Examined the reliability and validity of the Individual Reading Readiness Inventory (IRRI) and determined that it could be used with confidence as a measure to predict the extent to which children would profit from formal reading instruction in kindergarten. (Author/RWB)

"Readiness for reading" is a phrase familiar to anyone interested in the teaching of reading. Readiness is an essential factor in any phase of learning. If the individual is to learn, some foundation for that learning must be established. Relatively few articles concerning the place of readiness in areas other than reading appear in educational…

Co-author of the popular titles "Booktalking Bonanza" and "The Early Literacy Kit", Betsy Diamant-Cohen brings together 18 examples of successful outreach partnerships that children's librarians and administrators can adapt to their own situations. Contributors from the U.S and Canada explain how they partnered with schools,…

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), was first launched in 1997 as a periodic longitudinal study of program performance. Successive nationally representative samples of Head Start children and their families,…

By exploring the kindergarten program found in two public elementary schools in a middle-class neighborhood in central Alabama, a study examined age at school entry as a critical factor in achievement in Alabama kindergartens. The sample consisted of 100 kindergarten students (53 boys/47 girls; 96 white/4 black)--77 were 63 months or older, and 23…

The following criticism of current practices for determining reading readiness are discussed: (1) the variables measured by readiness tests are in many cases unrelated to instruction, (2) while the variables measured are correlated with reading achievement, this association does not attribute causality, and (3) the criterion selected for measuring…

The purpose of this study was: (1) to determine to what extent teacher rankings of reading readiness compare with reading readiness test results, (2) to determine to what extent teacher rankings of reading readiness compare with pupil socioeconomic status, and (3) to determine to what extent readiness test results compare with pupil socioeconomic…

This study investigated (1) the difference, if any, between the achievement in reading readiness of younger kindergarten children (4 years 9 months to 5 years 1 month upon school entrance) and older children (5 years 5 months to 5 years 8 months at entrance), (2) whether kindergarten positively affects the reading readiness achievement of children…

Findings concerning the relationship of perceptual-motor and oral-language organization to later reading achievement are discussed in relation to a predictive battery of 15 tests. It was concluded that the predictive efficacy of the tests depends on the degree to which they measure integrative ability rather than on the specific skills measured.…

In this study, mothers predicted their preschoolers' prereading skills beyond chance expectation. (MKM)

Evaluates the effectiveness of reading readiness tests in predicting readiness for reading instruction and in diagnosing deficiencies of prerequisite skills for reading; reports the results of a survey on the use of reading readiness tests in 15 school districts. (GW)

Examines the following: the history and current status of the assessment of prereading skills or reading readiness in the United States, recent research findings with implications for readiness testing, future directions for prereading measures, and classroom implications of prereading assessment research. (GT)

Teachers make false assumptions about concepts five-year-olds can understand. (JH)