Investigates the reliability and validity of tests that have been used to operationalize the concept of phonemic awareness. Indicates that a combination of two tests, one related to each factor, has greater predictive validity for the beginning steps in reading acquisition than does one test alone. (JK)

Reports findings of a study involving adult, college-educated Egyptians enrolled in English as a second language courses in Cairo. Concludes that students learning to read in a second language interpret materials in terms of their own culture, which affects their comprehension. (FL)

Reviews literacy and reading achievement trends over the past century and places the current debates in a historical perspective. Concludes that upgrading literacy skills now requires new initiatives by coalitions of educators, community groups, employers, and governments. (FL)

Indicates that textbook explication alone of causes of events is insufficient for acquisition and use of hierarchically organized knowledge; students must be taught how to construct text-based information into hierarchically structured form and use it for making predictions. (FL)

Analysis of research involving reading comprehension ability in a second language shows that problems with illocutionary force, logical connectors, and modifiers indicate that many students are either unable to draw on a culturally appropriate memory schema for reading comprehension or have preconceived notions about word meaning that prevent them…

Reports that while an intervention program increased children's library use, it did not affect their attitudes toward reading or their home reading habits. (FL)

Concludes that there may be differential effectiveness of method of reading instruction according to sex, with females finding letter training simpler than word training and males finding the reverse. (FL)

Presents a study investigating effects of reading ability and study activity (rote or conceptual testing, structured or unstructured review) on learning outcomes of students assigned a reading on behavior modification procedures. Results indicate no significant effect for type of study activity and high reading ability students performed better.…

Offers suggestions for organizing the primary classroom to provide ideal conditions for teaching reading. (DF)

Explores quantitative and qualitative differences in text processing, reading time, and study time and in learning from text, at immediate and delayed recall. (DF)

Emergent reading attempts of 24 children at the beginning of their kindergarten year are content analyzed in light of theoretical considerations about general and language development. In addition, the reading attempts of two-, three-, and four-year olds are examined. Comparison of data reveal a developmental progress across age-levels. (HOD)

Reports on a study that investigated the span of letter recognition (the region of text from which letter information is used during a fixation) for good and poor fifth-grade readers during a reading task. (HOD)

Investigates the effectiveness of a direct instruction model for teaching children to comprehend anaphoric relationships. The results provide further support for the efficacy of a direct instructional model for teaching children reading comprehension skills. (HOD)

Describes the results of a survey of rehabilitation centers to determine evaluation methods for possible alexia (the loss of ability to read that results from a brain injury) and presents some suggestions for rehabilitative testing and teaching materials. (HOD)

Reports on a survey conducted to yield a general description of both the student population and the content of the introductory developmental reading course offered to secondary school subject area teachers. (DF)