To determine if college and university reading clinics assess students' attitudes toward reading and to discover the methods used in such assessments, questionnaires were sent to the directors of 110 reading clinics. Analysis of the data gathered from the 55 respondents revealed that a majority did assess reading attitudes and that most used…

Because Los Medanos College (LMC) has no entrance tests or academic tracks, instructors are faced with mixed reading and writing levels in the classroom. LMC has elected to address this problem through a college reading and writing center and through the extensive use of peer tutors to upgrade language skills in all subject areas. In 1980, LMC…

Articles in this monograph reflect the fact that English teachers see reading and literature as closely related. The opening essay, "Reading Is Non-Linear," provides the theoretical base for a comprehensive approach, drawing on current psycholinguistic theory. "Toward Comprehensive Reading Programs in Secondary Schools," reviews current issues and…

The Learning to Read Through the Arts program of the New York City public school system was designed to provide supplementary reading services to 3,360 mildly to moderately handicapped children in grades three through nine for three summers. The program was held in 20 sites throughout the city and was scheduled for 4 hours a day. The program was…

Listed in this catalog are 122 product descriptions from 34 states identified by state coordinators of basic skills instruction as the best developed in their states. Products include books, pamphlets, videotapes, booklets, checklists, guides, handbooks, anthologies, and computer programs. Each product was developed to improve the management, the…

"Commanding English," a three-quarter program of communication skills courses presented in an integrated whole, is described in this booklet. The program's general purpose is to assist students whose native language is not English to develop fluency in oral and written English. A brief description of each course offered at General College,…

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of background knowledge on overall comprehension and comprehension of new information in adult beginning readers. In the study, 40 Adult Basic Education (ABE) students, enrolled in six classes in two instructional sites (one urban and one rural), were presented with two selections about unfamiliar…

A group composed of 124 classroom teachers, reading teachers, and graduate students in reading specialization programs participated in a study that examined how teachers select and use information in judging students' probable performance in reading groups. Each subject read two case studies (one describing a boy with social problems but no…

Based on the premise that what students know before they read an assignment will strongly influence what they learn by reading that assignment, this booklet provides strategies that teachers can use to evoke and enhance students' background knowledge in relation to content area reading. Following a foreword and preface, the first major section of…

Preservice teachers can be taught skills in questioning techniques through a three-stage process of modeling, practicing, and evaluation. In a methods course taught by the authors, education students were confused by the variety of questioning techniques available, and would not adopt effective and efficient approaches to questioning. A…

Part of a research project designed to develop a theory of the cognitive processes involved in skilled reading by the analysis of the location and duration of eye fixations, this paper concentrates on how eye fixations can be used to determine when encoding, lexical access, parsing, and integration processes are executed and how they are affected…

This study examined the curricular validity of the New Jersey Basic Skills test, a minimum competency test administered to all public school students in grades 3, 6, 9, and 11 to measure basic skills in reading and mathematics. Based on examinations of a Modified Caution Index, there were differences in the usual response patterns for both reading…

Contained in this yearbook are the proceedings of the fourth annual Arizona State University Reading Conference. This edition reflects an emphasis on bilingual/bicultural aspects of reading, as well as on content area instruction. Following a foreword, the articles discuss the following: (1) matching materials and strategies for comprehension, (2)…

A study of 103 second, third, and fourth grade students investigated relationships among cognitive styles and reading comprehension. Each subject was individually tested using four different instruments to assess four cognitive styles: (1) field-independence/dependence (ability to locate a simple figure--concept--hidden in a complex field), (2)…

A bibliography is presented of textbooks used in school levels 2-9 in four German-speaking countries--Austria, Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and Switzerland. Because the textbook collection is intended to serve as material for research into the biases, prejudices, and national attitudes of these countries, the…