This article reports the results of a meta-analysis of 20 research articles containing 89 effect sizes related to the use of digital tools and learning environments to enhance literacy acquisition. Results (weighted effect size of 0.489) demonstrate that technology can have a positive effect on reading comprehension, but little research has…

School administrators in a small suburban school district in Southeastern Pennsylvania were concerned about grade inflation at the elementary and secondary levels. Specifically, they wanted to know if students in grades 5, 8, and 11 who scored at the basic or below basic performance level on the 2003-2004 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment…

This paper describes basic facts regarding the black-white test score gap over the first four years of school. Black children enter school substantially behind their white counterparts in reading and math, but including a small number of covariates erases the gap. Over the first four years of school, however, blacks lose substantial ground…

The purpose of this E.D. TAB is to introduce new NCES survey data through the presentation of selected descriptive information. The E.D. TAB is purely descriptive in nature. Readers are cautioned not to draw causal inferences based solely on the bivariate results presented in this E.D. TAB. It is important to note that many of the variables…

Although many educators have stated that children from low socioeconomic homes do not have the opportunities to learn as much compared to those of higher income levels, government officials do not accept that argument. They say that all should achieve the proficiency level in reading. This paper outlines the following ways the reading gap might be…

Research on effective beginning reading instruction has helped to define what instructional methods and content are most valuable. The research has shown that three important aspects of beginning reading instruction are alphabetic principles, reading fluency, and reading comprehension. A review of research in Part 1 of this Technical Paper…

This study examined the possible relationship between scores on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (current forms G and H) and performance on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 examination scores. Participants were 730 medical students at a mid-Atlantic university, and for 572…

Conducting educational research is a complex endeavor, even within familiar contexts. Researchers conducting studies in the Pacific region face such challenges such as multiple languages and time zones, frequent shifts in political power, social interactions based on traditional extended family connections, great distances, and cultural factors…

Parents can help their children prepare for reading tests in a number of ways, not only just before the test, but also with everyday activities. There are generally two types of reading tests given to students: tests given by teachers throughout the year to see what information students have retained, and more formal, often standardized, tests…

Everyone who graduates from high school truly literate starts to develop that literacy in the earliest grades. Educators must look to schools where students are achieving the highest literacy standards and identify the practices that enable them to achieve those goals. This report tells the stories of eight such schools--Portland Elementary School…

As students progress through the different grade levels, reading across the curriculum needs to be emphasized because it provides opportunities for students to practice reading in each academic discipline. Becoming a good reader is a curriculum "must." On the kindergarten level, experience charts may be used as an early means of teaching…

Classroom behavior has been shown to be, in some cases, more important than measured ability for predicting young children's academic outcomes. This study examined the relationship between kindergarten children's work-related classroom behaviors and their kindergarten and first-grade achievement. A battery of achievement tests (receptive…

This theme issue of the NCREL's (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory's) "Learning Point" focuses on how reading engages children. The cover story article is an interview (Marianne Kroeger and Stephanie Blaser) with Mary Foertsch, from NCREL, on what types of innovative strategies teachers employ to help students become engaged readers. A…

The purpose of this study was to determine if reading with a buddy and participating in a literature discussion would have an effect on reading comprehension achievement. For six weeks, seven pairs of third grade students met three times a week to read assigned material and participate in small group literature discussions to construct meaning and…

Phonemic awareness and writing are thought to be important contributors to a child's success with reading. However, studies of "exceptional" children have shown contrary results. The Knowledge Sources theory is used to explain these results with regard to explicit and implicit generation procedures that have their source in the child's reading…