This report reflects a panel presentation and discussion at the 2020 Literacy Research Conference focused on the science of reading (SoR). Each panelist presents a summary of the presentation and incorporates the comments of the Literacy Research Association (LRA) members attending the session virtually and posting in the chat room. Each…

The authors used a conceptual analysis, following Foucauldian genealogy, to consider the history of Nila Banton Smith's "American Reading Instruction." The goal was to make better sense of the challenges and opportunities facing literacy instruction today and to articulate the enormous responsibilities of literacy scholars to critically…

The author questions the "just right" leveling of student texts as having put limitations on students and teachers in promoting literacy. The historical background for the leveling of text and readers is described. The author identifies a number of unintended consequences associated with the use of leveling and guided reading.…

This essay raises concerns over the future direction for educational aid designed to promote literacy in developing countries. The essay focuses on the EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) initiative in Africa. At one level, this essay challenges the claims for empirical and research-based support for the EGRA. At a broader level, this essay…

Delineates arguments for and against oral reading instruction in developmental reading programs. The need for systematic research into the effects and potential benefits of various forms of oral reading instruction is stressed. (CM)

Discusses the concept of reading flexibility; suggests a two-step instructional procedure (termed ReFlex Action) for teaching children to be flexible in reading rate and purpose. (DD)

Suggests that the effects of teachers giving feedback to students during oral reading can be quite significant and that such feedback should be carefully analyzed for perceived meaning and purpose as well as for results. (TJ)

Describes the feedback to oral reading miscue analysis system (FORMAS), a systematic procedure for teachers to use in examining the characteristics and effects of their own feedback to students' oral reading miscues. (FL)

Investigates how the perspectives of today's Leaders compare to the views of prominent Reading Specialists of the past by: (1) comparing how Specialists and Leaders addressed the three major themes of neo-traditional instruction, fadism and ideological debates, and professional development; and (2) noting issues ignored or downplayed by both…

Considers how in these times of increased focus on standards and accountability, it is important to understand the views of the various participants. Begins with a brief history of the testing movement in Texas. Reports findings from a study on the negative effects of high stakes testing. Concludes with suggestions to minimize these effects on…

Responds to William Bigelow's 1989 article which was being used in a fifth grade classroom. Questions the approach taken by the teacher and focuses on how children can be most productively involved in the kind of critical reading Bigelow advocates. Discusses the use of "I-Charts" (inquiry charts) to foster critical reading. (MG)

Offers responses from four readers of this journal, all reading and/or classroom teachers, to a question posed by another teacher: whether children who have had limited literacy experiences should start reading in whole-language readers and/or trade books or whether they should start in controlled-vocabulary preprimers. (SR)

Describes the results of a survey of classroom read-aloud practices in the United States. Contrasts read-aloud practices with a "model" of what they might be. (PRA)

Argues that pursuing the nonexistent "perfect method" for teaching reading to all children distracts from the real key to improving reading instruction: developing teachers who know a variety of methods and approaches and thoughtfully orchestrate them according to their students' needs. Suggests what teachers, policy makers, researchers, and…

Presents a modified replication of Austin and Morrison's classic 1963 study of the status of U.S. public school elementary reading instruction. Discusses how school and classroom libraries in the 1990s are more prevalent and better equipped, and how changes in programs and philosophy are common in the late 1990s, unlike in the 1960s. Appends the…