Explores and shatters the myth that students' reading scores were much higher in the first half of this century than they are now. (WD)

Interviews Dr. Barbara Kapinus who will serve as Project Coordinator for the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading Consensus Development Project. (MG)

Finds that the Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty is difficult to administer and interpret, takes considerable time to give, and is not comprehensive. (FL)

Discusses two frequently recommended tests for the evaluation of visual perception in relation to reading ability: the Frostig Development Test of Visual Perception and the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test. Questions the content validity of the former and suggests that the latter is a reasonable predictor of reading achievement. (FL)

Discusses results of International Association for Evaluation of Educational Achievement's recent Progress in Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), an international comparison of 35 countries wherein American students finished ninth. The web address for the PIRLS reports is www.pirls.org. (PKP)

Criticism of Stephen Karshen's June 2002 "Kappan" article "Whole Language and the Great Plummet of 1987-92: An Urban Legend from California." Argues that Karshen's analysis of the California Achievement Program reading scores is wrong. (PKP)

Warns that college reading instructors must be aware that standardized tests do not measure the types of skills taught in reading classes. Argues that reading instructors need to develop an awareness of what the scores on standardized reading tests do and do not tell them. (RAE)

Asserts that the means by which student achievement in reading are reported should be a focus rather than an afterthought. Discusses key questions related to developing report cards that serve a variety of audiences. Provides guidance and models of report cards that are more closely aligned with the literacy curriculum than traditional report…

Describes the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and its activities. Offers a summary of the 1990 NAEP reading assessment, and describes the 1992 reading assessment. Looks ahead to future NAEP projects and student assessment. (PRA)

Describes a reading model that suggests seven components essential for meeting the reading instructional needs of all students in a school. Notes that the model provides differentiated instruction for below-average, average, and above-average readers. (SR)

In response to Mr. Kozol's December article, Mr. Slavin maintains that, while everyone is entitled to form his or her own opinion of Success for All, Mr. Kozol misrepresented the program. In particular, Mr. Kozol neglected to mention the substantial gains made by students in the very schools that he is so concerned about. (Contains 2 figures and 9…

As public employees, educators should expect to be held accountable for their use of public funds. Nonetheless, the various state governments and now the U.S. Department of Education have implemented high-stakes achievement testing as the nearly singular approach to accountability. While these accountability efforts vary in a number of ways,…

A teacher shares how a mainstreamed reading group can be a medium through which children are enabled not only to make reading gains but to better accept individual differences in themselves and in others. Examples are offered from her third grade class. (DG)

Asserts that the inference that a "hump" in the statistical distribution of reading achievement data represents retardation is unwarranted. Contends that the use of any particular cutoff point to identify severe underachievement in reading is arbitrary, and thus that the issue of reading retardation prevalence is inseparable from its definition.…

This brochure discusses the "Read to Achieve" initiative undertaken by the state of Colorado because Colorado faces a literacy challenge. The brochure first states the problem and then proposes the solution (Read to Achieve). It uses a colorful, easy-to-see graphic design to show how the initiative works. The brochure contends that…