Highlights the methodological issues surrounding research on reading in atypical populations and discusses the issue of comparison groups. Reviews evidence from studies that have described the reading profile observed in Williams syndrome. Advocates a more dynamic developmental approach to the study of reading in atypical populations. (PM)

Suggesting that too many educators and parents believe the myth of declining student literacy, this fastback puts student literacy in focus by examining trends in reading achievement from 1840 to the 1990s. The fastback discusses "then-and-now" studies, test restandardization studies, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress,…

Conflicting findings on television's impact on reading achievement suggest a need for more sophisticated measurements and methodologies in media research. D. L. Moldenhauer and W. H. Miller's survey of 78 seventh grade students showed no relationship between television viewing and reading skills. These findings were similar to those of J. T.…

Since colonial times, definitions and estimates of illiteracy in the United States have been debated. The Census Bureau's major indicator is number of years of schooling completed. However, average grade-level attainment is high, whereas estimates of levels of reading ability remain low. In addition, these measures are inadequate for adults. A…

The efforts of a large urban school district to apply research findings on effective elementary schools to improve the reading achievement of its low-income junior high school students were studied. The research objective was to create an ethnographic account of change. At the school district studied, the Comprehensive Reading/Language Arts…

Because of the limitations of previous related studies, this analysis was undertaken to examine in greater depth the relationship between television viewing, reading performance, and related reading activities. A synthesis of eight statewide assessments and an analysis of the 1984 National Assessment of Educational Progress were designed to…

The study of reading-writing connections involves appreciating how reading and writing work together as tools for information storage and retrieval, discovery and logical thought, communication, and self-indulgence. There are numerous benefits that can be accrued from connecting reading and writing. Thus far, for example, the research data have…

The relevance of psycholinguistic and educational research on passage structure and processing for the design of reading achievement tests is discussed. This research would provide a more objective basis for the writing of passages and items. Two aspects of content validity are distinguished and the relevance of psycholinguistic research to them…

Word recognition and reading failure are examined in this report using an interactive framework of the reading process based on the premise that reading is both a top-down and a bottom-up process, both conceptually guided and graphically based. Experiments are discussed that show that less-skilled readers are affected by anomalous contexts and…

The ten reading research studies published since 1955 and deemed by the author "most important" in terms of quality, originality, and applicability to elementary reading instruction are described in this report. Discussed are studies on reading approaches by Russell Stauffer and by Neville Bennett; a study on reading readiness by Audrey…

Of 21 studies on the effect that question placement had on reading comprehension, ten favored and eleven opposed the use of prequestions. A review of these studies suggests that the issue is not whether prequestions or postquestions produce greater gains in reading comprehension. What remains to be examined is the change in reading comprehension…

Discusses research supporting the connections between (1) early reading proficiency and listening to literature at a young age and (2) the nature of children's interactions with books before they read and later reading achievement. Indicates that story telling in the classroom represents a critical link between literature and literacy. (JD)

This article describes two major issues of national significance in New Zealand: remediation of reading problems in young children and solution of the problem of meeting educational needs of urban minority groups, particularly students from urban Polynesian communities. (BW)

States and other educational entities receiving Part B funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) submitted their Annual Performance Reports to the U.S. Secretary of Education on or before March 31, 2004. These reports contained information on a variety of indicators, including assessment participation and performance…

The Archdiocese of Indianapolis has been using the Sander's value-added model to determine if they have had gains in student achievement in language arts, mathematics and reading. The article summarizes the method to make this determination and the results from three years of testing using the CTB McGraw-Hill Terre Nova test. The archdiocese has…