Emergent reading levels are those levels a pupil can sustain under direct guidance or with mediation and support by the teacher. A major implication of the emergent reading level construct is that strategies for reading placement would need to be revised. A study was conducted to ascertain whether the emergent reading level concept is valid and…

This article describes the organization, implementation, and evaluation of a summer reading/study skills program for black and minority students entering three separate health profession schools. The eight-week program was designed to diagnose and correct student academic deficiencies and to introduce students to the rigorous pace and learning…

A study was conducted to identify effective instructional strategies being used to teach reading at the secondary school level. In the first phase of the study, researchers observed 43 secondary school remedial reading classrooms to determine the relationships between teaching processes and students' gain in reading. In the second phase, the…

The effects of graphic preorganizers (structured overviews) and prereading vocabulary instruction upon literal (lower level) and inferential/evaluative (upper level) comprehension was studied, using six sections of college students enrolled in a developmental reading and study skills course. The class sections were randomly assigned to use either…

New miscue analysis, which combines characteristics of cloze procedure with traditional miscue analysis, seems to overcome some of the limitations encountered in the traditional method. In new miscue analysis, subjects read selections below and at their level of reading ability and are not agitated by being asked to read material that is too…

Teacher educators and college level instructors may use a guided procedure for training classroom teachers and reading specialists to diagnose reading disorders utilizing case studies. The procedure involves distributing a detailed case study outline to students, with all important information that should be included in the case report also…

Twenty third-grade children, all of whom scored below 90% accuracy in word recognition and comprehension at grade level, served as subjects in an investigation of the effects on reading fluency of four attentional activities: repeating directions, listening to a story paced or stimulated at 225 words per minute while reading the story, learning…

The effects of using newspapers as adjunct materials in education have been documented in recent research. Research results indicate that students are seriously deficient in civic knowledge, and that the newspaper can serve as a bridge between home, school, and community by educating youth about the real world and by influencing their knowledge of…

In an investigation of the effectiveness of self-managed reading improvement programs, a program incorporating self-monitoring (observing and recording relevant activity), self-reinforcement (increasing the probability of some target behavior by the self-presentation of positive consequences or the removal of negative consequences), and shaping…

Problems related to elementary school students' ability to read social studies materials are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the task that confronts the student while reading social studies and on the teacher's role in helping students improve their reading skills. Vocabulary is identified as the major factor contributing to reading difficulties.…

Project IRIS (Improving Reading Instruction School-Wide) is one school district's effort to improve reading instruction. The project's first three years have produced median reading gains of one year or more per student per year. Although the most important aspect of Project IRIS is school-wide commitment to improving reading instruction, other…

This paper examines the efforts of the Chinese Communist government since 1949 to bring literacy to the masses through its language reform policies. The policies discussed include the establishment of a common dialect, simplification of Chinese characters, and the development of a Chinese phonetic alphabet. In addition, the paper discusses methods…

A college survival skills course, designed to help college-bound high school seniors develop an efficient, organized approach to college reading and study skills, is described in this paper. After outlining the steps taken in developing and promoting the course, the paper notes favorable reactions to it, lists the course textbooks, and describes…

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of methylphenidate given in conjunction with reading remediation to children with pure reading disorders. A total of 66 children receiving motivated reading remediation were randomly assigned to either a placebo or a methylphenidate treatment group. A battery of reading, academic, and psychological…

A college-level reading center program was adapted for use in helping a group of state employees improve their reading skills. This paper explains how the program originated and describes program procedures (including diagnosis, the determination of individual and course objectives, record keeping, class format, and class presentations) materials…