Describes "Easy Steps to Reading Independence" (ESTRI), a new phonics-linguistics approach. Provides field study data that show statistically significant advantages for ESTRI in eight out of fourteen cases. (RL)

Estimates of reading ability for second through fourth grade Title I pupils were obtained through grade-level and out-of-level testing. Results show that the method of testing affects the students' scores, the identification of pupils needing remedial reading instruction, and evaluation of the reading program. (JKS)

Relationships between cross modal functioning and reading achievement are examined and the available hypothesis concerning intersensory functioning and their concomitant educational implications are discussed. (HOD)

This background article provides a general discussion of the possibilities of teaching preschool children to read in one or more languages. If external stimulation can match the rapid inner development of young children, rapid and extensive learning can occur. (CHK)

Describes successful black schools where students do read at grade level. (MKM)

Shows that strategies designed to help students identify their personal values improved students' self-concepts and reading achievements. (RL)

Many changes in schools and teacher training must be made before honest accountability of teachers can become a reality in the reading and language arts instruction of black children. (MB)

This review examines the literature on auditory skills for evidence regarding the relationship of the sound blending skill and reading achievement. Factors that might affect this relationship are discussed. (Author/MV)

Authors bring an historical perspective to the present debate over reading achievement. From an historical examination of selected European and American models of literacy, they conclude that reading instruction has been aimed at attaining either a low level of literacy for a large number of people or a high level for an elite. (Editor/RK)

Reviews research literature on Puerto Rican youth and summarizes findings on factors influencing return migration and the cultural and physical adjustment of return migrants. Presents findings of a survey of Puerto Rican students, non-migrants and return migrants, which attempted to determine whether there was a relationship between reading…

Concludes that standardized tests do not always reflect children's actual reading achievement and that the tests may not measure performance on the same types of material emphasized in basal series. (FL)

Explores sources on sex differences in reading achievement and presumed causes. Reports that explanations fall into two categories that are not necessarily mutually exclusive: physiological-maturational and cultural-societal. (NH)

Tested integrated learning set training on unidimensional classification, unidimensional seriation, and number conservation for kindergarten children lagging in cognitive development. Subjects (N=22) receiving instruction had low scores on Educational Ability Series (EAS) of Science Research Associates' Survey of Basic Skills. Subjects made twice…

Scores on the Holbrook Screening Battery, administered at age four, correctly predicted 89 percent of good readers and 75 percent of poor readers in a sample of 116 eighth graders. Characteristics differentiating good and poor readers included birth history, family history of learning disability, speech delay, and socioeconomic status. (Author/DB)

Reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) and compares the use and misuse of the test as revealed through published surveys. Finds problems in the use of the NDRT to diagnose the specific reading needs and deficiencies of low-achieving students and to measure individual growth. (CBC)