Presents an approach for studying measurement characteristics of instruments designed for comparative studies of educational achievement. It presents a reanalysis of data from 22 countries and 73,818 9- and 10-year-old students from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement study. (Author/SLD)

Results for 113 students and 59 comparisons from an evaluation of a three-year Success for All program under difficult circumstances show positive effects for the kindergarten component but largely negative effects in grades two and three. Evaluations of the program should assess its goal of getting all students to read at grade level by grade…

Describes the experience of creating an evaluation collage of one struggling reader that involves observation of linear development over a long period of time in a variety of contexts, records that reconstruct those multiple contexts, and the analysis of multiple sources of information, such as observations, interactions, and different types of…

Discusses an extensive reading program in English designed to improve the reading achievement of junior high school students in an Israeli school. Results of the program indicate that many of the students are readers in English by the time they graduate. (CK)

The hypothesis that gains in reading performance occurring among dyslexic children during individually paced reading are partially attributable to changes in short-term memory processing was tested with 23 elementary school students. Findings provide support for a causal role for short-term memory functioning in text processing. (SLD)

Documents the multicultural children's literature preferences of low-ability African and Hispanic American fifth graders. Finds that while the African American students showed a strong preference for culturally conscious (authentic) literature, the Hispanic American students rated these books less favorably. (RS)

Two longitudinal studies examined the relationship between phonemic awareness and reading achievement in primary grades. Results found a significant correlation between kindergarten performance on phonemic awareness tasks and second-grade reading achievement. A three-year followup of low-scorers indicated that most of those students (who were a…

Examined early home literacy experiences, receptive language and emergent literacy skills, and reading achievement. Found that children's book exposure related to vocabulary development and listening comprehension, and that these skills related directly to grade 3 reading. Parents' literacy teaching related to early literacy skills, which…

A 2-year study involving 103 kindergarten children tested five predictive models for early reading achievement. Results indicate a predictive model combining letter identification, phonological awareness, and rapid automatized naming was the best predictor of early reading achievement. There was no practical, significant difference between fall…

Investigates the relationship between reading attitudes, achievement, and learners' perceptions of a Jigsaw II cooperative learning experience among a group of eighth-grade Lebanese students of English as a Foreign Language. Reveals certain statistically significant differences between high and low achievers and between males and females across…

Evaluation of a metacognitive reading program with 13 learning-disabled children in grades 3 and 4 found that students increased in performance and awareness of strategies from pre- to posttesting. Differences were also observed between different clusters of students with defensive, pessimistic, or realistic self-concepts. (DB)

Considers reading research that establishes phonological awareness as a predictor of reading success. Examines the research that seeks to teach phonological awareness to children who lack linguistic sensitivity. Identifies classroom practices that may have merit in encouraging phonological awareness in children. (RS)

Describes curriculum based measurement (CBM), a procedure which rank orders students based on the number of correct words per minute read from three basal passages. Emphasizes that this procedure is efficient in forming reading groups and monitoring students' progress. (MM)

Reviews research on United Kingdom programs which focus on parental involvement in children's reading. (MM)

Examines whether sex differences in reading learning rate occurred when female instructors worked with small groups of elementary school boys and girls on an individualized basis in an intensive summer reading clinic program. Reports that girls outperformed boys on all measures. (RAE)