Current middle-school standards require students to operate at levels of literacy never before expected of 10- to 14-year-olds. This monograph, written for teachers, addresses literacy development in middle-school students, stressing the crucial role of teachers. It suggests that teachers must change the core of educational practice and examine…

A review of writing and reading competencies among college students in general and education majors in particular indicates possible directions in setting teacher education admission standards, in providing language instruction courses for student teachers, and in establishing criteria for exiting teacher education programs. As is suggested by…

An annotated bibliography on minimum competency testing is arranged by subtopics: overview; basic skills; compensatory education; competencies; cost effectiveness; curriculum; district programs; graduation requirements; handicapped students; legal aspects; readiness; reading; writing; state programs; teacher education; tests; math; and testing.…

The contemporary women's movement, communicating largely through the written word, mistakenly ignored or failed to notice the following: (1) almost one quarter of American women (23%) had severely limited literacy skills; (2) for female heads of households, 75% of those with less than a high school diploma lived in poverty; (3) nearly 40% of…