Provides a quick and personal overview of the trends in education and literacy over the last 25 years. Outlines a teaching strategy that has borrowed something from each of the trends. The approach combines cooperative learning with interdisciplinary language arts stations and social studies. (MJP)

Recommends using primary source documents in middle school history instruction and examines several strategies for making them more accessible. Describes a course on 17th-century social reformers that utilized paraphrasing of the historical language used in primary documents followed by focus questions and class discussion. (MJP)

The Home Kit/Home Visit Program--designed for children needing reinforcement of basic concepts and knowledge of colors, shapes, numbers, letter recognition, and letter-sound correspondence--is proving successful in encouraging parent involvement in first-graders' learning of basic skills. Parents are provided with home learning kits to guide their…

This article describes the Peabody Individual Achievement Test-Revised-Normative Update, an individually administered school achievement measure for students from kindergarten through grade twelve. The test assesses students' knowledge of general information, reading recognition, reading comprehension, mathematics, spelling, and written…

Four approaches to the teaching of second language (L2) reading are described (grammar-translation, comprehension questions/exercises, skills and strategies, and extensive reading) and their status in the reading classroom is examined, and important issues in L2 reading are then discussed, including word recognition, affective and sociocultural…

This document provides information on student performance at the state, regional, and school system levels on end-of-grade multiple choice tests for grades 3 through 8 in reading and mathematics and the end-of-course multiple choice tests administered in high school subjects in 1996-97 as part of the North Carolina Testing Program. The figures and…

Reflecting the views of teachers, reading specialists, and professors on both the basics and the new technologies in reading instruction, these conference proceedings begin with Carl Personke's address, "The Word's the Thing," on classroom activities that stress the word as concept. The second paper, William Linville's and David…

The Children's Art Carnival (CAC) Creative Reading Program combines instruction in reading with art activities, as well as providing the services of a social worker and psychological externs. Operating in sites in Manhattan and Queens, New York, the program served 319 second to sixth grade students during the 1985-86 school year. Students who…

In 1982-83, the 18 school districts and 1 tribe receiving Johnson O'Malley funds for American Indian education in Washington attempted to increase reading and mathematics proficiency, improve Native American high school graduation rates, and promote cultural awareness activities in schools with high Native American enrollments. By limiting their…

This report presents test results derived from the student testing that was conducted in 1983-84 under the aegis of the California Assessment Program (CAP). All third, sixth, eighth, and twelfth grade students in California public schools were tested in reading, written language, and mathematics. The highlight of the 1983-84 expansion of CAP was…

In this paper there is a description of and rationale for a cultural orientation for Chinese scientists going abroad for research and further study. The orientation provides (1) knowledge about and awareness of the foreign scientific culture, (2) experience in the foreign scientific culture through simulated events in a foreign language setting,…

Special Services for the Disadvantaged Students (SSDS) is a federally funded three-year college retention program initiated at a Texas community college. The program's objectives include improving reading and math levels, improving achievement of handicapped students, and increasing skills in English as a second language. To accomplish these…

A project was undertaken to implement the employability, reading, and math skills of disadvantaged students in vocational education. Included in the project were the following activities: (1) field tests, evaluation, and dissemination of a mathematics skills curriculum guide for disadvantaged learners; (2) field tests and revision of guidelines…

A project designed to evaluate the quality of basic skills programs in writing, reading, and mathematics, which was implemented at a regional university and a community college within a statewide system in the Southeastern United States, is described. A multiple-indicator strategy was used, involving both short-range and long-range postprogram…

Mother tongue-based education perpetuates equity in education, especially among girls who are often regarded as disadvantaged in access to education. The Asia and Pacific region is characterized by its rich ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity. Such diversity is found missing in many school systems in the region which often leads to gaps in…