Addressing the need for developmental or remedial reading and writing courses at the college level, this paper provides a broad perspective on the strengthening of such programs for students deficient in these skills. The paper first enumerates various reasons for developing reading-writing courses for pre-college students, then provides evidence…

Part of an investigation of the effectiveness of Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 1 reading programs, this document reports on a study of 699 second and fourth grade students in Chapter 1 programs in Iowa. An introduction notes that the study was conducted to discover instructional characteristics that affect student…

Noting that illiteracy in the workplace is currently a major problem for American businesses and corporations, this booklet, developed by the National Commission for Employment Policy and Project Literacy U.S., suggests ways in which companies can help their workers become literate. The booklet first outlines the extent of the problem of…

A study in eastern Ontario, Canada, evaluated a computer program, the Autoskill Component Reading Subskills Program, which was used to improve the reading comprehension of elementary school students identified as reading disabled. Subjects, 91 students from five school districts, were behind at least one grade in reading word recognition skills…

The use of microcomputers to teach underprepared readers at the City University of New York (CUNY) is the focus of this report. A review of the literature highlights both the instructional and the noninstructional uses to which computers are being put in the college reading classroom today. The report points out (1) that software is a problem,…

This monograph presents the case study of four fifth grade boys involved in a writing program designed to teach reading skills and to address the following questions: (1) Are reading and writing really related in any practical sense? (2) What effects might humane, process-oriented writing instruction have on student achievement, self-esteem, and…

This monograph is one in a series of semiannual reports on research related to reading in secondary schools. The six papers in the monograph deal with the following topics: (1) the effect of reading level on the retention of propositions by secondary school remedial reading students; (2) the ambiguity of the term "significance" in research, which…

Eighth grade students whose reading achievement scores fell between second and fourth grade level were given an individualized self-concept approach to reading instruction in home economics. Causes for their reading difficulties were identified as lack of interest in school, no set goals, poor attitudes, poor attendance and suspensions, and…

This pamphlet is a collection of the speeches given at the Third Annual Reading Conference at Indiana State University, Terre Haute. The theme of the conference was "Oral Language and Reading." The contents include: "Official Program"; opening remarks, "They Led and Followed," by William G. McCarthy; opening address, "Strategies for Reading…

Discusses factors related to parental involvement and reading achievement, including the benefits of parents reading to children, home environment factors, socioeconomic factors, barriers to parental involvement, and school involvement. Investigates whether parental involvement made a difference in the reading achievement of 30 second graders in a…

"Effective Reading" (ER) is a community college course designed to help developmental readers succeed in college reading through improved reading comprehension. The course is based on current research which indicates that successful comprehension can take place if students follow three steps: predicting (pre-reading strategies such as surveying…

College-bound students who score poorly on the American College Test (ACT) exam (16 or below) are usually required to take an examination that measures the ability to read and interpret college level material since this ability is a significant variable in the prediction of academic success. Many of these underprepared students need specific help…

To prevent children with reading difficulties from thinking of themselves as failures, academic experiences must include projects that will motivate them to be responsible learners, enhance their self-concept, and reinforce all the language arts skills. One class of sixth grade students with reading disabilities made minibooks from greeting cards…

A study of the requisite processes for establishing diagnostic validity in reading was conducted in a seventh grade remedial reading classroom. The study's objectives were to (1) collect reliable diagnostic data on each student's performance in word recognition, oral reading, silent reading comprehension, and listening comprehension before and…

This report assesses the economic viability of micro-computer assisted basic skills instruction at Los Angeles Southwest College, an institution in which 96% of the students are from minority groups, the majority are from low-income families, and most have low levels of academic achievement (averaging a seventh-grade level in reading skills).…