Investigates the effects of pause prompt and praise feedback procedures for teacher trainees working with parent tutors of reading. Indicates that (1) trainees used intrusive prompts when asked to help parents in any way they could to implement the procedures and (2) following training trainees used much less intrusive prompts. (JD)

Examines different approaches to reading acquisition used in four first grades of a suburban elementary school. Supports the use of a language experience approach as a viable alternative to the basal reader approach for teaching reading and writing. (JK)

This summative evaluation of magnet programs employed a quasi-experimental design to investigate whether or not students enrolled in magnet programs gained any achievement advantage over students who were not enrolled in a magnet program. Researchers used Zero-One Linear Programming to draw multiple sets of matched samples from the non-magnet…

This study examined the differences in reading and mathematics achievement and the discipline records of eighth grade students who lived with both of their biological parents and those who did not. Participating were 199 eighth grade middle school students in rural Georgia. The 103 students in the traditionally parented group came from their…

A study examined whether storybook exposure and the amount of teaching in reading and writing skills provided by parents would enhance the language skills and emergent literacy of 47 first-grade children. Hierarchical regression analyses that controlled for parents' print exposure, and children's age and analytical intelligence showed that at the…

This report describes a decision-making tool designed to inform special educators of the most up-to-date participation and test accommodations guidelines and to assist educators in the process of making informed decisions. It reports on the results of a study that examined the tool's feasibility and practicality. The decision-making tool is an…

The relationship of diverse instructional materials with student performance indicators is studied in a statewide evaluation of educational reform. Observation and teacher survey data were collected, and students were tested in reading, mathematics, and attitudinal areas. Significant performance decrements were associated with the use of diverse…

Life-span approach, monadic analyses, and quality of life as a criterion are basic considerations of follow-up research on Project TALENT, a 1960 survey of American secondary students. Preliminary results from sample populations of 30, 50, and 70 year olds indicate education's contribution to life quality. (SB)

Examines the relationship between school library collections and reading achievement in Los Angeles for both middle school and high school students. Previous studies are reviewed, and current results continue to identify socioeconomic status as the strongest predictor of reading comprehension test scores. (Author/LRW)

Effects of reading instruction maximizing students' cognitive engagement on Grade 1 to 5 reading achievement were examined over a school year for students in 9 high-poverty schools. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that several teaching variables explained substantial variation in reading achievement growth. The most consistent finding was that…

The relationships between reading proficiency and field independence/field dependence and sex were studied in 84 male and 79 female second graders. There were no significant gender differences in achievement or with the reading measures. Field-independent subjects were more proficient readers in the separate skill areas of reading than were…

Reports the results from a longitudinal cohort analysis of achievement among elementary magnet students, neighborhood school students, and predominantly black transfer students in one urban district with a school choice program. Two successive cohorts of students were compared on achievement scores. Results indicated magnet students generally had…

This study compared (1) performance on language skills and phonological process measures by 41 kindergarten children with speech/language impairments, and (2) their reading ability in first grade. Children with semantic-syntactic language deficits exhibited more difficulties in reading than did children with articulation impairments. Phonological…

Effects of a restructured Chapter 1 program (RCP) on 45 first graders' literacy were examined. RCP students could read a primer fluently and performed better than comparison groups (students in the regular Chapter 1 program and classroom peers). Improvement was particularly apparent for those with the lowest initial readiness scores. (SLD)

Genetic and environmental etiologies of individual differences in tests of intelligence and school achievement were investigated in a study from the Colorado Adoption Project. A multivariate conditional path model was fitted to general cognitive ability and reading performance data from 119 adoptive and 120 nonadoptive families. (SLD)