This document is an annual publication documenting developments in the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)'s research programs for the previous year. The 2004 edition highlights research on the following themes: (1) Helping international schools measure achievement; (2) Evaluating Australian teachers; (3) Tests of reading…

In May of 2006, two focus groups were conducted for the Arkansas Department of Education. The goal of this research was to explore the needs of Arkansas business leaders with regards to hiring Arkansas high school graduates. Some of the themes explored in the research were: skills perceived to be lacking in the graduates, strong suits of recent…

The Ministry of National Education in Turkey initiated a new early reading instruction method in 2004. Analytical approach (Whole Language), as defined in the curriculum, was abandoned and phoneme based approach (Phonics) was introduced. This research has a two year longitudinal perspective and aims to collect the opinions of teachers about the…

Identifying the best way to help students who struggle with reading--whether they have learning disabilities, are English language learners, or just need extra support--is a challenge for any teacher. Schools can make that task easier with this indispensable resource, a complete guide to addressing each student's specific instructional needs and…

Intended for classroom teachers at all levels and for undergraduate students in teacher education programs that included a practicum or field experience, this book provides both a guide and a resource for meeting the needs of readers experiencing difficulty. This fourth edition focuses on providing teachers with techniques for recognizing readers…

The Talent Development Model of Middle School Reform includes a "Student Team Literature" (STL) program that relies on: (1) curricular materials designed to assist students to study great literature; (2) recommended instructional practices, peer assistance processes, and assessments; and (3) staff development, mentoring, and advising to…

Classroom use of role-playing in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction in Japan is described. The purpose is to improve students' verbal and nonverbal communication skills and to link and use previously built schema, in both structured and improvised situations. Units designed around a short listening passage, a short reading passage, and…

This study investigates the relationship between reading ability, working memory capacity, and readers' use and recall of the mechanism of prediction. Reading ability was measured by free recall and by comprehension questions, and working memory capacity was assessed by the Reading Span Test (Daneman and Carpenter, 1980). Twelve Brazilian speakers…

The Reach System is a set of direct instruction (DI) programs designed to bring students who are performing as low as grade 1 level in language arts to performing at grade 8 level within 2 years of instruction delivered 3 hours per day. It involves a comprehensive system of professional development, curriculum, and instruction within the larger DI…

This collection of conference papers begins with "Introduction" (Ronald P. Leow and Cristina Sanz), then presents five sections. Section 1, "Morphosyntax," includes "Preterit and Imperfect in Spanish: The Early Stages of Development" (Joaquim Camps); "The Relationship between Syntactic and Morphological Abilities in Advanced FL Learners of…

Discussed are nine strategies that secondary school student teachers can use to contribute to the reading improvement of their classes. (JM)

Reports on two studies that examined differences in the processing strategies of beginning readers, as indicated by an analysis of oral reading errors. (FL)

Dutch-speaking Belgian students scored higher than students from eight other non-English speaking countries on a reading comprehension test. There was a two-thirds overlap between the test and English curriculum. Teachers' expectations corresponded well with obtained scores. (CP)

Discusses the notion of a language proficiency threshold that short circuits the transfer of reading ability from the native language (L1) to a second language (L2). This study, in which cognitive complexity of tasks and students' L2 proficiency levels vary, focuses on university students in France reading preprofessional English texts. (39…

Examines the relationship between school library collections and reading achievement in Los Angeles for both middle school and high school students. Previous studies are reviewed, and current results continue to identify socioeconomic status as the strongest predictor of reading comprehension test scores. (Author/LRW)