Converts silent reading rates into grade equivalent units. Finds that growth in reading rate is approximately constant each year in school for typical students. Presents grade equivalent data which provides reasonably valid, criterion-referenced grade equivalents that may be used to evaluate the status and progress of individuals or groups. (RS)

Responds to previous article on validating curriculum-based measurement (Derr-Minneci and Shapiro, this issue). Contends that research reported by Derr-Mennici and Shapiro neither validated curriculum-based measurement (CBM) in reading from behavioral perspective, nor investigated accuracy of CBM. Organizes comments around three points of emphasis…

Responds to previous article on validating curriculum-based measurement (Derr-Minneci and Shapiro, this issue). Contends that, in examining variation in oral reading rate across their three settings, Derr-Mennici and Shapiro's assessment procedures were of unknown accuracy, and that these procedures themselves varied among settings, making it…

Reading-disabled children (n=92) were classified as either scotopic or nonscotopic using the Irlen Differential Perceptual Schedule. Use of either colored or clear overlays over reading material resulted in improved reading rate, accuracy, and comprehension when scotopic children read with the preferred colored overlay filter. Nonscotopic children…

Describes and illustrates a developmental approach to reading assessment. Presents four developmental levels of learning to read: emergent reading, beginning reading, consolidation, and reading to learn new concepts. Explains procedures for assessing aspects of each level. Provides examples of how oral reading miscues, reading rate, and…

The performance of 17 youth on a verbatim recall task indicated that skilled deaf readers are more able than average deaf readers to sustain a record of English function words and inflections. The relative speed of skilled readers when making lexical decisions about phonologically similar word pairs indicated greater access to phonological…

A strategy is proposed for primary teachers to use with children who have reading difficulties. It includes developing a profile of each slow reader, testing each slow reader to determine reading level and specific weaknesses, and using certain practical methods to help solve the problem. (two references) (LB)

The impact of interestingness and "narrativity" on comprehension, attention, and reading speed and the role of topic familiarity were studied for 16 college students in psychology classes and 8 from engineering classes who read excerpts from psychology and engineering texts. Results support schema-based comprehension theory. (SLD)

Four studies examined reading disabilities in elementary school children from the perspective of componential skills of reading. A principal-components analysis of the performance of 139 children on reading-related tasks yielded two factors: decoding and comprehension. Factor analyses indicated that orthographic skills and processing speed could…

Five experiments used self-paced reading time to examine the ways in which complex noun phrases influence the interpretation of referentially dependent expressions. Results indicate that the entity introduced by a major constituent of a sentence is more accessible as a referent than the entities introduced by component noun phrases. (Author/VWL)

Effects of differentiated feedback on the oral reading rate of three secondary students with learning disabilities were studied. The study found that visual feedback increased the overall reading rate more than verbal feedback or miscue analysis. Using both visual and miscue analysis feedback yielded the greatest reading accuracy. (CR)

Sixty children (ages 8-10) with severe reading disabilities received daily intensive one-to-one instruction that differed in depth and extent of instruction in phonemic awareness and phonemic decoding. Both approaches were highly effective in improving reading accuracy and comprehension although measures of reading rate showed continued severe…

Initial reading speeds across grades show points at which children with low vision are at risk of developing low literacy skills. Outcome group measures showed that 185 children (grades preK-12) who received optical devices increased their silent reading speeds and comprehension rates. Findings indicate optical devices assist in deciphering text.…

Testing materials for high school students whose reading is below grade level might not be age-appropriate or sufficiently motivating. The first step in finding appropriate material would be to talk with the student to learn his or her interests. To find age-appropriate material the author searched Internet resources and then used Microsoft Word…

The Reading First Initiative supports the importance of classroom teachers' use of diagnostic tests that are "scientifically based." This article focuses on the new assessment known as DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. DIBELS is composed of the following subtests: phonological awareness (recognizing initial…