A study examined whether illustrations that must be attended to in order to make sense of a text hinder decoding by encouraging dependence on such illustrations for interpretation of text, both for decoding and for answering questions. Subjects--167 first graders--were asked to read four stories, two of which were taken from basal readers and two…

This report presents the major available evidence to date on the validity of the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT). The findings are as follows: (1) results of two content-validity questionnaires show New Jersey college instructors to be in general agreement that the test content is appropriate and important to assess; (2)…

The purpose of this study was to compare the results of an analysis of covariance design to a method developed by the authors called within-class regression. Application of this statistical method can be to any quasiexperimental design with a large number of groups. A test of statistical significance to use with the within-class regression…

The plan for the evaluation of Janesville, Wisconsin, Public Schools Learning Disabilities Program is presented, along with 1980-1981 and 1981-1982 findings, and supplementary data and forms. The proposed evaluation model, which includes evaluation dimensions, evaluation procedures, and desired outcomes, is presented. The program is reviewed in…

A study investigated the effects of selected psychophysiological factors known to affect cognitive functioning on the reading achievement of older adults. The subjects, 34 noninstitutionalized adults ranging in age from 50 to 88 years, completed measures of (1) self-reported mental and physical health, (2) nonverbal intelligence, (3) reading…

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of background knowledge on overall comprehension and comprehension of new information in adult beginning readers. In the study, 40 Adult Basic Education (ABE) students, enrolled in six classes in two instructional sites (one urban and one rural), were presented with two selections about unfamiliar…

This document presents the results of an evaluation of the usefulness to 14 participating schools of Connecticut's School Effectiveness Program, which focuses on the achievement performance of low-income students. The following are the evaluation's major findings, based on interviews, questionnaires, case studies, test data, and archival data: (1)…

A study was conducted to examine the effects of prescribing the use of some specific reading strategies on comprehension. The effects of such prescription on the interactions among instructional method and a number of individual difference variables were also investigated. Subjects were 140 high school students randomly assigned to read a text…

The first of a series providing reviews, syntheses (empirical and rhetorical), and reports of reading research, the chapters in this volume treat the question, "What does a child have to know (or be able to do) in order to learn to read?" The book begins with an in-depth logical analysis in historical perspective of the concept of reading…

The reading learning objectives contained in this volume are congruent with the Texas "State Board of Education Rules for Curriculum" which outlines the rules and procedures for implementation of Section 21.101 of the Texas Education Code. These objectives and the measurement specifications are provided for use by teachers and other…

A study was conducted to determine whether a particular diagnostic assessment and monitoring program would have an effect on class achievement, regardless of curriculum used. The program consisted of a series of criterion-referenced tests coordinated with sequenced lessons in reading, oral language, and arithmetic, with the results charted by…

The Success in Reading and Writing Program (Success) developed by Anne Adams incorporates ideas from many approaches to reading instruction. It uses newspapers, magazines, library books, content area textbooks, catalogs, and other reading materials; it requires an instructional period that is divided into four or five units of one-half hour each;…

The development and evaluation of Informed Strategies for Learning (ISL), an experimental curriculum to enhance children's reading comprehension, are described in this report. The report opens with a summary of the project, in which 20 modules--each focusing on a different strategy--were designed and 60 lesson plans were developed. This section…

A comprehensive six-year longitudinal study of the development of reading skills during the primary grades for a large sample of bilingual (Spanish-English) children and smaller samples of monolingual (English or Spanish) children is outlined at its midpoint. In this natural variation study, approximately 350 children taught by 200 teachers in 20…

Having implemented a testing procedure using the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests to identify recruits with reading deficiencies, the United States Navy conducted a study comparing the performance of recruits on three different reading tests. A total of 716 recruits completed the comprehension portion of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, the Tests…