Many tens of thousands of preservice and inservice teachers have relied on this highly regarded text from leading experts, now in a revised and updated sixth edition. The latest knowledge about literacy teaching and learning is distilled into flexible strategies for helping all PreK-12 learners succeed. The book addresses major components of…

Comprehension tests are often used interchangeably, suggesting an implicit assumption that they are all measuring the same thing. We examine the validity of this assumption by comparing some of the most popular reading comprehension measures used in research and clinical practice in the United States: the Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT), the two…

To explore whether different balances of fiction/non-fiction reading and challenge might help explain differences in reading achievement between genders, data on 45,670 pupils who independently read over 3 million books were analysed. Moderate (rather than high or low) levels of challenge were positively associated with achievement gain, but…

This study established criterion-related validity for the Reading Passages Subtest of a locally developed curriculum-based measurement (CBM) instrument, with cross-validation across reading curricula and criterion measures. Correlations of 479 primary grade students' reading scores on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills provided support for CBM…

A technique for measuring comprehension of lengthy prose is presented. The "textual segmentation" procedure requires subjects to partition text into complete, meaningful units such as paragraphs, chapters, and books. Potential applications of textual segmentation include measurement of reading comprehension, readability, and criteria for…

Suggests techniques for teaching students to comprehend test questions in a manner that requires them to think about both what is in the question and what could be in the passage. (HOD)

Explains the construction and use of three advanced-level English-as-a-foreign-language reading comprehension exercises, using a combination of multiple choice and cloze formats. (EKN)

Standardized reading tests are likely to provide an inaccurate assessment of reading comprehension for deaf students due to the lack of test coaching and test taking skills; item irrelevancy; and the difficulty of test directions. Testing alternatives include parent and teacher observation of students and qualitative evaluations of reading skills…

Explains how a microcomputer can save a classroom reading teacher's time by producing, administering, and scoring cloze tests. (AEA)

These official primary trait scoring guide presents details of the 6-point scoring system used in third-grade Oregon schools to evaluate students' performance in oral reading fluency and in comprehension (as measured through retelling). The oral reading fluency benchmark portion of the scoring guide is broken down into phrasing, flow, and pace…

Suggests that reading comprehension is a special case of language comprehension; considers the effect of prior knowledge and experience on recall of meanings; points to the role of "scripts" (information accumulated about a situation, word, or concept) in reading comprehension; and outlines implications for teachers. (GT)

Designed to assess the ability to interpret the major types of figurative language or tropes such as similes, metaphors, proverbs, and personification, the two forms of this instrument each contain 50 items in a two-part, multiple-choice format. Part I tests the meaning of figures of speech in isolation; part II tests the meaning in the context of…

Suggests five criteria for teachers to keep in mind when choosing passages for the cloze procedure. (MKM)

The summary information in this report provides teachers, school administrators, students, and the general public in Alberta, Canada with an overview of results from the June 1998 administration of the English 30 Diploma Examination. The information in the report is most helpful when used in conjunction with the detailed school and jurisdiction…

Consists of practical classroom techniques. Topics covered are: (1) reading/studies skills techniques for college freshmen, (2) teaching main ideas, (3) a team approach to content area reading, (4) readers theatre, (5) survival skills, (6) passage dependence tests, (7) leisure reading, and (8) using music in informal diagnosis and motivation. (MKM)