This publication tells the stories of eight schools from around the nation that have used the Open Court Reading program, describing the history of the schools, the challenges they faced, and their attempts to meet those challenges. The schools are located in California, Florida, Texas, and New York. Each of the school stories includes a focus on…

This research addressed vocabulary knowledge, which refers to the understanding of words, the overall ideas and concepts being communicated, and the ability to use those words in the appropriate context. The targeted population consisted of students in kindergarten, first grade, and fourth grade. An analysis of School Improvement Plans revealed a…

This paper asks whether the current form of assessment is appropriate in measuring the growth of American students in the subject of reading. First, the paper examines the argument for standardized testing of skills as an appropriate form of assessment. It then points out that the people in support of this form of testing argue that these tests…

The United States ranked ninth among 35 nations in an international study among students in reading, as reported by the Progress in International Reading Literacy. Standards keep going up for students in reading achievement. Literature books for children must be rewritten in keeping up with the times in a demanding school and societal environment.…

This book addresses the task of matching books to students' reading levels, or book leveling. It assists teachers in making informed choices about appropriate leveling systems, recommends which books can be used in instruction, and suggests how book text level and student reading abilities may correspond. The book will help classroom teachers and…

Noting that the development of effective intervention programs and instructional strategies for the struggling or underachieving reader continues to be a topic of concern, this Digest first reviews the current status of reading performance, based on the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress. It then reports on the importance of early…

Reports a significant interaction between I.Q. and reading achievement for 277 students in grades three through twelve but correlations between I.Q. and reading achievement among left-handers were significantly lower than among right-handers. (TO)

First-grade teacher describes her program of having each student responsible for teaching'' one book to other students. (SP)

Three concurrent validity studies involving 88 regular and 56 learning disabled elementary students were conducted to determine the relationship between performances on formative measures of reading and standardized achievement measures of reading. The usefulness of the formative measures for continuous evaluation of student growth in reading is…

Discusses the constructs of decentration and reading achievement; summarizes related research findings. Reports a study of the relationship between children's abilities to use decentered spoken language and reading achievement. Found significant correlations between egocentric spoken language and reading achievement scores for children in grades 2…

Offers a procedure that will allow classroom teachers to use standardized reading achievement test scores in order to make appropriate decisions about placing students in instructional programs. (FL)

Indicates that there has been an increase in the standard of reading for meaning for fifth grade pupils in Australia between 1946 and 1971. (TJ)

Cautions against using standardized tests to make simplistic judgments about students' reading comprehension. Suggests two approaches to testing that teachers might use to devise testing procedures that represent their own views of the important reading strategies and skills that students need to acquire. (AEA)

An eight-week program designed to stimulate fluency, flexibility, and originality proved effective in enhancing the creative thinking skills of 23 fourth grade students. Significant correlations were found to exist between IQ and creativity and between reading achievement and creativity. (GT)