Discusses the "fill-in" test, explains how to construct it, and gives statistical evidence for its effectiveness in testing English as a foreign language reading comprehension. In addition, a comparison is made between this test and the more conventional multiple-choice and cloze tests, citing the advantages and disadvantages of each.…

Compares the performance of Black, Hispanic, and Anglo students on a story unscrambling task to determine if sociocultural differences in story schemata affect reading comprehension. Shows some effects suggesting that the three groups have somewhat different strategies for choosing initial and final sentences and for making narratives coherent.…

Describes three English courses for one-year vocational students whereby oral communication is the basis for teaching reading, grammar, and composition. (HOD)

ACT data suggest that the readiness of the nation's high school students for college-level reading is far too low. But ACT data also show that, while it is important for students to be able to comprehend both explicit and implicit material in texts, as well as to understand how various textual elements (such as main ideas, relationships, or…

This manual offers states a tool to assist in the development or enhancement of guidelines for access assistants. Whether a state already has guidelines or is just in the process of establishing them, this manual will provide structure to the process and many examples of criteria already included by states. This manual was developed to accompany…

The quality of reading comprehension and mathematics instruction was explored in five urban middle schools using the Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA) toolkit (N = 34 teachers). The IQA is comprised of protocols for rating observed instruction and the quality of teachers' assignments with student work. The purpose of this research was to…

By taking the time to read to and with their children, fathers can play an important role in helping children learn to read. "Dad's Playbook" tells the stories of 20 dads from different walks of life who are giving their kids the best shot at a bright future by helping them learn to read. This National Institute for Literacy Partnership for…

Exemplary teacher research has established that explicit teaching plays a vital role in the K-12 classroom, with particular benefits for struggling readers. This book is a practical resource for explaining reading to students who do not learn easily. The book identifies 22 major skills and strategies associated with vocabulary development,…

This teacher's guide and student workbook are part of a series of content-centered supplementary curriculum packages of alternative methods and activities designed to help secondary students who have disabilities and those with diverse learning needs succeed in the regular education content courses. The content of Parallel Alternative Strategies…

This report discusses the findings of a study that evaluated the effectiveness of a set of considerate interventions in closing the language arts achievement gap in general, and evaluated the effects of these interventions in complex classroom settings that serve large numbers of at-risk students who have disabilities and live in poverty. The…

This book provides examples of embedded learning and study strategies, all of which represent success stories used by teachers and support teams in real classrooms. Seven chapters focus on: (1) "Overview: The Teacher's Role in Inspiring Independent Learning"; (2) "Primary Grades: Building a Strong Foundation" (e.g., simple memory strategies,…

This primer provides the basic information that teachers and tutors need to get started on the complex process of reading assessment. Designed for maximum utility in today's standards-driven classroom, the primer presents simple, practical assessment strategies that are based on theory and research. It takes teachers step by step through learning…

Less is known about how children read connected text in silent reading, and the range of reading strategies used in an ordinary primary school classroom, than about the reading of single words, oral reading and reading by skilled adults. This paper describes and evaluates a method of testing children's silent reading in which they are their own…

A model service learning course for elementary teaching credential candidates is described. Preservice teachers taking a required university reading methods course studied scientifically-based reading instruction and volunteered in Los Angeles Unified School District classrooms during reading instruction time. Service learning experiences were…

This paper discusses the rationale for designing better literacy assessment for elementary school children. The "Literacy Profile" is a literacy assessment procedure designed to collect data about groups of elementary students and track literacy development more effectively than current standardized tests. It assumes that literacy…