According to the Componential Model of Reading (CMR; Aaron, Joshi, Gooden, & Bentum, 2008), reading comprehension can be explained by 3 domains--cognitive, psychological, and ecological domains. We examined the direct and indirect contributions of these 3 domains to reading comprehension in bilingual learners. Participants included 124…

This study examined the effects of reading mode (oral and silent) and text genre (narrative and expository) on fourth graders' reading comprehension. While controlling for prior reading ability of 48 participants, we measured comprehension. Using a repeated measured design, data were analyzed using analysis of covariance, paired t-tests, and…

Despite a long-standing awareness of academic language as a pedagogically relevant research area, the construct of academic-language proficiency, understood as a more comprehensive set of skills than just academic vocabulary, has remained vaguely specified. In this study, we explore a more inclusive operationalization of an academic-language…

It was hypothesized that teaching poor readers to use a reflective cognitive style would facilitate their reading ability. An experimental group of children was taught to delay their responses and to use more efficient search and scanning techniques. Poor readers' vocabulary and comprehension scores and level of reflectivity improved following…

Fourth-grade children previously identified as poor readers comprehended more information when they read personalized, as opposed to standard, stories. Names and places given by the students personalized the stories. No difference was found among children of average reading ability on this variable. (Author/PN)

A perceptual-recognition task was used to assess whether utilization of orthographic structure in letter recognition varies with reading ability. Good and poor college readers showed equally large effects of orthographic structure on task accuracy, whereas poor sixth-grade readers did not. (Author/GK)

A study answered the question: are there significant differences in scores for two forms of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, Third Edition? Subjects, 23 fifth graders, were given Forms K and L, Level 5/6, of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test. The tests were administered by the regular classroom teacher in two testing sessions. Students were…

To test the effectiveness of the cloze procedure for developing comprehension skills in reading at the intermediate level, 189 sixth graders were divided into small groups or asked to work independently during this reading program, which lasted five weeks. The materials were presented both as cloze materials and in unmutilated form, followed by…

Reviews the third edition of this widely used assessment instrument. Concludes that the test is reliable, quick and easy to administer, and that the publishers provide many special services. Lists liabilities as lack of validity evidence, omission of reading and study skills, and lack of distinctions among different types of reading comprehension.…

An intervention program in the area of sixth grade social studies was implemented for the purpose of increasing reading comprehension levels of average ability students in a large, urban school district. Five metacognitive strategies were employed to improve understanding of the adopted textbook. The strategies included outlining, sentence…

Thirty grade 4 subjects were individually tested on a digit span test of working memory capacity (Case and Kurland) and the Reading Span Test (Daneman and Carpenter). The Reading Span Test was administered using sentences at a grade 2, grade 4, and grade 6 reading level. It was predicted that, as the decoding demands of the stimulus sentences in…

The alternate program at McBride School was an organizational and curricular modification that offered optional activities, community recreation, semestering of some subjects, and unstructured time. It involved four intermediate grade classes. Questionnaires were distributed to students who were enrolled in the alternate program and to their…

A practicum was conducted to improve reading comprehension in classroom performance with the basal reading series and on norm-referenced tests. Subjects included a fifth-grade class of 28 students who were paired with another fifth-grade class as peer teachers. New skills were taught and practiced with the target population early in the week. On…

Previous research has examined whether manipulation of one environmental element, such as sound, significantly affected group norms for achievement. This investigation examined the relation of preferred and actual acoustic environment on reading performance. Subjects were 32 male and 32 female sixth-graders from a suburban school in New York State…