Indicates that a broad age range of students can use some purpose questions as cues to activate background knowledge. Suggest topic familiarity, amount of information presented, and the presence of genre clues as text features affecting schema activation. (NKA)

Examines the validity of estimates of instructional reading level produced by the Reading Comprehension Test of the 1986 Metropolitan Achievement Tests (MAT). Compares reading level estimates provided by the MAT, basal reader placement tests, an informal reading inventory, and classroom teachers' judgments. Suggests that each method, because of…

Surveys university-based reading clinics and their potential for research leadership. Recommends that graduate programs of reading/language arts examine the consistency between the clinical component and the developmental coursework of their degree programs. (ARH)

Reviews research in the areas of reading standards and tests, reading development, dyslexia and specific reading retardation, and reading materials and interests. (FL)

Evaluated the effects of an inservice education program on 47 elementary teachers in three Kansas school districts. Information pertaining to several research questions was collected by assessing demographic factors, teachers' knowledge of reading instruction, teachers' attitudes toward reading-related issues, teacher implementation of specific…

Investigates whether standardized tests measure the same comprehension construct as free recall assessment techniques. (FL)

Contributors offer suggestions concerning parents as reading stimulators, book discussions, a test bank for the secondary school/college reading lab, standardized reading tests, television reading, plagiarism, vocabulary development, and book reports. (FL)

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an assessment of reading comprehension of nine-year-olds in 35 countries and was conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). This report compares findings from the United States with other countries and takes a closer look at…

Year-to-year rater variation may result in constructed response (CR) parameter changes, making CR items inappropriate to use in anchor sets for linking or equating. This study demonstrates how rater severity affected the writing and reading scores. Rater adjustments were made to statewide results using an item response theory (IRT) methodology…

The purpose of this study was to determine if students' definitions of reading and self-perceptions/attitudes as readers are related to word recognition and comprehension performances. The study also examined if students' definitions of reading were related to a tendency to exhibit learning difficulties. Subjects were the entire third-grade…

Florida's High School Competency Test (HSCT) is a multiple-choice test of the application of basic academic skills to everyday life situations. The test is divided into mathematics and communications sections, with the communications section including skills in reading and writing. Passing the HSCT is a high school graduation requirement. This…

In 1999,the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) was administered to students in grades 4, 5, 8, and 10 to assess student achievement of the Sunshine State Standards in reading and mathematics as mandated by the Florida legislature. This report informs administrators, legislators, and the general public about the reading and mathematics…

Task performance of 35 first graders was analyzed in relation to their third-grade reading and arithmetic test scores. The visual-auditory task, requiring the child to select the correct auditory representation of a visually presented consonant-vowel-consonant, accounted for 48 percent of the variance in third-grade reading scores. (Author/PN)

Readers' contributions include ways to make inservice meetings interesting, a checklist for designing and evaluating learning centers, ways to help low ability readers use public libraries by taping materials, how to encourage college students to attend state council conferences, and comments on misleading findings from the Nelson-Denny Reading…

Reports on reading research in Great Britain published in 1988. Includes sections on word recognition, dyslexia, blind and deaf readers, writing, language and literacy, cohesion and comprehension, parents, and teaching methods. Concludes that most funding reinforces a narrow paradigm of educational research and that aging reading tests are used to…