A study examined the position of phonics instruction or direct skill instruction within the context of a whole language, meaning-based approach to reading instruction. A total of 22 first-grade students participated--12 students received instruction in phonics while 10 followed a meaning based curriculum. All were administered a phonics test and a…

This 24-item annotated bibliography discusses factors affecting reading achievement, including classroom management techniques, reading instruction, reading comprehension, teacher behavior, and beginning reading. The books, journal articles, and research reports in the annotated bibliography were published between 1963 and 1977. (RS)

To increase the reading level of students who come from homes where reading is not valued or modeled, a social context was created where inexperienced readers could interact with adults and books. Three students from homes where reading was not valued were read to by adults two to three times each day for six weeks. Discussion of the book was…

A study tested the effectiveness of three instructional strategies in three expository text structures on students' reading comprehension and writing performance. Subjects, 173 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: mental modeling, graphic organizer, or a control read/answer group. They received…

Mainly describing research methodology, this paper outlines an analysis and reporting strategy for the United States national analyses of reading literacy. The first section of the paper is a brief description of the IEA Reading Literacy study and the issues it seeks to answer, along with an outline of three constraints which condition the…

Through the Section 41, State Bilingual Education program and the E.C.I.A. Chapter 1, Migrant Education program, Saginaw public schools provide supplemental instruction and specialized services in 24 elementary and 6 secondary schools. In 1990-91, the bilingual program served 773 students, mostly Hispanic and some Laotian, while the migrant…

A study investigated whether predictions of reading achievement could be improved by studying the relative contributions of alphabetic knowledge and invented spelling over time. Subjects, 38 upper middle-class children enrolled at an elementary school in the Midwest, were administered an alphabetic knowledge task (measuring letter names and letter…

Conflicting findings on television's impact on reading achievement suggest a need for more sophisticated measurements and methodologies in media research. D. L. Moldenhauer and W. H. Miller's survey of 78 seventh grade students showed no relationship between television viewing and reading skills. These findings were similar to those of J. T.…

A study was conducted for additional support of the view that bridging--drawing inferences to relate a sentence to a preceding sentence--occurs during reading rather than at the time of testing. Subjects were 88 third and 67 fifth grade students whose reading proficiency was measured by performance on the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The…

C.F. Leyba conducted a longitudinal study (1972-77) of the Title VII Bilingual Education Program in the Santa Fe Public Schools involving 1,257 students in grades 1-6. Three groups were studied: a longitudinal treatment group (LTG) which received uninterrupted bilingual education for a span of years; a nonlongitudinal treatment group which…

The cause of the reading achievement gap between language minority students and non-language minority students was examined. Data from the "High School and Beyond" study, a national longitudinal study of 58,000 high school sophmores and seniors, were used. Through the application of regression analysis, it was found that both language…

Asserts that much attention has recently been paid to the 'nature' of remedial work at the expense of the 'purpose', and that over concern with method has blinded many workers to the simple educational fact that what is done should depend upon one's objectives, and discusses the purpose and objectives of remedial reading. (Author/JM)

Concludes that community college students with an external-oriented locus of control achieved more in an individualized reading course. (RB)

This study demonstrated that 49 teen-age high school tutors, under the guidance and assistance of competent reading consultants, could bring about gains in the reading achievement of 215 elementary school children reading at least one year below their grade level. (CS)