The three position papers on reading disability and illiteracy offer a description of the present position and boundaries of the problem which the current state of knowledge, research, and experience affords us. The first, "The Costs of Illiteracy" by A. Dale Tussing and Laurence B. DeWitt, attempts to describe these "costs" as the quickest way to…

The Conference on Reading and Readability Research in the Armed Services brought together reading, technical writing, and readability experts from civilian research and development (R & D) centers with R & D specialists from the armed services for discussion of reading and text-design problems in the military. This report of the proceedings…

Compares a real world model of literacy instruction (where reading is an integral component of everyday functioning) with actual classroom instruction to suggest that, at least in some content classes, this model is not operative. (NKA)

This study evaluated ease of learning 5 visual symbol sets (photopictorial, rebus, Blissymbolics, orthography, and Premack-type tokens) with 4 autistic students (ages 7-13). A second article describes the development of instructional procedures for the students, noting the contribution of behavioral, cognitive developmental, and information…

Community-referenced sight words and phrases were taught to six adolescents with mild or moderate mental retardation, using three instructional methods in two locations. Results showed rapid acquisition of the sight words in all three training conditions and showed generalization from the flash card and videotape conditions to the community sites.…

The article presents an approach to instructional design for mainstreamed students with and without mild disabilities, stressing functionality in a three-step procedure: (1) select what the student (general, gifted, learning disabled, or mildly retarded) needs to learn; (2) determine its functional value; and (3) decide how best to teach the…

This guide is designed to provide secondary teachers and administrators with the information necessary to adapt or develop a functional curriculum for children and youth who display academic difficulties. (A functional curriculum teaches functional skills in the most appropriate setting for specific skill acquisition.) It provides suggestions of…

The study investigated the effectiveness of an ecological inventory and screen writing for the acquisition of reading words for secondary-aged moderately mentally handicapped students. The study utilized an ecological inventory model which is an adult-referenced curriculum based on adult tasks and local resources and environments, rather than on…

Any discussion of English as a Second Language (ESL) literacy should address three critical areas: who the learners are, what is to be taught, and how the literacy skills are to be taught. Three distinct groups of students can be classified as "non-literate" in their own language: pre-literates, illiterates, and semi-literates. Two approaches are…

This monograph contains a discussion of a telephone survey conducted to gain more knowledge about the job-related reading, functional reading, and leisure reading habits of a representative sample of adults from Anderson, Indiana. The discussion highlights survey results by demographic variables, reports specific analyses of survey items, and…

Three issues related to improving basic skills in this nation are discussed in this paper: the definition of "basic literacy skills" and the number of Americans who are purportedly illiterate, what evidence exists that minorities in the United States really have a more serious problem than others in acquiring basic literacy skills, and…

As part of the development of a functional literacy test for fourth through eigth grade children in Title I compensatory education programs, this report defines functional literacy for children and enumerates criteria for evaluating existing tests. Criteria for selection of a test include: (1) content, empirical, and construct validity; (2)…

This handbook is designed to give background information on the Mini-Assessment of Functional Literacy, a criterion-referenced test designed to determine the extent of functional literacy among seventeen year olds in America. The five format categories identified for the test were passages; drawings, pictures, signs, etc.; charts, maps, graphs;…

Explains why proficient readers may find it difficult to understand written directions. Indicates direct instructional strategies for helping such readers handle procedural text independently. (NKA)

Reviews some of the current definitions of literacy and suggests that an expansion of the definitions is needed, based on information gained from interviews with adult remedial readers as they describe their reading needs. (SKC)