This compilation of articles from "The Reading Teacher" contrasts old and new approaches to reading assessment and offers methods that teachers can use in the classroom to build better readers. The articles suggest that in order to effectively assess young readers, one must integrate assessment with instruction, which requires new forms of…

A study determined if there was a correlation between reading achievement of children in grade two and the amount of time they spent watching television. Thirteen second-grade students responded to a survey given to determine the number of hours they spent reading and the number of hours they watched television over a three-week period. The number…

Argues that the term "reading potential," as it is now commonly used and computed by many reading personnel, needs to be delegitimatized. (Author/SDH)

While the charge that standardized tests are biased is not new, critics (including feminists) recently have made accusations of gender bias. One argument for the superior performance of males on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT), the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), and the American…

Data gathered under various statewide testing programs in South Carolina were used to assess the effects of PET (data base) training for teachers on student achievement. Reading and mathematics achievement data for students in grades 1 through 4 in South Carolina were compared for teachers who had received PET training and those who did not. A…

This article reviews research concerning the organizational, selective, and connective aspects of reading and then assesses the impact of constructivism on four reading-related issues in the United States: (1) readability of texts; (2) assessment of reading ability; (3) instruction in reading; and (4) conception of literacy. The article argues…

A study investigated the relationship between teachers' expectations of first and second grade bilingual students and reading achievement of students in English. Through classroom observation, researchers identified the expectations held by the teachers for the bilingual students and then identified teacher behaviors toward the high and low…

Intended for teachers, this book reports an assessment of reading achievement in the Irish schools of first year postprimary pupils. Chapters discuss background information, the research procedure, the survey findings, "backwardness" in reading, and the researcher's conclusions. The book concludes with an abstract that lists some of the…

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of humor on the performance of college freshmen on the Nelson Denny Reading Post Test. The subjects, 36 college freshmen from two developmental reading improvement classes, were randomly assigned to experimental A or B or control sample groups. Students had previously taken forms F and C of the test…

Reports that a significant effect of test anxiety on performance was obtained with high anxious subjects performing significantly better under both the motivating circumstances than under the control conditions. (RB)

The purpose of this study was to determine what effects manifest anxiety has on the achievement of selected reading variables (also tasks or skills) of children who, according to their CMAS scores, vary in general drive or anxiety levels. (Author)

Suggests an easy method to check phonic skills and learn what help the child needs to improve his reading ability. (TO)

Supports the hypothesis that dialect tends to interfere in oral reading on the syntactical, but not on the phonological level in this study of Mexican American children. (RB)

Examines the effectiveness of peer tutors as a means of facilitating the reading achievement of other children reading below their grade placement. (Author)

Indicated that early conservation was predictive of later reading performance. (RB)