Researchers agree that increased parental involvement is necessary if low-SES, underrepresented student populations are to overcome a history of reading deficiencies. However, the fact remains that parental involvement alone is insufficient for achieving desired academic outcomes. Teachers must design interactive/constructivist homework…

This paper explores reading for pleasure, its importance, and its impact on literacy attainment and other outcomes and reviews much of the research on the importance of reading for pleasure. A debate has been rife in the UK over the past few years as to how best to teach children to read, which culminated in an "Independent Review of the…

The majority of youth in corrections have had negative school experiences and below average academic achievement. Longitudinal research indicates that both academic failure and a negative life-long trajectory are a probability for many youth confined to correctional facilities. Given the high number of youth from ethnic and cultural minority…

Five years ago the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) launched a revolution in our education system by insisting that all students should be proficient in reading and math by 2014 and demanding comprehensive reforms to reach this national goal, including strong assessment and accountability systems, a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, more…

This research synthesis identifies areas of convergence in reading research regarding the importance, dimensions, and effects of phonological awareness on the reading acquisition process. It also highlights similarities and differences between normal achievers and diverse learners. The following five areas of research convergence are identified:…

Much debate is concerned with providing quality reading instruction to students who experience difficulty. This bulletin explores the various approaches advocated for teaching reading instruction to at-risk students, discusses the research underpinnings of these approaches, and examines the practical implications of the models. Two approaches…

A study (conducted in suburban central New Jersey using 218 second graders' California Achievement Test (CAT) scores from 1986-1988 compared the effectiveness of two well-known reading programs. Results indicated that although there was no statistically significant difference in the scores, the mean difference suggested that children who were…

By examining the full range of uses of the cloze procedure, this book intends to help teachers use the procedure to better understand the reading behavior of their students and to assist their students in making reading progress. Chapter 1 defines the cloze procedure and discusses the similarities and differences in reading processes when using…

Most educators argue that the time children spend watching television detracts from their homework time and leisure time reading, that television watching cultivates skills different from those needed for print literacy and encourages preference for its easier means of acquiring information, and that television content is often nonintellectual and…

The literature on using music to teach reading was reviewed, revealing that the majority of articles published on the topic were testimonials of instructional music program effects on language reading skills attainment. Discussion articles primarily cited individual experiences in using music, often singing, to aid in the acquisition of reading…

Reviews recent research suggesting that teachers may unintentionally perpetuate social class stratification during reading instruction. Explores possible solutions to the unequal treatment of social classes during reading instruction. (HTH)

This critique brings together psychometric theory, reading theory, and social critique to analyze reading assessment and to consider the assumptions that underlie reading assessment as practiced. The chapters are: (1) "What Counts as Evidence of Reading?"; (2) "Evidence, Validity, and Assessment"; (3) "Multiple-Choice Standardized Reading Tests in…

In an effort to share the good news about what can be done to increase learning and achievement for students in high poverty schools, the research has been combed to pinpoint instructional and organizational factors that lead to student success. Specifically examined were how and why some schools across the country are attaining greater than…

The implications that cognitive approaches to the study of reading can have for the assessment of reading achievement are discussed. Research in word decoding, semantic access, sentence processing, and discourse analysis is summarized with emphasis on processing efficiency required in one area affecting performance in another area. (Author/CM)

Studies comparing the reading, mathematics, and language arts achievement of retained students with the achievement of promoted students are analyzed, using meta-analysis. Overall, research indicates that retained students fall behind the first year of retention and spend the rest of their academic careers in a vain attempt to catch up. (PP)