A longitudinal study of 363 elementary school students over five years investigated the degree to which reading comprehension, vocabulary, reading pleasure, and reading frequency later in life can be predicted and the way that path models and common factor models explain these relationships. Linkages among these factors are explored. (SLD)

Reports on the long-term development, implementation, and assessment of a framework for beginning reading instruction (the Four Blocks Approach). Describes the framework and how it divides times fairly evenly between the four major historical approaches to reading instruction. Shows that the framework is very successful with children of a wide…

Children with learning disabilities constitute the largest handicapping condition as well as the largest number of underserved students. Summarizes research concerning cognitive qualities associated with identification and remediation of learning disabilities, particularly in reading, spelling, and math, as described in current literature in the…

Investigates ways in which alternative and authentic reading assessments would result in students of varying abilities increasing their self-expectations and performance levels. Finds that when given the opportunity to engage in performance-based activities and assessments, students with learning disabilities can begin to clarify their strengths…

Analyzed the quality of intellectual reasoning of a class of high school students with standardized reading scores in the bottom quartile on 1 day of instruction and examined the knowledge base of the teacher to coach and scaffold a different intellectual culture among students who were underachieving. Findings show the development of an…

Comparison of maltreated (N=195) and non-maltreated (N=179) children found the maltreated children had significantly lower academic achievement scores but did not differ on perceived academic competence. Maltreated children were more likely to overestimate their level of competence, particularly for reading and arithmetic. Also, children with low…

Examined the impact of day-care participation during the first 3 years of life on the cognitive functioning of 867 school age children who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Found that children from impoverished homes who started day care before age one had higher reading scores than children from similar homes who did not…

The efficacy of signifying, a form of social discourse in the African American community, as a scaffold for teaching skills in literary interpretation was demonstrated with 52 urban high school students in an experimental group and 25 controls. Skill in signifying and social knowledge showed positive correlations with achievement. (SLD)

Low-achieving second graders experienced a year of transactional strategies instruction (n=30) or highly regarded, more conventional second-grade reading instruction (n=30). The group receiving transactional strategies instruction had greater strategy awareness and use, greater acquisition of material read, and superior performance on standardized…

A Boston principal reflects on decade-long efforts to get students and their families to read together. Initiatives ranged from reading contests and upgraded reading materials to reading contracts, literacy shows, parent/home visiting programs, pizza parties, and off-site tutors. Persistence paid off in higher reading scores. (MLH)

Explores the consequences of schooling on identity and achievement through the author's son's involvement in four different social situations; storybook encounters at home in early childhood, a first grade classroom with abundant freedom, a second grade classroom with an impoverished curriculum, and third and fourth grade classrooms at a public…

Cumulative learning losses over summer vacations are particularly detrimental to poorer children's reading achievement. By extending the relatively short 180-day U.S. school year, proactive and coordinated summer-school programs can help prevent "summer slide," closing test-score gaps and allowing children the extra learning time they…

The "Failure-free" Reading Program was evaluated with 39 students (ages 8 to 12) with severe reading problems. The program involves previewing, listening, content presentation, reading, and reviewing. Improved performance in letter-word identification, word attack, comprehension, and dictation was evident after the intensive intervention.…

Examined age and gender differences in verbal skills and visuomotor skills at kindergarten, in achievement in reading and mathematics at Grade four, and the link between skills at kindergarten and later achievement. Readiness in auditory memory and verbal associations predicted later reading achievement while readiness in number skills and visual…

Describes a preliminary study of the development and psychometric integrity of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) norms for literature-based reading. Assesses the reading achievement of 403 first through third graders. Results show that CBM procedures can be modified to develop local norms for literature-based instruction. (MKA)