Analysis of reading tests (cloze and vocabulary) completed by first-year undergraduates at the Open University (Great Britain) demonstrated that many students in open-entry undergraduate programs have difficulty reading academic texts and that this difficulty has a negative impact on their success. (Contains 18 figures and six tables.) (PEN)

The validity of the Scholastic Aptitude Test reading comprehension section is examined in light of recent research finding that students who had not read the related passages were able to answer comprehension questions on a better than chance basis. The roles of prior knowledge and general verbal skills in reading comprehension are emphasized. (DB)

Issues raised in responses to Linda Siegel's paper (EC221505) on the relationship between intelligence test scores and learning disabilities are addressed. Discussed are the nature of intelligence, classification of learning disabilities by discrepancy between intelligence test scores and achievement scores, the existence of learning disabilities,…

Analysis of the keyed responses of items in three English-as-a-Second-Language reading comprehension tests focused on the form and source of information and on the frequency with which the information appeared in the text. Analysis of the results found that these facets were differentially related to the item score at different proficiency levels.…

Examines differences in language ability between normally achieving students and learning-disabled students with reading comprehension problems. Poor comprehending students differed from normal achievers for all language measures and in the manner that reader- and text-related variables predicted comprehension. Results supported the positive role…

Investigates factors measured by several tests of reading comprehension. Four different factor analyses consistently resulted in Efficiency Level factor when there was one factor; when there were two factors, one was interpreted as Accuracy Level and the other as Rate Level factor. Finds that the most important factor involved is Efficiency Level,…

Surveys elementary and secondary teachers' attitudes of the Reading Framework, a document that articulates the rationale for the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress in Reading. Deals with authentic texts, three reading situations, assessment of cognitive aspects of reading, open-ended items, special studies, and state-by-state…

Discusses curriculum-based measurement as an alternative to both standardized and teacher-developed reading tests. Oral Reading Fluency, a curriculum-based measure of reading is presented as an accurate indicator of both general reading ability and reading comprehension, and as a means of monitoring reading progress towards functional literacy.…

Discusses and demonstrates combining scores from multiple-choice (MC) and constructed-response (CR) items to create a common scale using Item Response Theory methodology. Provides empirical results using a set of tests in reading, language, mathematics, and science in three grades. (SLD)

Considers literacy survey findings of year 7 students who had experienced difficulties with reading. Highlights the range of texts and events that these students chose to engage with outside school and the mismatch between home and school literacy. Suggests a need to go beyond the traditional reading test to uncover the texture of literacy…

Argues that there are many problems attendant to the testing of second language inferencing. Two reading tests, one culturally familiar and the other culturally unfamiliar were administered to secondary school students who are not native speakers of English. Four categories of inferences were tested in four different situations. Results showed…

Investigated the factorial invariance of scores from a seventh grade state reading assessment across general education students and selected groups of students with disabilities. Assessed the fit of a two-factor model and five levels of constraint. Results generally support the score comparability of the reading assessment, but more research is…

Examines value-added student achievement levels of 74 school districts named as litigants in "Tennessee v. Small School Systems v. McWherter" and compares them with those of 64 nonlitigating districts. Although litigant districts have achieved greater fiscal equity, student achievement has not significantly improved. (Contains 11…

A college administered the computer-adaptive ACCUPLACER (College Board, 1995) reading placement test to 399 entering students and its paper-and-pencil version, COMPANION, to 481 students. When the age of the two groups was held constant, no differences were found between the groups. (SLD)

Describes several recent trends in elementary education involving enrollment, the number of schools, pupil-teacher ratios, minority children, reading, international comparisons of eighth graders, the Internet, and finances. (PKP)