The James Irvine Foundation launched the Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning (CORAL) initiative in 1999 with the goal of improving the academic achievement of children in the lowest-performing schools in five California cities. In 2004, CORAL adopted a more targeted approach toward reaching this goal by integrating a regular…

This report provides an analysis of the participation and performance of students with limited English proficiency (LEP) in the 1996, 1997, and 1998 Basic Standards of Reading and Math tests given to all 8th grade students in Minnesota annually. There is very limited availability of data on the performance of LEP students on these tests because…

This article reports a six-month study that used a matched-pairs pre-test, post-test control group design to measure the relative effectiveness of extensive reading with remedial reading students in a Philippines secondary school (n = 60). Ninety percent of students at the school come from low-income homes where reading materials tend to be…

States are engaged in serious efforts to raise student achievement, paying particular attention to narrowing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing students that has persisted in public schools for decades. The achievement gap is particularly troubling because, all too often, those at low achievement levels are minority, special…

This report summarizes some AISD activities to support reading and mathematics instruction in grades K-5 for the 2004-2005 school year.

Despite a body of evidence that curriculum-based measurement of reading (R-CBM) is a valid measure of general reading achievement, some school-based professionals remain unconvinced. At the core of their argument is their experience with word callers, students who purportedly can read fluently, but do not understand what they read. No studies have…

By exploring the kindergarten program found in two public elementary schools in a middle-class neighborhood in central Alabama, a study examined age at school entry as a critical factor in achievement in Alabama kindergartens. The sample consisted of 100 kindergarten students (53 boys/47 girls; 96 white/4 black)--77 were 63 months or older, and 23…

The following criticism of current practices for determining reading readiness are discussed: (1) the variables measured by readiness tests are in many cases unrelated to instruction, (2) while the variables measured are correlated with reading achievement, this association does not attribute causality, and (3) the criterion selected for measuring…

The purpose of this study was: (1) to determine to what extent teacher rankings of reading readiness compare with reading readiness test results, (2) to determine to what extent teacher rankings of reading readiness compare with pupil socioeconomic status, and (3) to determine to what extent readiness test results compare with pupil socioeconomic…

This study investigated (1) the difference, if any, between the achievement in reading readiness of younger kindergarten children (4 years 9 months to 5 years 1 month upon school entrance) and older children (5 years 5 months to 5 years 8 months at entrance), (2) whether kindergarten positively affects the reading readiness achievement of children…

Findings concerning the relationship of perceptual-motor and oral-language organization to later reading achievement are discussed in relation to a predictive battery of 15 tests. It was concluded that the predictive efficacy of the tests depends on the degree to which they measure integrative ability rather than on the specific skills measured.…

In this study, mothers predicted their preschoolers' prereading skills beyond chance expectation. (MKM)

Evaluates the effectiveness of reading readiness tests in predicting readiness for reading instruction and in diagnosing deficiencies of prerequisite skills for reading; reports the results of a survey on the use of reading readiness tests in 15 school districts. (GW)

Results from reading tests and demographic variables indicated that knowledge about books and print conventions is strongly related to reading achievement, and is predictive of comprehension involving the inferential linking of two pieces of information separated in the text. Students in a subskills-emphasis program outperformed those in a…

The Minnesota Child Development Inventory was used to obtain parent observations on 59 children before the start of the kindergarten year. Results indicated that the parent report on a number of variables from the MCDI correlated highly with postkindergarten success in reading. (Author)