Results of a previous meta-analysis of gender differences in reading achievement at the secondary school level (Lietz, in press) showed significant differences between major assessment programs. Thus, the gender gap in favour of girls was more pronounced for the assessment programs conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Programs in…

The Australian Studies in Student Performance project was a response by the Australian Education Council to community concern about Australian education standards. It was intended that the results of an empirical study in literacy and numeracy would make a useful contribution to the continuing debate about student achievement. Thus, a study was…

The 1976 reading achievement scores of year 5 pupils in Queensland (Australia) primary schools were compared with the scores of year 5 pupils in 1971, using Reading Test QR5. The sample included 1,754 students in 111 primary schools. Analysis of the results showed that scores for vocabulary development, comprehension of implied meaning, and…

First Steps is a program instituted by the Western Australia Ministry of Education to improve the literacy and numeracy of primary school students, particularly those at risk of academic failure. First Steps is organized around reading, writing, spelling, and oral language; children's skills are organized along developmental continua. These…

The Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQ), a multidimensional instrument designed to measure seven facets of self-concept hypothesized in Shavelson's hierarchical model was administered to fifth- and sixth-grade students. Teachers also evaluated each student's self-concept along the same dimensions. There was substantial student-teacher agreement…

The purpose of the present longitudinal study was to determine how well a broad, comprehensive battery of tests administered in kindergarten predicts reading achievement in elementary school grades 1 through 6. The test variables were reduced to six predictive factors by factor analysis, and these, together with the variables, Child's Sex and…

Retrospective examination of primary graders' (N=34) preschool performance on a predictive instrument and its relationship to primary school reading achievement found that those judged as needing (and who took) another year of preschool were reading significantly better than others who displayed similar developmental anomalies but did not take…

Describes study of Australian elementary students that was conducted to compare the use of various reading cues by disabled readers and normal readers. Miscue analysis is discussed, theories of reading disability and methodological concerns in reading disability research are examined, and further studies are suggested. (27 references) (LRW)

In March 1997, all State, Territory and Commonwealth education ministers agreed on the national goal: that every child leaving primary school should be numerate and able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level. To provide focus for this goal, ministers agreed to a sub-goal: that every child commencing school from 1998 will achieve a…

A study examined the development of reading, written expression and listening comprehension over 3 years. The participants were 77 students in Brisbane, Australia, who were identified by school staff as having a learning difficulty at the end of grade one and who were matched with the same number of normally achieving children attending the same…

This study investigated the relationship of phonological awareness to learning to read. Australian first-grade children were tested for verbal intelligence, phonemic segmentation ability, and reading achievement. Path analysis revealed phonological awareness affected reading comprehension indirectly through phonological recoding. The development…

The reliability and validity of the Spotlight for Literacy screening test was tested by administration to Australian first-graders. Prediction was best for low- and high-achievement groups. In general, girls scored higher than boys, groups differed according to socioeconomic status, and children from English-speaking homes scored higher than…

One of a series of documents produced by a collaborative curriculum development project in Australia, this book is designed to assist in the improvement of teaching and learning English and to provide a common language for reporting student achievement. The book begins with a chart presenting curricular outcomes. The book is then divided into…

A study examined reading performance, metacognitive knowledge about reading, awareness of the conventions about print, perceptions of reading ability, and causal attributions for success and failure in reading of children with reading difficulties in Year 2 in Australia. One hundred children from the Brisbane region were involved in the…

Using a fifth-grade sample, the revised Self Description Questionnaire was investigated. Confirmatory factor analysis showed the factor structure invariant across the respondants' gender. Sex difference in self-concept areas and academic achievement were explored. A new internal/external frame of reference model was proposed. (Author/BS)