THIS EXPERIMENT WAS CONCERNED WITH ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SKILL IN SERIATING AND VARIOUS MEASURES YIELDED BY THE METROPOLITAN READING READINESS TEST (RRT). ANOTHER OBJECTIVE WAS TO EVALUATE THE EXTENT TO WHICH SKILL IN SERIATING IS ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL CLASS, SEX, AND RACE. THE AUTHORS CONSTRUCTED A SERIATION TEST WITH AN ESTIMATED…

A screening survey of 272 first grade pupils, for the purpose of detection and remediation of special learning problems was conducted. Purposes were to: (1) screen out pupils with potential learning and school adjustment problems, (2) prevent the amplification of these problems and (3) suggest, to teachers, proper techniques and methods of…

Readiness is not all-or-none. It depends on the method and materials to be used and on the level at which instruction will begin. Maturation, heredity, and experience influences readiness, and most 6-year-olds are ready to learn something about reading. Readiness research should attempt to find what and how a child is ready to learn rather than…

This research was done to determine whether formal kindergarten training in alphabet and number names would result in a higher reading level for children at the end of grade 1. As part of an earlier research project, two classes of primarily middle-class kindergarten children received 8 weeks of training in alphabet and number names. Two control…

The Word Meaning section of the Metropolitan Readiness Test, Form A, was questioned as a true measure of the capabilities of culturally disadvantaged children. Therefore, an attempt was made to compare the Metropolitan Reading Readiness Test with a test in which as many objects as possible were renamed to coincide with the language of the students…

Zip Paks were created by 16 participants who met in the summer of 1968 to produce a reading booklet to be used especially by migrant children. Zip Paks range from the reading readiness level through the third level. Objectives of the Zip Pak for the reading readiness level are to: (1) establish rapport with the child, (2) make the child…

To ascertain if there are significant differences in the frequency of use of movables and connectors in the oral speech patterns of mature and immature children from middle and low socioeconomic levels, 60 beginning first grade children were studied. The Warner-Meeker-Eells Index of Status Characteristics classified children into middle and low…

Kindergarten readiness assessment is considered important for identifying and facilitating successful school experiences for young children. However, little is known about the assessment process schools are using. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers', parents', and administrators' perceptions of the kindergarten readiness assessment…

The author analyzes four informal reading inventories (IRIs) designed for adult students. Evaluative data presented for each IRI include the following: information on word lists and passages and on comprehension questions, estimates of difficulty based on the Fry index of readability, and a summary of scoring and evaluation guidelines. (SK)

Reports correlations between scores on the Metropolitan Readiness Tests, teacher rankings of reading readiness, and socioeconomic (SES) status of 536 beginning first-grade pupils. Discusses results in terms of the effects SES may have on both a student's readiness scores and a teacher's view of student readiness. (FL)

Preschool children (N=38) from low-income households enrolled in Head Start were evaluated for written language awareness. Analysis indicated significant gaps in print, word, graphic, and metalinguistic awareness. Lowest performance was found in children's ability to identify contextualized print within illustrations and their understanding of the…

"The Critical Word Factor," based on word recognition demands of texts, is a measure of text difficulty designed specifically for texts used by beginning readers. The measure is a function of the number of new, unique words per 100 running words of text that fall outside a designated curriculum. The authors investigated the validity of the…

This paper provides a very brief summary of the first three years of study of the court-ordered desegregation effort in St. Louis (Missouri). It examines differences in the reading and mathematics scores from the Stanford Achievement Test along with a performance-based writing assessment for four groups of African-American students. These groups…

The Ohio sixth-grade proficiency test is intended to measure a student's literacy level and basic competency in writing, reading, mathematics, citizenship, and science. This guide is designed to help parents prepare their fifth- and sixth-grade children for this proficiency test. An introduction, "Important Information," outlines three…

The Minnesota Board of Teaching adopted the Pre-Professional Skills Tests (PPST) for initial teacher licensure as required by the State Legislature. A 1987 validation study set qualifying scores for reading, mathematics, and writing. This report evaluates the 4-year administration of the PPST, using data from 1987-91 that were analyzed according…