Authors take issue with an article by Elaine Garan, "Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors: A Critique of the National Reading Panel Report on Phonics," that appeared in the March 2001 issue of "Phi Delta Kappan" wherein she criticized the report's findings on the effectiveness of phonics instruction in helping children to read. (PKP)

Author makes a point-by-point rebuttal to Ehri and Stahl's criticism of her critical analysis of the National Reading Panel report on the effectiveness of phonics instruction in helping children to read. (PKP)

Questions the quality and accuracy of the phonics research base. Widely taught and promoted in official publications, the system is being even more heavily promulgated by current educational reformers. Extensive discrepancies between Jeanne Chall's findings and actual data show design flaws in "The Great Debate" that contradict phonics'…

In round two of a debate begun in November 1988, this article again reemphasizes the poor quality of Jeanne Chall's experimental phonics research and reporting inaccuracies that invalidate her conclusions. The basic flaw might lie in Chall's belief system. Includes 57 references. (MLH)

Furthering the "Kappan" phonics debate, the author claims that her research results were misunderstood by critic Marie Carbo and that evidence concerning phonics' instructional benefits is cumulative, particularly for children at risk. Based on 80 years' empirical and theoretical support, Carbo's "no conclusion" stance is unsupportable. Includes…

Relates individual student experiences to illustrate that many poor readers are dropouts of programs requiring strongly analytic/auditory reading styles. Recommends adopting the "whole-language" approach for today's global learners. Uses research findings to outline instructional methods that match students' reading styles. (CJH)

Argues that California's low fourth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress reading scores between 1987 and 1992 were not related to the whole-language approach to reading instruction introduced in 1987. Suggests that low scores are caused by limited student access to books in school and public libraries. (Contains 36 references.) (PKP)

Are programs that emphasize systematic phonics instruction truly superior to other types of programs for young readers, as the National Reading Panel claims? The authors conducted a study of three different programs to see what kinds of readers are actually emerging from them. Two were commercial programs that used explicit and systematic phonics…