In a cross-sectional study of 95 kindergartners and 89 second graders, confirmatory factor analysis of a battery of phonological and control tasks was used to compare models of young readers' phonological processing abilities. Results suggest that phonological abilities are best conceptualized as relatively stable and coherent individual…

Introduced varied learning style (LS) strategies in five stages to special education and low-achieving general education students, removing them in the final phase. Pre- and posttests of reading achievement in each phase and assessment of students' LS preferences indicated that students with LS preferences benefited from LS accommodations,…

Explains how one Houston (Texas) educator (Thaddeus Lott) has turned failing schools into laboratories for learning. It describes how Lott used a charter giving him freedom to train staff, develop a curriculum, and make hiring, firing, and promotion decisions at four schools to improve reading and math skills. Concluding comments address the…

Investigates the effects on students' literacy learning of implementing recommended practices for primary programs, mandated in Kentucky's sweeping education-reform effort. Finds that students taught by four "high implementing" teachers outperformed students of "low implementing" teachers on every measure of literacy…

This article integrates the literature on intelligence and achievement outcomes in boys with Klinefelter syndrome (KS). It reports results of a study following 36 boys with KS and 33 sibling controls. Boys with KS demonstrated verbal cognitive deficits and significant underachievement in reading, spelling, and arithmetic, which increased with age.…

Literacy instruction of about 100 adults at the Harvard Adult Literacy Center (Massachusetts) revealed different patterns for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners or for learners with learning disabilities. Adult learners showing the learning disability pattern averaged a 1-year gain after 1 semester (20 hours) of instruction. ESL learners…

Follows whole-language-instruction students into second-grade classrooms that either used a skills-based (transition group) or a whole-language approach (continuing group). Finds the transition group experienced a loss of literate behaviors; differences in writing favored the continuing group; and no between-group difference in reading growth. (RS)

Discusses a project developed at Damiansville Elementary School (Illinois) to improve reading scores on state reading tests and encourage students to improve reading achievement. Topics include funding; the Standardized Tests for Assessment of Reading; the Accelerated Reader program; planning; the role of the library; and community participation.…

A major British research project found significant gains in elementary students' literacy and numeracy achievement in 14 of 16 classrooms where teachers worked on developing their own computer skills and instructional uses of computers. Factors contributing to successful professional development are identified, as well as necessary sources of…

The Alabama Reading Initiative is a public-private consortium promoting a research-based approach to literacy instruction. Its goal is 100-percent literacy. Use of the approach at one middle school involved development-, practice-, and demonstration-oriented professional development and deep faculty collaboration. The effort resulted in a dramatic…

Describes a program in which preservice teachers served as tutors for at-risk first, second, and third graders in a tutorial model incorporating play and phonological awareness activities using puppets and comprehension strategy instruction using manipulatives. Finds that the program improved reading achievement for children at the first grade…

Describes strategies one elementary school used to improve the reading and writing skills of a group of low-performing second-grade students, including scaffolding, modeling, needs-based instruction, book-rich environment, cross-age reading, books shared with family members, and student motivation. (PKP)

In this article, the authors examined the effects of 1 year of supplemental instruction on first-grade children considered struggling readers on their phonics and reading comprehension achievement, along with second-grade children considered struggling readers on their reading comprehension achievement. This study included 196 children in 17…

This study employed observed factor index scores as well as latent ability constructs from the "Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition" (WISC-IV; Wechsler, 2003) in estimating reading and mathematics achievement on the "Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition" (WIAT-II; Wechsler, 2002). Participants…

To improve achievement for struggling readers in particular, secondary schools must design programs and curricula to address students' lack of background knowledge, delayed English language development, and limited success in reading. In this article, the author presents a systems approach that offers intensive care for the most at-risk students…