The report of a survey of testing practices in the school systems of the state of Connecticut is presented. Completed at the end of the 1973-74 school year, the survey constituted the second phase of a planned series of inquiries into evaluation programs and procedures at the local level. The general purpose of the investigations is to provide…

Early success in reading is predicated on a child's ability to accurately and effectively master core literacy constructs (e.g., phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, concept of word, and grapheme-phoneme correspondence) and to exercise these understandings in a comfortable sociocultural context. In recent years, educators, legislators, and…

It has been acknowledged that children from poverty begin school missing many of the prerequisites for school success. The 1963 US initiative, Head Start, is the major federal program aimed at providing children in poverty the experiences necessary to start school on an equal footing with their same-age peers. This article uses data from the Early…

Intended as a guide to help parents of children from birth to age 5 teach their children the skills needed to make kindergarten a experience, this book consists of an introduction and seven chapters on various aspects of preparing young children for kindergarten. Checklists for parents are included in each chapter. The Introduction discusses what…

This theme issue includes four articles that focus on teaching and learning strategies to benefit all students, including limited-English-proficient, minority, economically disadvantaged, and at-risk students. "Would You Read Me a Story?: In Search of Reading Strategies That Work for the Early Childhood Classroom" (Hilaria Bauer)…

A close relationship exists between children's capacity for learning in school (especially learning to read) and the amount and kind of reading aloud done by parents and teachers to children. Children's literature, especially the illustrations and the language contained in fine picture books, has the potential to provide six benefits that…

The purpose of this curriculum guide is to assist Training Specialists in teaching Adult Basic Education/General Educational Development (ABE/GED) students basic skills in language arts and mathematics. The guide begins with an introduction (purpose, overview, adult learner characteristics, teacher type), curriculum policies, curriculum structure,…

The catalog was developed to provide information about more than 200 recommended learning games and toys for all children, especially those with learning problems or physical handicaps. The materials listed provide educational experiences through game formats and help to develop gross and fine motor skills, math and reading readiness skills,…

Focusing on the right to read, the articles in this volume were drawn from the twentieth annual meeting of the National Reading Conference held in 1970. Among the topics discussed in the 50 articles are the following: oral associates as predictors of verbal ability, reading readiness, the reading process, reading diagnosis, adult reading programs,…

A research project investigated the effectiveness of the use of a tape recorder and taped lessons with accompanying worksheets for independent work activities in the 1st grade. An experimental group heard lessons on reading readiness, auditory perception, phonics, and reading skills, in addition to having regular instruction from the teacher. The…

When a child takes a standardized test measuring ability or achievement, the results of that test may well determine the kind of education he is going to get. When school personnel select certain tests, administer them, and assign students to groups according to their scores on these tests, are they doing it in such a way that the end results are…

The purpose of this research study was to build and pilot a psychometric instrument, the Primary Childhood School Success Scale (PCSSS), to identify behaviors needed for children to be successful in first grade. Fifty-two teacher responses were collected. The instrument had a reliability coefficient (Alpha) of 0.95, a mean of 13.26, and a variance…

This information packet contains nine articles that outline current trends in kindergarten retention/exclusion and their negative impact on student outcomes, particularly for high risk students. The 1980s saw increasing numbers of children required to repeat kindergarten, attend a transitional grade before first grade, or wait an extra year before…

A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of predictable stories given to children from low-income families over a two-year period. Phase one subjects were all the children (N=52) from four Headstart classes; phase two subjects were all the children who had participated in phase 1 and who entered kindergarten after their last year in Headstart.…

Focusing on reinforcing students' reading skills at home, this pamphlet emphasizes that parents should read aloud to children, talk to them about their experiences, take them places, limit their television-watching, and take an interest in their reading progress. Children's success and interest in reading is said to depend largely on whether they…