A study examined the relations among the diversity of the social groupings in which children participated in home literacy events and the social groupings, oral language, and literacy in first-grade literacy events. Subjects, 35 children in two first-grade classrooms in the same school district in a small city in the southeastern United States,…

Even though Swedish students (age 9 and 14 years) placed third in the recent IEA study, reading instruction in Swedish schools is apparently no better than in other countries taking part in the IEA study. No strong correlations between type of reading instruction and students' reading skills have been found. Schools in Nordic countries work under…

Despite widely-held beliefs to the contrary, three different sources of research data prove that children in the 1990s read better on the average than either their father's generation or their grandfather's generation. "Then and Now" studies indicate that students read better now than decades ago. Restandardization of test norms also…

This monograph offers a progress report on reading in America. The monograph considers the idea that contemporary research indicates that competent readers are constructive and discusses reading habits of adults and children, data on 17-year-olds from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, reading instruction, reader response theory, and…

A study examined the effects of instruction versus no instruction of comprehension monitoring strategies and the effects of direct instruction of a written or checksheet comprehension monitoring strategy on the metacognitive awareness and reading achievement of students. Subjects, 57 fifth-grade and 51 third-grade students from 6 intact classrooms…

A study examined the relationship between geographic mobility and school achievement. Subjects, 15 fourth-grade students who transferred more than twice and 47 fourth-grade students who did not transfer as often from a Chicago public school in a low socioeconomic area, had their scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills compared. Results indicated…

Addressing a component of critical thinking that is presently lacking in reading instruction in United States classrooms, this paper identifies and provides a review of the literature on six traits of analytical reading. Stemming directly from research in assessment and instructional practices, these traits identify the six critical reading skills…

One of 10 reports commissioned by the National Academy of Education, this report investigates topics related to an assessment program piloted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) designed to support state-by-state and state-to-nation comparisons of student performance in reading. The report focuses on three issues: (1) the…

A study was conducted to determine whether or not a child who is older when entering school performs better on reading readiness and achievement tests than a younger child. Two samples of second grade students from a middle class community in Bloomfield, New Jersey, were established by examining the ages of all the children in the cohort. Sample A…

A study determined whether reading aloud to children before entering school would influence their reading grade level as determined by their report card grade. Subjects, 85 first-grade children in a suburban school district in central New Jersey, took surveys home to be completed by parents. Results indicated that: (1) those children who were read…

A review of research on the effects of whole language suggests that no one approach to teaching reading is distinctly better in all situations and respects than other methods. The whole language approach has been described as a "top-down" theory of reading which emphasizes the importance of teaching language as a whole entity as…

The act of reading is holistic and involves acquisition of facts, concepts, and generalizations. With Instructional Management Systems (IMS) and state mandated testing, however, reading too frequently becomes a means of appraising the achievement of students in acquiring word recognition skills as well as diverse comprehension abilities. School…

A study examined whether preschool attendance has a positive effect on reading achievement of third graders. Subjects were 40 students attending third grade at the Benjamin Wright Raymond Public School (100% minority students), located in a mostly low socioeconomic neighborhood in the Chicago, Illinois area. Half of the subjects had attended…

A study determined whether computer assisted instruction (CAI) had an effect on students' reading achievement. Subjects were 21 randomly selected fourth-grade students at D. S. Wentworth Elementary School on the south side of Chicago in a low-income neighborhood who received a year's exposure to a CAI program, and 21 randomly selected students at…

A study examined the degree to which audiotaped progressive muscle relaxation training influenced the oral and silent reading performance of eight adolescents who were legally classified as emotionally disturbed. A single-case ABAB withdrawal design was used to examine the effects of relaxation training on oral reading. In addition, a…