This study examined relationships between cognitive functioning in older people and (1) levels of mental, physical and social activities, and (2) intentions regarding maintenance of cognitive functioning. Participants (N = 145) were 70-91 years of age, varied in health status and socio-economic backgrounds. Current cognitive functioning was…

This report contains the best national data available to provide a reliable and comprehensive overview of American reading today. While it incorporates some statistics from the National Endowment for the Arts' 2004 report, "Reading at Risk," this new study contains vastly more data from numerous sources. Although most of this information is…

Presents ways a classroom teacher can welcome new students to class, properly place them for instruction, and make them feel at home in a new group. (FL)

A number of studies available through the ERIC system raise the possibility of major changes in the testing of reading comprehension during the 1980s. (DD)

This study utilized early reading assessment data from a randomized trial of 210 urban and rural schools in Texas to examine contextual effects on risk prediction in first and second grade. The primary objective was to examine the roles of (a) individual differences, (b) the grade 1 classroom, and (c) the pairing of first and second grade teachers…

Proposes a research design for estimating for a given population the extent to which items with high context dependence (CD) measure a construct that is independent from that measured by items with low CD, shows how this design can be used empirically to compare the utility of alternate CD indices, and provides findings of two studies. (HOD)

In state legislatures and school boards around the country, the approach and the quality of reading instruction are under attack because of a decline in reading scores. The best reading instruction draws on the strengths of different philosophies. School boards should encourage schools to teach both phonics and the whole-language approach. (MLF)

Provides a model for diagnosing and helping adult students who are having trouble reading in college. (HOD)

Contends that the use of the cloze procedure, frequently with modifications, can provide reading teachers with an interesting and instructionally sound approach for supplementing the basic reading program. Suggests that cloze techniques can be used both for teaching students how to read more competently and for evaluating their reading…

Reviews ERIC documents dealing with the preparation and use of informal measures of reading comprehension. (DD)

Past reading research suggests that measures of reading comprehension should be made context dependent. Reading comprehension test questions that are context dependent are best answered by examinees only after the accompanying passages have been read. Recently, there has been some disagreement concerning the exact importance of context dependence…

Notes that while across large groups of students two tests may be highly correlated, specific characteristics of tests may interact with specific characteristics of students to yield differences in scores for one individual on two or more tests. (FL)

Examines the development of standardized reading comprehension tests in the critical states from the early 1900s through current testing trends. (AEA)

Analyzes the information processing requirements of two different forms of job-related reading: "reading to do" and "reading to learn." Breaks down the component skills of reading into a seven-point taxonomy, which is then used to describe how information processing differs in the two forms of reading. (FL)

This report examines the current use of standardized reading tests in British schools seven years after a critical government report. Included in the review is a discussion of the variables affecting test development and use, as well as four recommendations for future testing policy. (AM)