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 effects of a language-based reading approach on the reading strategies of first grade children were examined in a study involving a total of 40 children. Half of the students were placed in an experimental group that was exposed to the language-based reading approach, and half were placed in a control group that was taught to read by a…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the Distar reading program on the reading achievement of fifth-grade students in three schools on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Distar programs were developed to help overcome some of the problems of disadvantaged children. The program is a highly structured one, designed to…

Though the television program "The Electric Company" was intended for a second and third grade audience, in May of 1975 the Children's Television Workshop undertook an evaluation of the effects of the program on four, five, and six year olds. The research was aimed at measuring reading gains, the retention of reading gains, and the…

Eighty-six studies are reported in this 13th annual review of research in elementary language arts. Efforts are made to include all studies reported in 52 journals from January through December 1973. Discussions and descriptions of the studies are divided into sections on research summaries and listings, language, oral communication, written…

The extent of any relationship of problem solving in mathematics to reading was investigated. A review of similar research studies indicated a need for further research because of the lack of agreement among authorities concerning this relationship. Two contrasting populations of third-grade students were selected for the study. One group was from…

An investigation is being made of the effects of the interaction between differing socioeconomic backgrounds and two beginning reading programs on the reading achievement of pupils at three ability levels. This report gives the results of data that have been collected for grades 1 and 2 only. Participating were 754 pupils in a small city school…

Part 1 of a study designed to investigate the effects of individual goal-setting conferences on attitude toward reading and on reading achievement includes the introduction, review of literature, and descriptions of methods and results. Two parallel studies were conducted, the first using third and fourth graders and the second using first and…

Part 2 of a study designed to investigate the effects of individual goal-setting conferences on attitude toward reading and on reading achievement reports discussion of the findings, appendixes including materials and tests used, and a bibliography. Two parallel studies were conducted, the first using third and fourth graders and the second using…

Based on its use with first graders in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for an eleven year period, the Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.) appears to have a number of advantages for reading instruction. These years of research have indicated that the advantages of i.t.a. are that it permits the child to: advance more rapidly in reading and writing…

THE ROLES OF A READING CONSULTANT IN TWO SITUATIONS--AS A CATALYST IN A GROUP AND AS A "HELPFUL FRIEND" IN A ONE-TO-ONE SITUATION--WERE COMPARED IN A 1964 STUDY. THIRTY-FIVE FIRST-GRADE CLASSROOMS AND 35 TEACHERS IN 10 SCHOOLS IN WALLINGTON, CONNECTICUT, WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS. IN THE FIVE CONTROL SCHOOLS (METHOD 1), CONSULTANT…

Using data collected by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), the authors of this study examined the reading achievement of 14-year-old boys in India and England. They sought to determine the factors involved in the academic achievement of these boys in the natural sciences. Factors studied, in addition…

This paper reports a technique for classroom observation of children's activities considered relevant to the acquisition of reading. It is part of a larger study conducted by the University of Bristol called the "Children Learning to Read" Project, an attempt to study the learning experiences of individual children as they occur in a…

Argues that federal policy decisions have shaped a particular configuration of services for low achieving readers at the school level because prevailing definitions conceptualize reading failure as a disability rather than as a disadvantage. Notes that reading researchers must be aware of this if low achieving children are to benefit from advances…

Examines the validity of estimates of instructional reading level produced by the Reading Comprehension Test of the 1986 Metropolitan Achievement Tests (MAT). Compares reading level estimates provided by the MAT, basal reader placement tests, an informal reading inventory, and classroom teachers' judgments. Suggests that each method, because of…