Examined the hypothesis by Chomsky and Halle that English spelling corresponds to an underlying lexical level of representation rather than to a surface phonetic level, i.e., pronunciation. (RB)

Group training on segmentation-blending training forms (SB) in conjunction with strategies for decoding novel words (WD) was assessed in kindergarteners. Neither the WD or SB factor was found to significantly affect novel word decoding performance, although the results indicated that the sounding out SB form led to considerable success in word…

Discusses a study which sought to determine the extent to which teachers or prospective teachers can discriminate among generalizations about phonics of varying degrees of usefulness. (JM)

Describes a study which found that the prospective special education teachers in the study population had severe deficits in their knowledge of basic phonics. (JM)

Reports on a study that investigated the ability of second grade students to listen to, infer, and produce the correct pronuciations of high-frequency words in a story-like context. (FL)

Responds to a previous study which suggested that college professors who teach preservice reading courses cannot agree on what should be taught. (See EJ 129 240) (RB)

See related article by Kenneth S. Goodman, CS 705 852. (RB)

Reviews the research on the initial teaching alphabet (i/t/a), the sources of conflict and misunderstanding involving its use, and its future in reading instruction. (FL)

Describes a study that attempted to establish whether or not a hierarchy exists among selected reading skills, to establish the direction and strength of such a relationship, and to compare empirical methodologies for establishing hierarchical relationships. (MKM)

Reports on a study testing the validity of the Names Test, an individually administered phonics assessment. Provides support for the Names Test's validity by showing it to be significantly correlated with established tests of word recognition and decoding ability. (SR)

Criticizes Marie Carbo's article, "Debunking the Great Phonics Myth" (in Kappan's November 1988 issue), for waging a relentless debate against phonics and falsely attributing low U.S. reading achievement scores to a phonics emphasis. Clears up confusions and inaccuracies in Carbo's article concerning first and second editions of the…

Presents a study where 12 poor readers of first grade were randomly assigned to one of two daily tutoring conditions designed to teach children to read regularly spelled short words by either blending sounds to form words, or cumulative introduction of whole words. Finds no initial difference, but finds different results in delayed posttest one…

Replicates a study of a "common unit" task which includes modifications to the original procedure. Confirms the pattern observed in the original study: beginning readers learning by a mixed method can identify shared phonemes but not shared rimes in the common unit task. Discusses implications. (RS)

Discusses the implications of Goswami and Bryant's (1990) theory about important causal connections in reading for classroom teaching, and reviews more recent "rhyme and analogy" research within this framework. Discusses new research on the nature of the English spelling system and the representation of linguistic knowledge. Emphasizes the…