THE EXTENSION OF THE CONCEPT OF READINESS INTO EDUCATION EARLIER IN THIS CENTURY RESULTED IN STUDIES WHICH CONCLUDED THAT CHILDREN ARE NOT READY TO READ UNTIL A MENTAL AGE OF 6.5. BUT ACTUAL RESEARCH ON PRESCHOOL READING WAS, AS OF 1957, EXTREMELY LIMITED. TWO LONGITUDINAL STUDIES WERE UNDERTAKEN TO REMEDY THIS LACK. BOTH STUDIES SOUGHT TO…

The aim of the panel on reading comprehension, sponsored by the National Institute of Education Conference on Studies in Reading, was to determine the influence of intellectual factors, general experiences with the world, knowledge specific to the particular reading task, and general decoding skills to successful reading performance. In addition,…

This study examined the oral reading behavior of five junior college students of below average reading proficiency. The Reading Miscue Inventory (RMI) was used to analyze and compare the miscues they generated while reading two selections varying in difficulty. The study addressed itself to two main questions: Do these readers use a process…

This study investigated the predictive value of certain tests in relationship to first grade reading success. The Metropolitan Readiness Test, Naming Letters Test, Light Response Test, and Matching Symbol Test were administered to 70 first grade students during the first two weeks of school. The Teacher's Reading Readiness Rating Scale was filled…

Discusses two facets of the disparity between the way children learn and the way they are tested: the necessity of practice and the importance of prior knowledge. (FL)

Studies the development of word-retrieval speed and its relationship to reading in 72 average and 11 severely impaired readers in kindergarten through the second grade. (HOD)

Reports on two experiments that explore the comprehension difficulties of children with normal word recognition ability. Concludes that skilled readers engage in more constructive processing and that comprehension difficulties are not the result of a defective working memory. (SRT)

Noting that children evaluate their reading comprehension more effectively when they are informed about the standards of evaluation they should use, a study examined whether training in the use of certain standards would show generalization from one level of processing to the other, and also maintenance of standard use. The study also examined…

A study was designed to improve fifth-graders' limited use of comprehension monitoring processes during reading through a self-instructional approach. Thirty-nine average and superior comprehenders were tested on their ability to detect inconsistencies contained in short essays prior to, immediately after, and one week after participation in one…

While previous studies have investigated children's awareness of two units within words--syllables and phonemes, there is experimental evidence that children are also aware of intrasyllabic units (units intermediate in size between the syllable and the phoneme), and that these units may be useful for teaching phonological awareness and reading.…

To assess the compatibility of miscue analysis and recall analysis as independent elements in a theory of reading comprehension, a study was performed that operationalized each theory and separated its components into measurable units to allow empirical testing. A cueing strategy model was estimated, but the discourse processing model was broken…

Psychometric and ethnographic frameworks were used to explore the relationships among adults' uses for reading and their demonstrated competencies with related domains of tasks. Information regarding frequently occurring reading tasks was gathered from 42 adults in both work and leisure settings by means of questionnaires, interviews, and…

A study was undertaken to investigate the extent to which reading by students with varying skill levels is a text-driven or a concept-driven process; that is, it examined the conditions under which readers used context to identify words. The 72 second and third grade students in the study read target words that varied in decodability, frequency,…

The relationship between oral reading ability and the use of structure (function) words was examined in a dissertation study which hypothesized that the use of structure words in verbal discourse would be greater in children who have no difficulty in oral reading than in children who experience difficulty. Structure words were identified as those…

Presents results from 2 British studies relating preschool reading skills and reading attainment reached by age 11. Substantiates and extends earlier research that correlated early letter identification with reading ability at age seven. Also indicates no support for hypothesis that letter sounding rather than naming predicts subsequent reading…