This study, with 38 9-year-old poor readers and 40 reading age-matched normally achieving readers, examined qualitative differences in poor readers relative to normally achieving readers of the same reading level. Results suggest that poor readers have worse grapheme phoneme conversion skills and greater reluctance to relinquish the lexical route…

Describes a reading program for gifted middle school readers designed to increase critical reading ability and student appreciation of literary technique and broaden understanding of sophisticated vocabulary. (MLF)

Discusses the value of using alphabet books with older and more proficient readers. Describes alphabet books which are appropriate for the more mature reader. Suggests specific strategies for their use in the intermediate and middle school classrooms. (RS)

Effects of instructional complexity and role reciprocity within classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) programs were examined with a total of 119 students (learning disabled, low achieving, or normally achieving) in grades 2 through 5. Students in all CWPT conditions outperformed controls on a reading fluency measure; however only those in CWPT with role…

Presents a synthesis of the responses of 13 researchers in the field of language and literacy to the theme of this issue. Discusses the varying perspectives on literature-based instruction, the effect of language empowerment, language knowledge and reading/writing achievement, social context and cognition, and technology and education. Notes the…

Presents high school students' responses to a yearly writing assessment which asked them to explain why there are discrepancies in the performances of males and females in reading and math. Finds that the largest category of responses was "the way things are," followed by the equally broad categories of work, society, school, and logic. (SR)

Describes a performance assessment which accompanies an integrated curriculum for the third and fifth grades in two schools and is designed to reflect a wide spectrum of literacy processes that appear in an integrated curriculum. Follows two third-grade students as they perform each of the tasks. (SR)

A literature review identified strengths and weaknesses of the Principle of the Alphabet Literacy System, a computerized adult literacy program, concluding that it showed no consistent achievement effects. Far less expensive technologies that could achieve the same goals with greater flexibility are available. (SK)

Argues that informal reading inventories (IRI) and the cloze procedure may provide inaccurate information and inhibit the progress of poor readers. Examines the concept of frustration level in both IRI and cloze testing. Posits that, in attempting to avoid frustrating students, educators fail to provide students with sufficient challenges.…

This response to Bashir and Scavuzzo (EC 602 669) suggests that their view that dyslexia is a chronic, pervasive condition is too limiting. An alternative view of dyslexia as an acute, interactive condition is proposed, and related implications for instructional curricula and reading achievement are offered. (Author/ DB)

Compared standardized achievement test performance of 62 second graders receiving instruction in 2 different reading curricula (Open Court and Houghton-Mifflin) to determine whether either curriculum generates different quantitative estimates of reading achievement. Found significant Curriculum X Test interaction, suggesting differences among…

Examines statistical models utilized in earlier studies and attempts to reanalyze the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) reading achievement data for England using a covariance structure model. Shows that, with an appropriate model, school variables do significantly account for reading achievement scores,…

Extends an earlier exploratory study of the effects of sentence-combining on reading achievement by updating the pool of studies and using meta-analysis as a vehicle for integration. Finds that only grade levels produced significant differences; sentence-combining had a greater effect at the elementary level than at the high school or college…

This paper presents a theoretical model illustrating L. Siegel's revisionist conceptualization of learning disabilities and then presents an alternative underachievement model. The paper argues that the alternative model applies standard regression procedures which would lead to a more appropriate definition of learning disabilities and applies…

This study of 335 students in grades 2-6 found that correlations between oral reading fluency and 2 reading achievement tests declined as grade level increased. Coefficients between performance on maze tasks and achievement tests did not show a similar decline from lower to upper grade levels. (Author/JDD)