Discusses research by Marsha Buly and Sheila Valencia in the Fall 2002 issue of "Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis" on the success of Washington State's legislation mandating phonics-based reading instruction. Discusses contribution of music education to Finnish students' high scores in the Program of International Student…

Discusses results of latest Program of International Student Assessment developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that tested 15-year-olds in 32 countries in reading, mathematics, and science. Focuses on reaction to below-average results in Germany. (PKP)

Research has shown that independent reading, both in school and out, is associated with gains in reading achievement. Principals can play a critical role by promoting voluntary reading to teachers, students, parents, and the community. (17 references) (MLF)

Evaluated ability of Cognitive Levels Test (CLT) to estimate current achievement in mathematics (as measured by KeyMath Revised) and reading (as measured by Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised) among 38 private elementary and secondary school students. Validity coefficients indicated that CLT scores were moderately to highly correlated with…

Argues that use of intelligence as an aptitude benchmark in the definition of dyslexia conceals illogical assumptions about the concept of potential. Concludes that the validity of a severe discrepancy between aptitude and achievement as the defining feature of dyslexia has yet to be established sufficiently to justify differential educational…

Proposes a model for how document literacy and prose literacy are related to young adults' occupational status and their societal participation. Finds that the relatively low occupational status of Blacks appears to be attributable to their relatively low literacy achievement and literacy activity. (MG)

Long sentences, medical terms, and small print make hospital information brochures and consent forms difficult for many patients to understand. Nurses can help patients by simplifying language, highlighting important information, and using lists. (JOW)

Discusses the development of a reading progress chart to display students' chronological age versus reading age over a period of time. Investigates the validity of this methods of recording individual students' progress. Finds evidence for the usefulness of the chart as a pictorial record of students' progress. (RS)

Surveys the reading attitudes of 85 seventh graders in a predominantly Hispanic East Los Angeles school, and relates them to reading achievement. Finds that students doing well in reading have a higher positive correlation between attitude and achievement, but that many students reading far below grade level manifest very positive attitudes toward…

Since the media seldom feature good news about education, principals need to highlight elementary school children's reading and writing accomplishments. Principals can hear students read aloud in the hallway, send interesting compositions to the superintendent's office, and post creative writing efforts on the walls of local banks, pizza parlors,…

The Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) has developed both formal and informal reading assessments reflecting current reading theory. A test development committee created a MEAP blueprint of four elements: constructing meaning, knowledge about reading, attitudes and self-perceptions, and topic familiarity. Includes two references. (MLH)

Investigates comprehension problems of children whose decoding skills are normal but whose reading comprehension skills are poor. Concludes that working memory processes are not a major causal factor in the creation of the comprehension difficulties identified in these poor comprehenders. (RS)

Suggests that both portfolio and performance-based assessment can be implemented in ways that retain vestiges of standardized testing. Compares aspects of standardized testing to aspects of portfolio and performance-based evaluation. Discusses responsibility to those assessed. (RS)

Uses exploratory data analysis to examine changes in individual reading and spelling patterns during first grade. Notes that subjects received 45 minutes of daily letter-sound instruction. Finds that spelling and reading responses progressed from nonphonetic, to phonetic, to correct. Finds also that those slow to improve in phoneme deletion were…

The genetic and environmental causes of the phenotypic association between reading and verbal short-term memory (VSTM) were analyzed using data from the Colorado Reading Project for 446 twin pairs. Results of bivariate behavioral genetic analyses indicate that both reading ability and VSTM are highly heritable. (SLD)