Program evaluation uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to evaluate 99 ethnically diverse second-graders' growth in oral reading fluency using curriculum-based measurement (CBM). Results reveal that first-grade reading performance significantly predicted initial second-grade reading performance. Argues that the use of HLM with normative CBM…

Investigates the use of a multi-step Test Item Post-Conference (TIPC) procedure with 30 English-as-a-second-language students. Notes that the procedure results in an "adjustment" of standardized multiple choice tests scores. Finds the procedure proved relatively efficient and the results were well-received by the participating ESL teachers.…

Implications of the relationships among mathematics and reading achievement tests scores uncovered by testing 366 elementary school students with academic difficulties are discussed. Tests are the: (1) KeyMath-Revised (J. Connolly, 1988); (2) Peabody Individual Achievement Test-Revised (F. Markwardt, 1989); (3) Wechsler Individual Achievement Test…

Presents an experimental evaluation of a trial implementation of reciprocal teaching procedures by high school teachers to address reading comprehension deficits. Forty-six students were exposed to 1 of 3 conditions: 12-16 reciprocal teaching sessions, 6-8 sessions, or no treatment. Significant gains were observed with students in the extended…

Claims the data from the Ohio Proficiency Test is rich but hard to use. Describes a process for analyzing the data to make it more manageable. Provides suggestions for using the results to make data-driven decisions. (NH)

Compares the reading achievement of second graders who were taught with a direct instruction program to second graders who were taught with a basal reading program in three areas: vocabulary, comprehension, and language. Finds Direct Instruction was more successful than the basal reading program. (NH)

Offers a critique of the interwoven nature of politics and literacy learning and teaching. Identifies political acts as interventions by those in positions of power and in government that determine how literacy is learned and taught. Focuses on: an ideological view that has most influenced literacy research; literacy instruction; literacy…

Examines parents' verbal and affective interactions with their first-grade children during shared storybook reading and how these interactions relate to growth in children's reading activity and achievement. Results reveal that affective quality was an important contributor to children's reading of challenging materials in third grade but not to…

Uses research data to suggest a new basis for understanding gender differences in girls' and boys' achievements in reading. Argues that raising levels of attainment across the board depends on building an active reading culture in the classroom. Suggests the Literacy Hour and the emphasis on work encompassing word, sentence and text levels for all…

Reports on a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with the parents of 15 "precocious" readers during their child's time in Key Stage 1. Notes the parents were interviewed three times: once each academic year. Concludes there are important lessons to be learned from these parents; however, as the parents of children with a precocious…

In this study we examined the contexts and practices of 6 Vermont schools whose students met or exceeded standards set for performance on statewide reading tests administered at second and fourth grade. Demographic data on all elementary schools in Vermont were used in a cluster analysis to identify schools serving low-, middle-, and…

This study examined whether the benefits of reading tutoring in first grade were moderated by children's level of attention problems. Participants were 581 children from the intervention and control samples of Fast Track, a longitudinal multisite investigation of the development and prevention of conduct problems. Standardized reading achievement…

Many comparisons are being made among students in reading achievement. The United States ranked ninth among 35 nations in an international study among students in reading, as reported by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Reading Today, 2003). Standards keep going up for students to achieve in reading, as indicated by test…

This study examined the relationship between the implementation of comprehensive school reform (CSR) and changes in reading and math achievement from 1999 until 2003. Survey data about CSR implementation and school-level achievement data were collected for multiple years from a sample of CSR schools and compared with a sample of matched comparison…

The relative frequency of poor readers in Dutch general elementary education (GEE) and special elementary education (SEE) and the characteristics of their reading performance were investigated using a lexical decision procedure. According to the same norms that identified 9% of students as poor readers in GEE, no less than 73% of the students in…