Identifying the best way to help students who struggle with reading--whether they have learning disabilities, are English language learners, or just need extra support--is a challenge for any teacher. Schools can make that task easier with this indispensable resource, a complete guide to addressing each student's specific instructional needs and…

Data are presented from a number of different sites in which oral reading fluency was measured using the procedures commonly ascribed to curriculum-based measurement (CBM). This measurement system focuses on automaticity in reading and therefore students are directed to read aloud from grade level passages for one minute, with words read correctly…

Effects of reading instruction maximizing students' cognitive engagement on Grade 1 to 5 reading achievement were examined over a school year for students in 9 high-poverty schools. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that several teaching variables explained substantial variation in reading achievement growth. The most consistent finding was that…

By measuring behavioural performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) this study investigated the extent to which Chinese school children's reading development is influenced by their skills in auditory, speech, and temporal processing. In Experiment 1, 102 normal school children's performance in pure tone temporal order judgment, tone frequency…

In recent years a growing body of evidence has implicated deficits in the automaticity of fundamental facts such as word and number recognition in a range of disorders: including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, apraxia and autism. Variously described as habits, fluency, chunking and over learning, automatic processes are best…

This investigation compared the acceptability of three methods for assessing reading (i.e., norm-referenced assessment, curriculum-based assessment, brief experimental analysis), and explored how a new assessment methodology can gain acceptance as a useful and appropriate approach. Given that brief experimental analysis is a relatively new…

Oral reading fluency is a good predictor of performance on state reading assessments. The present study addressed the issue of bias by examining whether oral reading fluency scores differentially predict performance on a state reading assessment and the Metropolitan Achievement Tests, 7th Edition (MAT/7) across economic and racial groups.…

Bernhardt (2003) claims that half of the variance in second language (L2) reading is accounted for by first language literacy (20%) and second language knowledge (30%), and that one of the central goals of current L2 reading research should be to investigate the 50% of variance that remains unexplained. Part of this variance takes consists of…

Reading is a complex activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists of two related processes, word recognition and comprehension. Learning to read is an important educational goal. Research has shown that there is a great deal of transfer from learning to read in one language to learning to read in a second language. This…

Based on the 1998 Arkansas State Language Arts Framework, this sample curriculum model for kindergarten language arts is divided into sections focusing on writing; listening, speaking, and viewing; and reading. Each section lists standards; benchmarks; assessments; and strategies/activities. The reading section itself is divided into print…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) School-Based Coaching: A Revolution in Professional Development--or Just the Latest Fad? (Alexander Russo); (2) Fluency Tests Help Identify Struggling…

It is generally accepted that dyslexia should be identified early for interventions to have maximum effect. However, when children speak English as an additional language (EAL), diagnosis is more complex and there is concern that these children tend to be under-identified. This paper reports a longitudinal study following the development of…

A year-long study of 131 second and third graders in 12 classrooms compared three daily 20-minute treatments. a) Fifty-eight students in six classrooms used the 1999-2000 version of Project LISTEN's Reading Tutor, a computer program that uses automated speech recognition to listen to a child read aloud, and gives spoken and graphical assistance.…

This study investigated the effects of a cooperative peer-assisted reading strategy, dyad reading instruction, on the reading achievement of Hispanic third-grade English language learners (ELLs). Specifically, dyad reading is unison reading of a "lead reader," who reads well, and an "assisted reader," who does not read well, simultaneously reading…

Administrators in the U.S. education system need to be more than good managers, they need to understand high-quality reading instruction, so they can serve their teachers and help their school meet Reading First requirements. Although written with the administrator in mind, this collection also can be used by teachers, teacher educators, staff…