We report on the development and validation of the TEX-IN3, a research tool and protocol designed to assess the quality of the classroom literacy environment. The TEX-IN3 is described in terms of its theoretical base as well as its practical applications. The TEX-IN3 includes three basic components: a text inventory, a text "in-use" observation,…

Grade retention has been controversial for many years, and current calls to end social promotion have lent new urgency to this issue. On the one hand, a policy of retaining in grade those students making slow progress might facilitate instruction by making classrooms more homogeneous academically. On the other hand, grade retention might harm…

The study investigates the mean difference in reading achievement between third-graders in public and independent schools in Sweden. The data come from the Swedish participation in PIRLS 2001 conducted by IEA. Variables from the home questionnaire mainly indicating possession of cultural capital are used as independent variables. A total IRT score…

It is widely accepted that teachers differ in their effectiveness, yet the empirical evidence regarding teacher effectiveness is weak. The existing evidence is mainly drawn from econometric studies that use covariates to attempt to control for selection effects that might bias results. We use data from a four-year experiment in which teachers and…

How can we help all children learn what they need to know to prepare for the future? In every country/region that is participating in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a study of the literacy skills of 15-year-old youth, there is a huge gap between the best and worst performing students. This shows the need for…

Promoting the development of early literacy skills might prevent later reading achievement problems. This longitudinal study investigated rates of early literacy growth using Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) for 69 preschool children classified as belonging to 1 of 4 groups with or without risk for developing early literacy…

The double-deficit hypothesis of dyslexia posits that reading deficits are more severe in individuals with weaknesses in phonological awareness and rapid naming than in individuals with deficits in only one of these reading composite skills. In this study, the hypothesis was tested in an adult sample as a model of reading achievement. Participants…

The author was startled by the carelessness and selectivity of Robert Slavin's comments, which give his words the ring of a promotional release rather than of intellectual reflection. He agrees that Slavin is accurate in saying that the scores on reading tests at P.S. 65 in the South Bronx improved during a period in which, among a number of other…

When teachers wave goodbye to their students as they head off for summer vacation, they might just be bidding farewell to some of their hard-won gains in reading skills. The "summer slide" is well-documented by research: Unless students read regularly during the break, they fall behind about three months in their reading achievement. This article…

This article reports the findings from a longitudinal study investigating the influence of phonological processing and inattentive behavior on reading acquisition. Data from individually administered measures of phonological processing and reading, as well as teacher ratings of children's behavior, were collected from a cohort of 132 children at…

This article reviews longitudinal research within criminology and the health sciences on the relationship between reading and criminal, delinquent, or antisocial behavior. Longitudinal research in criminology, medicine, and psychology examines the role of reading within a broad set of interactive processes, connecting literacy to public health via…

The effect of block scheduling on high school student achievement in mathematics and reading was investigated in this study through the use of an ex post-facto, longitudinal research design. Specifically, student scores from 9th and 11th-grade standardized tests were matched and sorted by junior high and high school attended. Outcome measures…

Classroom libraries are a literacy necessity; they are integral to successful teaching and learning and must become a top priority if students are to become thriving, engaged readers. Students who have ready access to books in their classrooms have better attitudes about reading, reading achievement, and comprehension than their peers with less…

The authors examined the developmental trajectories of children's early letter knowledge in relation to measures spanning and encompassing their prior language-related and cognitive measures and environmental factors and their subsequent Grade 1 reading achievement. Letter knowledge was assessed longitudinally at ages 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.5…

This general achievement trends profile includes information that the Center on Education Policy (CEP) and the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO) obtained from states from fall 2008 through April 2009. Included herein are: (1) Bullet points summarizing key findings about achievement trends in that state at three performance…