Reading is the most basic of skills. Reading provides access to other skills and knowledge, facilitates life-long learning, and opens doors to opportunity. The National Institute for Literacy is authorized by the U.S. Congress to collect and disseminate information on the components of reading and the findings from scientific research. The…

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 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…

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

Researches a basal reading and a language arts method of teaching reading, advancing the possibility of using reading readiness instead of intelligence tests to predict later reading achievement. (RB)

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)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of modality-based instruction in test taking skills upon young children's performance on standardized reading tests; (2) the effects of five…

Drawn from a 1983 conference that focused on reading in the school, at home, and at work, the papers in this collection deal with reading strategies, assessment, programs, methods, and materials. Topics covered in the 17 papers include the following: (1) focused instruction for reading exposition, (2) repeated reading, (3) teacher interruption…

The nine articles presented in this yearbook were drawn from Arizona State University's Annual Reading Conference which focused on new directions in reading. Four of the articles deal with evaluation techniques in reading and include discussions of developing culture-fair informal reading inventories, what oral language tests really measure, and…

A study gathered data on the effectiveness of four phonological awareness measures in predicting reading outcome in first grade. The "Test of Non-Verbal Intelligence" (TONI) and the "Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test" (PPVT) were used to assess the cognitive abilities of 54 first-graders from a middle class elementary school in a…

The School Readiness Rating Scale was developed to help teachers organize their suggestions to parents about how parents can help their children prepare for beginning reading experiences. The scale surveys five important aspects of readiness for beginning reading: visual perception, visual motor perception, auditory perception and discrimination,…

The Concepts about Print (Sand) and Record of Oral Language (ROL) tests were administered three times to 29 male and 27 female kindergarten children as part of a study to determine the reliability and concurrent validity of the tests. The Sand and Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) were administered to the returning participants (27 males and 24…

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of a systematic auditory training program on the auditory discrimination ability and reading readiness of 55 white, middle/upper middle class kindergarten students. Following pretesting with the "Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test,""The Clymer-Barrett Prereading Battery," and the…

Reports correlations between scores on the Metropolitan Readiness Tests, teacher rankings of reading readiness, and socioeconomic (SES) status of 536 beginning first-grade pupils. Discusses results in terms of the effects SES may have on both a student's readiness scores and a teacher's view of student readiness. (FL)