This study describes a program designed to increase student achievement in reading. The targeted population consisted of two first grade classes and one second grade class in a small central Illinois community. The median household income was in the lower range. Evidence of the existence of the problem included the April 2000 standard testing…

This book offers middle and high school principals (with or without a background in reading instruction or curriculum) the tools to help teachers and lead their schools to reading excellence. The book presents the current status of student achievement in America, links the importance of reading to learning, clarifies the learning process of…

This paper reviews the existing research on joint storybook reading practices, outlining the behaviors essential for success. It then describes and reports on the efficacy of an assessment instrument, the Adult/Child Interactive Reading Inventory (ACIRI). The ACIRI is an observational tool for assessing the joint reading behaviors of both adults…

The importance of all children achieving adequate reading outcomes by the end of third grade cannot be overstated. Awareness is growing nationwide of the dividends of early reading success and the dire consequences of early reading failure. Schools need a prevention-oriented assessment and intervention system to prevent reading difficulties from…

This publication contains released test items for grade 4 reading from the 2001 Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). It is designed to assist teachers and administrators in the analysis of specific test items in order to identify patterns, trends, weaknesses, and strengths of student performance on the Essential Academic Learning…

This publication contains released test items for grade 10 reading from the 2001 Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). It is designed to assist teachers and administrators in the analysis of specific test items in order to identify patterns, trends, weaknesses, and strengths of student performance on the Essential Academic Learning…

Three teacher researchers conducted research to help motivate, encourage, and raise achievement of all students involved in the study. There were three fifth-grade classes involved of approximately 30 students per class, ages 10-11. The elementary school involved is located in Bolingbrook, Illinois: Wood View Elementary. The researchers conducted…

The Center for Literacy (part of the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory) established the Regional and National Network of Research and Professional Organizations, which examines current trends in literacy research on a national level. The first meeting of the Research Network was held in 2001, and featured a panel of expert researchers…

Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the Grade 4 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) 2003 reading assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. The 53 reports in this series present bulleted text describing overall student results, bar charts showing NAEP…

Each state and jurisdiction that participated in the Grade 8 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) 2003 reading assessment receives a one-page snapshot report that presents key findings and trends in a condensed format. The 53 reports in this series present bulleted text describing overall student results, bar charts showing NAEP…

For student success in reading achievement, recognition needs must be met--each person desires to be recognized for things well done and for improvement over previous performances. This paper discusses how this can be done in the teaching of reading. The paper first enumerates and reports on selected past methods of reading instruction: initial…

To investigate the potential effects of the "Fourth Grade Reading Guarantee," an Ohio policy that mandates that students will not be promoted to grade 5 unless they reach a given score on the Ohio Proficiency Test (OPT) in reading at grade 4, a series of studies was performed in the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 school years. The extent of…

This critique brings together psychometric theory, reading theory, and social critique to analyze reading assessment and to consider the assumptions that underlie reading assessment as practiced. The chapters are: (1) "What Counts as Evidence of Reading?"; (2) "Evidence, Validity, and Assessment"; (3) "Multiple-Choice Standardized Reading Tests in…

This study investigated improvement in reading/language arts test performance by non-transient learners in three accelerated schools. The sample included sixth-grade students who remained in the same accelerated school for at least four years. The third and fifth grade readers' scores on Louisiana's criterion-referenced test were used in this…

The state-by-state comparisons of results on the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) present the literacy community with some good news and a bit of a puzzle: scores have improved, but the results cannot provide answers as to why one grade or state is doing better or worse than in the past. State-by-state results show that…