Describes a study of junior college students that examined the interrelationship of structural cueing and graphic organizers, two prose processing adjuncts intended to convey the presence and nature of structure in text to learners with high, middle, and low level reading skills. Treatment of the experimental and control groups is explained, and…

Explored the notion that children's difficulty in reading is a sign of a general inability to selectively attend to parts of perceptual wholes. Children and adults classified triads of spoken syllables and visual objects. Classification of speech was related to reading and spelling ability, but not to classification of visual stimuli. (BC)

Investigates the types and depths of cognitive complexity that 11th-grade readers of high, average, and low reading ability exhibited when given either text-based comprehension questions or reader-based journal response writing assignments. Finds significant differences between the groups in type and depth of cognitive complexity, engagement with…

Argues there is reason for more optimism concerning the effects of reading to preschoolers than suggested by the Scarborough and Dobrich review in this issue (PS522390). Discusses methodological problems in many studies; cites studies indicating direct and indirect links between reading to preschoolers and reading achievement, suggesting that…

Comments on Scarborough and Dobrich review in this issue (PS522390), which found that parents' shared book reading with preschoolers accounts for only 8% of the variance on literacy outcome measures. Addresses the following three points: (1) the merits of further attention to shared book reading; (2) improvements in methodology; and (3) the…

Responds to commentaries (PS522392 and PS522391) on the Scarborough and Dobrich review on the efficacy of reading to preschool children in this issue (PS522390). Provides additional details regarding the computation of average effects and the comparison of effect sizes, and offers additional comments about the contribution of home literacy…

Discussed is the difference between reading fiction and reading science. The importance of reading orally and developing an awareness of text structure are discussed. A checklist and questions for analyzing the language structure of science textbooks are included. (KR)

Examines how reading ability relates to course performance in an introductory developmental psychology course. Compares personalized system of instruction (PSI) to contingency managed lecture (CML) sections. Shows previous academic performance best predicted final examination scores for CML students while reading comprehension best predicted PSI…

Discusses variables in the systematic decision-making process for selecting appropriate reading media for students with visual impairments. The article describes a two-phase process for selecting print or braille media. It examines an objective procedure for determining the relative effectiveness of print media, illustrating the procedure with…

Three experiments examined the effect of practice on the acquisition, retention, and generalization of children's skill in rapidly naming visually presented words. Found that, although poor readers did not become as fast as good readers in naming words, they made gains in the time required to access names from print. (PAM)

Using age norms in the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability-Revised assessments of reading ability can distort the diagnosis of reading difficulty, as evidenced in the assessment practices of the New South Wales (Australia) Department of Education. Grade-normative data (year-level norms) and abandoning the reporting of precise reading scores are…

S. Matthey shows that errors may be inherent in the misuse of age-normative data in assessing reading ability. However, Matthey ignores the policies and procedures of the New South Wales (Australia) Department of Education to guard against such misuse. (SLD)

Examines the reading attainment levels of a group of elementary students who had either experienced nursery, day care, or no preschool provision outside the home. Compares pupils' scores on reading tests over four years. Although the results were inconclusive they suggest positive reading attainment outcomes related to preschool experience. (MJP)

Explored the meanings six preservice elementary teachers constructed about their students with reading difficulties. Information from case studies indicated that each preservice teacher's stance on meaning, while idiosyncratically based on experience, was tied to pedagogy in two distinct ways (focusing on the important role of the supervising…

Describes roles libraries play in battling illiteracy, and the need for schools to adopt some of these practices. Uses as examples the efforts of one children's librarian. Discusses interaction in storytelling; obstacles students face in learning to read; picture books and visual storytelling; parental involvement; adult literacy programs; and the…