The Progress in Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) was developed to help improve the teaching of reading and the acquisition of reading skills around the world, and was approved by the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) General Assembly as an essential component of the IEA's regular cycle of core studies,…

Highlights key findings of a study of secondary school boys' literate lives in and out of school. Suggests boys valued school in general and reading in particular, and that they pursued literate activities out of school in interesting and complex ways. Notes they often rejected school-based reading because it was not characterized by qualities of…

This resource packet presents information on youth literacy in three main sections. The first section presents statistics on literacy; facts about literacy; reading in Indiana middle, junior, and senior high schools; and family reading. The packet's second section contains a bibliography and resources, offering a reading and literacy bibliography,…

A study determined the impact of integrating literacy and science programs on literacy achievement, use of literature, and attitude toward reading and science. Six third-grade classes (128 students) of ethnically diverse children were assigned to one control and two experimental groups (literature/science program and literature only program).…

This paper provides insight into the history and growth of the National Reading Research Center (NRRC), that was charged to engage in research aimed at improving the reading proficiency of all students and to develop a broad, comprehensive model of reading acquisition that integrates the various cognitive, social, motivational, cultural, and…

Evaluates one aspect of the Read It Project, a community literacy project initiated and managed by Leeds Education 2000. Focuses on the reading attitudes and behavior of 61 children who attended Read It Clubs in 1998-1999. Concludes children enjoyed the Read It Clubs they attended, valued the experience, and believed they gained from it. (RS)

Focuses on the stated purposes of reading evaluation, examines trends in the types of assessments used, and looks at some possible indicators of changes in literacy levels in the Canadian Provinces. (CRH)

Finds a relationship between parents' perceptions of literacy learning and the perceptions of literacy learning which their children were developing but, within this group, finds an extremely weak relationship between parents' perceptions of literacy learning and their children's emerging literacy knowledge. Finds that children were developing…

Noting that what becomes of reluctant readers should be of great concern to a nation that advocates education and has traditionally been committed to principles of the higher order, this paper identifies the characteristics of reluctant or unmotivated readers and discusses what happens to them. Following background reflection on the limits people…

Although there is a paucity of research-based information about the literacy of the aged, educators, researchers, and authors continue to propose certain practices and advocate certain positions, often while operating under unconscious or unexamined biases against the elderly. What research has been done indicates that literacy instruction that…

Argues, based on ethnographic data, that students use their literacy practices to form their identities within, and sometimes in opposition to, the figured worlds of school, work and family. Concludes that many students look to school to provide formal literacy experiences, but find their reading and writing passions at odds with the demands of…

A longitudinal study examined the relationship between the emergent literacy knowledge of preschool entrants and their subsequent reading performance, 5 years later. Subjects were selected randomly for the preliminary class lists of 6 separate preschools located in a mid-size midwestern city. Within the first 4 weeks of preschool, 8 informal…

A study examined the ways teachers and children in a preschool classroom enacted informal book-reading and other informal book-related events. Four key patterns in children's activities and teachers' curricular responses were identified: (1) children naturally selected their own "themes" for reading at the book center, and often these themes were…

Examines the real-world literacy contexts in which children find themselves. Discusses research at multiple sites over five years looking at how teachers struggle day by day to work out how to acknowledge and build on the language and cultural diversity of the students in their schools. Explores and illustrates four distinct "constructions" of…

A study examined the reading behaviors of college students--in particular it asked why aliteracy occurs among college students. A survey designed to identify the aliterate population was administered to a psychology class of 40 students from a variety of majors, and included both genders, some ethnic variety (mostly Anglo), and a range of ages.…