When students enter middle school, they are confronted with the necessity of learning from complex content-area textbooks. Many students find these texts boring, and they may lack the higher-order reading comprehension skills they need to tackle complex text. Yet the ability to read informational text is essential to success in middle school and…

This paper describes the National Reading Research Center (NRRC), a federally funded center that intends to carry out research to discover what promotes readers' engagement in literacy activities, foster their critical thinking and strategic learning, and prepare them to meet the challenges of a technological age. The paper describes the mission…

In our theoretical framework, reading engagement entails multiple perspectives on reading that consist of motivational dispositions, cognitive strategies, conceptual understanding, and social discourse. Possessing these attributes, engaged readers are typically higher achievers than less engaged readers, who show fewer of these qualities or less…

This study examines the systemic reform process that was initiated in Maryland in 1991. The Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) consists of learning outcomes, a framework for performance assessment, guidelines for school decision making, and suggestions for staff development. One year following the initiation of the MSPAP, a…