Reviews past research and cites new research which suggest that subscores on reading comprehension tests really test the same thing and thus are not useful for diagnosing ability in skill areas. (MKM)

The Group Reading Inventory (GRI) is a reading evaluation tool that can survey an entire class of students at the same time. A testing sequence using GRI that allows teachers to identify the functional reading levels of most students in three short examination sessions is presented. (RM)

Survey responses from 478 programs serving about 26,000 hearing impaired students indicated: the basal reading approach is used more than the language experience approach; the basal program, "Reading Milestones'" is the most frequent choice at all instructional levels; and only one-fourth of programs view standardized reading achievement tests as…

Concludes that the instrument reviewed is a carefully designed test incorporating a new interpretation of standardization and improved definitions of traditional reading levels. (FL)

Because reading levels of hearing-impaired students computed on reading tests developed for hearing students may vary considerably depending on the test used, this article summarizes the research in this area and suggest ways parents can evaluate their child's rate of progress in reading in ways other than using reading levels. (Author/DB)

Offers an argument against increased emphasis on testing, claiming that reading and writing can never be tested because the conception of reading and writing inherent in tests is faulty. Suggests alternatives that are congruent with a more adequate conception of reading and writing. (SR)

Notes that classroom assessment of literacy is dominated by methods more appropriate to external mandates. Suggests an alternative method grounded in the teacher's professional judgment and in the relations between curriculum, instruction, and assessment. (FL)

Points out that children's growth in response to literature is not assessed by existing standardized tests or by progress from one textbook to another. Suggests guidelines for teacher observation of children's responses and provides a checklist for assessing oral and written reactions. (FL)

Points out that sound assessment programs should (1) be a part of instruction, (2) use varied methods and instruments, (3) focus on a broad range of skills and knowledge, (4) occur continuously, (5) occur in a variety of contexts, and (6) be appropriate for age and level of development. Offers examples of practices based on these points. (FL)

Examines the accuracy of students' perceptions of whether enough has been learned from a text to pass a test in the experiments. Reveals consistent, although nonsignificant, increases in accuracy of perceived readiness for examination performance (PREP) from before reading to after reading. Indicates that only the before-reading to after-testing…

Analyzes eight leading basal reading programs to determine the types of writing included in each and the array of writing types used in three standardized reading tests included in the programs. (FL)

Investigates relationships between syntactic awareness and reading proficiency. Fourth- and fifth-grade children of varying decoding ability differed in syntactic awareness according to their ability to correct grammatically deviant sentences in an oral language task. Significant correlations were observed between task results and measures of…

Concludes that if students are provided with background information about topics included on the comprehension section of a standardized reading test, they will score higher on the test than will those not exposed to the information. (FL)

Discusses methods for obtaining verbal report data on second language test-taking strategies. Reports on the findings obtained from unpublished studies dealing with how language learners take reading tests. Concludes that there should be a closer fit between how test constructors intend their tests to be taken and how respondents actually take…

Describes a study which investigated the intersentential sensitivity of the rational deletion cloze procedure. Eighty-four college-level students of German were divided into two sub-groups; one group completed a sequential cloze task, the other completed a scrambled cloze task. There were not significant differences in performance on the two…