Describes systematic assessment procedures as alternatives to standardized testing which yield more descriptive records of children's reading abilities. Notes that the assessment procedures are consistent with the contemporary understanding of reading which indicates that prior knowledge and the ability to use predictive skills greatly influence…

Shows that, at each grade level and overall in grades 1-6, poor readers are not seen by their peers or by themselves as personally and socially as "good" as are good readers. (SR)

Uses inconsistent expository and narrative passages presented one at a time. Finds that good readers were better able to verbally report on passage consistency following reading; students were more likely to look back at inconsistencies in narratives but not expository passages; and students were less able to recall expository passage information.…

Reviews research on lexical access (the process of getting information about a word from a mental dictionary). Discusses implications for comprehension development. Suggests that individual differences in comprehension depend on speed of lexical access as well as on speed of decoding. (SR)

Discusses a case study which suggests that educators should reexamine the way they presently teach reading and writing. Focuses on some of the educational/psychological contexts that influence the tacit reading/writing model of the subject. (MG)

Presents strategies teachers might use to assess and promote beginning readers' phonemic awareness, a factor shown to be strongly linked to the successful acquisition of reading ability. (MG)

Contains part of the Keefe Inventory of Silent Reading, a silent informal reading inventory. Presents a case study of a student to whom it was administered, including analysis of this individual's reading ability and description of the specific strategies used with this individual on the basis of the results of the inventory. (RS)

Describes using the language experience approach as a diagnostic tool with adults who want to learn to read. Offers a checklist. (SR)

Investigates the effects of purpose for reading and frequency of encounters with unknown words in written context on learning from context tasks performed by 119 sixth grade good and poor reading comprehenders. Finds no significant interactions, resulting at least partial support for Robert Sternberg's model of verbal comprehension. (MG)

Reviews recent theoretical advances in understanding orthographic codes and their relationship to phonological codes in reading acquisition. Discusses different ways in which orthographic skills have been conceptualized. Explores methodological issues in measuring orthographic skills. Stresses importance of multiple orthographic and oral language…

Investigates the basis of short-term memory deficits for children with reading disability and explores the origin of developmental verbal memory span increases. Finds a strong relationship between efficiency of phonological processes and capacity of verbal memory but no relationship between phonological processing and nonverbal memory. (RS)

Presents the educational rationale for differentiated reading programs for gifted students in reading. Describes gifted readers, delineates general features of differentiated programs, and presents specifically recommended models of reading programs for the gifted. (RS)

This study considered data from two longitudinal studies of students which included 154 students of varied reading abilities and 64 poor readers who had been evaluated from third through eighth grades. Single-word reading was strongly predicted from third-grade rapid naming only with poor readers, even when other relevant factors were controlled.…

The Rapid Automatized Naming Test was studied cross sectionally in a sample of kindergartners (n=342) at risk for reading disability and longitudinally in an epidemiologically normal sample of children (n=160). Findings indicate the absolute color/object naming speed was strongly related to reading level and vocabulary across grades. (Author/CR)

Gives background information on the journal's mini-series on reading assessment and intervention. States that over the past decade cognitive psychologists have learned that reading disabilities are primarily language-related disorders and neuropsychologists have advanced ideas on reading process. The mini-series seeks positive and significant…