In an attempt to measure the effect that dialect of presentation has on Black-English-speaking children's oral reading performance, this study measured the percentage of unknown words attempted by third and fifth grade subjects on equivalent forms of an oral reading task presented in Standard English, Black English standard orthography, and Black…

This literature review examines articles and research discussing the pros and cons of using black English reading materials in the teaching of initial reading to black-English speaking children. It evaluates articles and studies that compare subjects' performance on standard English and black English oral reading, oral reading comprehension, and…

This literature review provides evidence of dialect interference in black children's performance on oral reading, but large gaps exist in knowledge about Black English and the task of reading. The evidence of dialect interference in reading is equivocal at present, and the educational alternatives considered here are seen as premature. (RC)

The number of minority children who are placed in special education programs is disproportionate to the number of minority children in school. One factor causing this situation is that dialect interference causes lower reading scores among minority children. Since few standardized tests instruct the teacher to ignore errors attributable to…

At present, there is virtually no empirical evidence of the success of educational techniques designed to minimize the interference of black English on the acquisition of reading skills. The 180 black, inner-city third and fifth graders who participated in this study were selected in order to determine whether the discrepancy between performance…

Measures of abstract reasoning ability, degree of bidialectism, and reading performance were administered to Black, inner-city third and fifth graders. Abstract reasoning ability significantly affected reading performance while expressive proficiency in Standard English and Black English did not significantly affect scores. The importance of…

Equivalent forms of listening comprehension, oral reading, and oral reading comprehension tasks in (1) standard English, (2) black English, standard orthography, and (3) black English, nonstandard orthography were administered to black, inner-city children. Subjects scored highest on black English, standard orthography and lowest on black English,…

This study focused on one of the suggested causes of the poor academic performance evident among many black, lower socioeconomic status children, namely teachers' attitudes toward Black English. There is considerable empirical evidence to suggest that speakers of Black English are evaluated as inferior to speakers of Standard English by their…

This booklet is an annotated bibliography of recent work about the reading performance of Black-English-speaking children. The first half of the book lists materials according to the factors that influence the reading performance of black children: dialect interference, intellectual ability, environment, perceptual deficiencies, self-concept,…