The vocabulary, sentence structure, and organization of a pharmacy education handout were lowered, main ideas were highlighted, and special introductions were written. There was no statistically significant difference in reading comprehension scores between subjects receiving the modified pamphlet and subjects receiving the standard version. (21…

Discussion of informal reading assessment procedures provides middle school teachers with several basic techniques for securing and using assessment data to implement an effective instructional program. (11 references) (MLF)

Finds that low ability and average ability students benefit more from reading plays than reading stories. Finds that the performance of low ability readers equalled high ability readers when both participated in group oral readings of plays. (RS)

Found nontraditional assessment tools to be good predictors of current reading instruction group for nonhandicapped and mildly handicapped children. Iowa Tests of Basic Skills reading scores, curriculum-based measurement reading probes, and teachers' rating scale were able to stratify large sample of elementary school children into Chapter 1,…

Data relating to an intermediate-grade student with learning disabilities were collected when the student was being served in a resource room and during full-time mainstreaming. Data included achievement measures, classroom observation data, and school adjustment data. Data do not show significant improvements in reading achievement when in the…

This case study chronicles the development of reading and writing in a student (age eight) with a learning disability. The study is rooted in cognitive science, sociohistorical, and developmental perspectives of literacy. The study discusses appropriate assistance to be offered while engaging the child in personally meaningful reading and writing…

Finds that children with learning disabilities performed significantly worse on only the first level of phonemic awareness compared to younger children of average reading ability at the same reading age level and significantly worse on compound phonemic awareness compared to a control group. Explicates implications for diagnosis and remediation of…

Critiques standardized, static literacy assessment practice. Proposes an interactive, curriculum-embedded, multidimensional approach to assessment based on observations and records of student literacy made on a variety of occasions over time and in a variety of authentic learning contexts. Demonstrates how a teacher and a student interacted to…

Investigates the reading comprehension skills of 34 college students, particularly the roles of basic reading processes and prior knowledge in understanding expository texts. Indicates that word identification and propositional encoding measures were related to individual differences in reading comprehension ability. (HB)

A total of 42 kindergartners and 42 first graders received either metalevel or skill and drill instruction in phonemic awareness for 10 weeks. Results supported evidence that phonemic awareness is related to reading achievement. The metalevel form of instruction was strongly related to improvement in reading ability of first graders. (SH)

Uses Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study data to estimate gender and socioeconomic status effects on reading and mathematics achievement for a sample of second and fifth graders. Boys learned significantly more in mathematics, whereas girls learned more in reading. Instructional time allocations were not significantly related to gender.…

Presents results of a study comparing self-correction rates among good and poor readers in a reading level design that controlled text difficulty. Reports no significant differences between the groups when reading identical passages at equivalent error rates. Concludes that self-correction rates correlate with reading accuracy but not…

This article translates research from the fields of optometry, ophthalmology, neurology, and medicine on the efficacy of tinted lenses for students with reading disabilities into understandable information for lay people. The paper concludes that the treatment does not significantly improve reading, although some reports indicate improvement in a…

Examines the memory coding processes of skilled and less skilled readers during the reading of connected text. Finds that, along with phonological coding, semantic processing contributes an important amount of variance to deficiencies in the reading of connected text. (RS)

Examines recent debates on the teaching of reading from the standpoint of science, art, and ideology, focusing on the reading theories, research, and practice of the past two decades. The analysis emphasizes the issue of whole language versus phonics, noting the effects of whole language and phonics on reading achievement. (SM)