters and perhaps even high-frequency, monosyllabic trigrams (three-letter sequences). Participants were asked to report the names of either single…

Supports the view that in testing phonics knowledge, it is important to use non-sense syllables. (RB)

Describes what students do during remedial reading instruction. (RB)

Describes changes occurring in preservice reading programs in schools of education during the last decade. (RB)