Discusses what it would take to end reading failure in the U.S., examining what is already known, looking at the problem of early reading, and presenting a comprehensive strategy for reading by age 9 that involves dissemination of existing best practices, basic and applied research on beginning reading, and development and evaluation of new…

This report contends that limited vocabulary knowledge is the principal cause of reading dysfunction for a large percentage of students whose progress in learning to read appears normal during the first two or three years of reading instruction, but who begin to fall behind starting somewhere between grades 3 and 7. The report addresses the…

Points out the importance of public librarians becoming informed about learning problems, particularly reading disabilities. Some of the causes of reading problems are discussed and resources are cited which librarians can recommend to parents and teachers. A bibliography is appended. (LLS)

Discusses various issues surrounding inability of individualized reading approach to improve reading ability of poor readers at elementary level. Suggested reasons for failure include school environment, peer pressure, self-concept, and individual reading difficulties. Teachers' role in addressing reading failure in children is considered. (DST)

Argues that Texas' dyslexia laws and practices are misguided, with children being routinely tested on instruments that have no demonstrated validity or reliability for educational assessment purposes. Suggests that few school districts actually have implemented either assessment or instructional intervention practices that can be defended, given…

States that reading is an intense personal and creative experience. Contends that the way teachers are educated to teach reading and literature must be improved. Opines that when the reading of real books is personalized, the possibility of responding genuinely to the needs of troubled readers is significantly increased. (PA)

Provides a humorous look at remedial reading strategies by proposing a method of upside-down reading for remedial reading teachers to use with poor readers. (MG)

Explores what is meant by reading, noting that to read is to respond appropriately to a specific consensus centered on certain values and that the consensus is achieved among persons whose paths through life have come together with members of dominant discourses in society. (SLD)

Suggests that the lack of coherence between remedial programs and regular classrooms impedes the progress of students with reading difficulties. Provides an outline for an instructional program in which classroom and specialist teachers collaborate to provide the learner with coherent and balanced instruction. (ARH)

Children who have reading disabilities are prone to become emotionally maladjusted due to the humiliation of poor reading ability and the anxiety over gaining peer approval. Adding to the child's problems are negative parental reactions. Suggestions for remedies are given. (JN)

Recounts the story of Tom, a nonreader, and how a computer helped him to communicate and eventually learn to read. (DF)

In separate articles three authors discuss (1) the beneficial "normalizing effect" of mainstreaming for handicapped students; (2) how to help the nonreader in music class; and (3) what a research study has shown about wind instrument instruction for educable mentally handicapped (EMH) students. (SJL)

Argues that talk is a critical variable in work with struggling readers, contributing to their problem solving and engagement in reading tasks. Speculates about factors that contribute to children's failure: child and family factors, constraints within which teachers and schools operate, and the adversarial nature of the discourse surrounding…

Research-based reading instruction could reduce recidivism and increase employment opportunity for incarcerated juvenile offenders. Reviews of the research literature provide ample evidence of the link between academic failure, delinquency, and reading failure. A re-examination of the research literature and interviews with reading instructors…

This book contains 29 essays which grew out of presentations delivered at a conference on the right to literacy whose participants were invited to consider differing definitions and historical understandings of literacy and the political, pedagogical, and theoretical implications of the many approaches to literacy education that have been taken…