Reading instruction for young Arabic speakers presents challenges for textbook publishers and teachers. In the present study, the authors conduct an analysis at the word level of four multidisciplinary textbooks for reading instruction in grades one and two in Egypt. The study sought to answer the following questions: What are the most common…

The Wallace Foundation is funding a multiyear demonstration project to determine whether voluntary, district summer learning programs can stem summer learning loss for low-income students. Six districts--Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Duval County (Florida), Pittsburgh, and Rochester, New York--were selected for the demonstration project and…

Beth attends a New York City K-8, dual-language (Spanish/English) public school where 96% of the students qualify as low-income, based on participation in the federally funded lunch program. Early in Beth's 1st-grade year, she was classified as a struggling reader, based on district-wide assessments that identified academic deficits in such skill…

Describes a follow up report and evaluation of the "Writing to Read" program in the Tulsa Public Schools. Standardized test results, supported by first-hand observations, show that student scores increased over the year of the study. (MD)

Outlines a successful reading program developed in Wakulla County, Florida, schools where the adult illiteracy rate was seriously high. The success of this program emphasizes three points: begin with detailed needs assessment, establish clear program goals, and provide continuous evaluation.(MD)

Identifies the elements of a successful districtwide reading-improvement program: (1) a strong central-office advocate; (2) an emphasis on phonemic awareness; (3) an early intervention program; (4) a concentration on language arts in the primary grades; (5) a basal-language-arts program; (6) a variety of assessment strategies; (7) a strong…

School boards must take the responsibility for school change, beginning with an attack on illiteracy. Reasonable standards for success in teaching reading, writing, and math must be established. (MLF)

The San Francisco Renaissance is a job training program for unemployed innercity youths. The illiteracy rates of youths applying to the program are high so a literacy class was developed to raise the students' reading and math skills to the eighth- and ninth-grade levels required by the technical job market for which they are being trained. (MD)

Considers the sociocultural factors that discourage the appropriate teaching of reading and writing. Discusses how the lay community would have to be involved in an improved language arts curriculum that individualized learning tasks, encouraged developmental interaction among individuals, and integrated learning across subjects, media, and types…

This article tells the story of young second-grade teacher and her quest to help students reach the New York state standards in reading. It is the yearlong story of significant professional growth highlighted by the conversations surrounding student learning. The collaborative conversations between the teacher, her colleague, and her staff…

Describes one school district's (Wareham, Massachusetts) experience with Reading Recovery, a first-grade program to help low achievers and at-risk readers. In contrast to reports from Reading Recovery staff, an outside evaluation found that the program did not meet expectations and did not produce lasting results. The district concluded that it…

Defends the author's "Low-Income Hispanic Parents' Contributions to Their First-Grade Children's Word Recognition Skills" (1987) against criticisms advanced by Sledge, Blot, and Delisle (1988). (Author/BJV)

Evaluates the report of the Commission on Reading, "Becoming a Nation of Readers," which focuses on giving attention to classroom teaching, testing, and teacher education. It gives recommendations for changes in the way reading is taught and includes the list of 17 recommmendations from the report. (MD)

Reports the results of a reanalysis of data from a major longitudinal database on school effectiveness. Finds the existence of differential effectiveness for prior measures of mathematics and reading achievement. Also finds marked differences in schools' rank positions and discusses the implications for the assessment of Britain's National…

Describes South Carolina's Governor's Remediation Initiative (GRI), an instructional management system that links diagnostic tests and teaching modules for use by high school mathematics and reading laboratories. (TW)