The austerity of the Great Depression, the popularity of progressive education, and scholarly research in reading from 1900 to 1930 initiated five golden years (1933-1938) of reading improvement in West Texas rural schools. Financial restraints relieved the schools from close scrutiny by the state's education agency. Schools were forced to…

Finds that rural middle-secondary classroom teachers expect a reading program that is highly compact and content focused and which will replace remediation. Suggests that trained content/reading specialists are needed to promote critical thinking and workplace literacy skills. Offers recommendations for establishing a pragmatic reading agenda for…

Fifty instructional modules designed to improve newspaper reading skills were field tested in this study. During a 50-day period, modules were used by Wilkes County, Georgia teachers as they saw fit in seventh, eighth, and ninth grade classes primarily for 338 students with poor reading skills. In summary, the effectiveness of the instructional…

A study assessed the effectiveness of direct instruction in improving reading skills. After a 3-week summer remedial program in which direct instruction was the main instructional strategy, along with a controlled curriculum, 18 rural students aged 7-15 with severe reading difficulties showed notable improvement in reading and spelling. (Contains…

The impact of ESEA Title I programs on reading competencies of elementary and secondary students in Northern Appalachia was examined. Fourth- and seventh-grade reading programs were assessed through samples taken from 74 different schools involving 1,429 students in 16 school districts within the Northern Appalachia area of Maryland, Ohio,…