This paper presents arguments in favor of adding reading achievement at age seven to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Progress in reading is developmental. At age seven, most children are in the midst of the crucial stage of beginning reading; by age nine, those making normal progress have moved beyond this stage. Much of…

Three major items to which teachers of U.S. history survey courses in 2- and 4-year colleges and universities must attend are discussed. First, they must work to develop in their students basic learning and study skills and self-discipline. This means such mundane but essential things as adhering to course deadlines, maintaining grading standards,…

To accumulate the data necessary for making recommendations for the improvement of middle school reading programs in Massachusetts, such programs were assessed by computer searches, informal interviews, and random questionnaires. "TRANS," Teaching Reading Acquisition Natural to Subject Areas, embodies the kind of program needed to meet…

This new method for teaching college English in India is based on prior assumptions but is given a justification and a methodological framework previously lacking. The method, which lies somewhere between the manipulative control and regimentation employed at the school level and the total freedom of the existing college method, is described in…

Presents a policy statement by the National Council of Teachers of English that identifies the ways in which the study of English contributes to the knowledge, understanding, and skills of those who will make up the society of the future. (JL)

Presents a policy statement by the National Council of Teachers of English that identifies the ways in which the study of English contributes to the knowledge, understanding, and skills of those who will make up the society of the future. (JL)

This article explores the effect of augmentative and alternative communication systems on literacy acquisition by young children with severe speech and physical impairments. The possibility of a relationship between the type of graphic symbols used for communication as a preschooler and the child's early reading competency is considered. (DB)

Reviews the research literature on Writing to Read (WTR), a computer-based language arts program designed to help kindergarten and first grade students develop reading and writing skills. Limitations of the evaluation reports, research projects, and specialized applications of WTR are reviewed, and problems in research design and methodology are…

Examines one teacher and her first graders' interactions around information book read-alouds. Reveals that the comprehension strategies the teacher modeled reflected the same categories as those suggested by more systematic but decontextualized research. Suggests that there may be a developmentally appropriate time to begin formal comprehension…

Conference papers outlining strategies for implementing change through inservice education are presented. Three opening papers deal with the general theme of the conference: "Effective Inservice Education" (Gordon Lawrence); "A Panel Discussion on Staff Development" (Margaret L. Trent, Robert W. Evans, and Frederick R.…

During the last 20 years, the relationship between reading instruction and assessment has been framed by the logic of mastery learning. The ultimate goal of mastery learning is assuring a given achievement outcome across students by varying input characteristics such as the amount and kind of instruction and practice, or the attention paid to…

College-bound students who score poorly on the American College Test (ACT) exam (16 or below) are usually required to take an examination that measures the ability to read and interpret college level material since this ability is a significant variable in the prediction of academic success. Many of these underprepared students need specific help…

Because junior high school literature anthologies contain few expository offerings and English texts seldom involve students in critical reading as background for writing, it is up to the teacher to fill the gap. One approach for providing students with critical reading practice is the cloze procedure, which (1) encourages close reading and…

First presented as papers in a symposium on literacy conducted at the University of Alabama, essays in this volume explore three areas of human literacy--law, linguistics, and the English language; testing; and literacy's relation with culture and human consciousness. Following an introduction examining literacy as a human problem, the following…

Focusing on the learning styles of young children, this position statement presents current research and information that document the need for developmentally appropriate reading experiences during the kindergarten and prekindergarten years. The paper contains the following sections: (1) a background statement, (2) current literacy research…