Title I schools that want desperately to raise student scores on high-stakes tests often have found it hard to resist the lure of scripted literacy programs, especially in the face of pressure from No Child Left Behind to raise test scores. In recent years, many high-poverty elementary schools have adopted such programs in spite of evidence about…

Although parents and teachers appreciate the value of reading aloud to early elementary children, they often forget that upper elementary children can still benefit from individual attention during reading. A small pilot study in a South Carolina elementary school demonstrates the value of pairing adults and children for regular reading time.…

As students move up through the grades, the academic demands on them increase, and a great many of those increases come in the form of reading. The academic tasks students encounter in the upper elementary grades, and even more so in secondary school, involve a great deal of reading in support of learning new and complicated content. As the…

The U.S. work force is changing. Professional and related occupations and service occupations will be the fastest-growing sectors for the foreseeable future. Both demand strong communication skills for sharing complex ideas across diverse communities. In addition, the 21st-century economy will require its members to think creatively and critically…

Brownsville Independent School District in Texas garnered the Broad Prize for Urban Education in 2008 by narrowing the gap between its largely immigrant Hispanic enrollment and other low-income children in the state. Its efforts are notable for the district's ability to move English language learners to proficiency in a few years by its reliance…

With the current pressures on teachers to increase academic achievement for all students, high-quality teacher training is more important than ever. Elementary teachers are faced with high expectations for their students to achieve literacy proficiency, and these expectations became law with the No Child Left Behind Act. With or without this…

Timothy Shanahan was surprised to learn that Elaine Garan and Steven Krashen had written yet two more critiques of the National Reading Panel (NRP) report. Each already has more NRP-related publications than any member of the panel, and both have been issuing their complaints over a longer period than the panel worked on the eight studies that…

Reading programs should emphasize the emotional and affective development of the individual. (Author/RA)

The special learning needs of students in grades 4-5 who are children of poverty have been misunderstood and therefore unaddressed. As a result, many students born into poverty start down a slippery slope of steady academic decline in grades 4 and 5. But specialized, counter-intuitive approaches. Specifically, accelerating the learning of these…

Describes staff-development plan related to the implementation of the Orange County (Florida) Literacy Project, a research-based literacy-improvement program for middle-school students. Defines literacy as reading, speaking, listening, viewing, and thinking. (PKP)

For the past few years the authors have worked in urban public elementary schools to implement literacy instruction that emphasizes higher-level reading, writing, and thinking, while also maintaining instructional focus on the skills of decoding, word recognition, and fluency. Their efforts have involved implementing an initiative called In2Books.…

Discusses some dimensions of the right to read and the promise of American education to make all Americans literate. (Author)

Available reading materials and instruction techniques are not getting the job done. (RA)

Describes how the Primary Literacy Institute, a teaching practicum for practicing teachers, was used to help teachers in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District develop a variety of student learning strategies. Five Juneau teachers created the Institute in 1995. (PKP)

Critical analysis of recent National Reading Panel report on teaching children to read based on meta-analysis of research on reading instruction. Asserts that because of problems with meta-analysis and interpretation, report's findings should not form sole basis for reading-instruction policy and legislation. Proposes four reading propositions.…