Reviews representative instructional studies of inference training, reciprocal teaching, and process training. Discusses both the concept of explicit comprehension instruction and potential difficulties in classroom implementation. Raises two important curricular concerns. (NH)

Principles that should guide reading comprehension assessment include acknowledging the complexity of reading, focusing on orchestrating rather than isolating skills, regarding reading as a dynamic process, developing techniques that encourage student-teacher interactions, and using a variety of reading comprehension measures. The principles are…

Sixth graders at three reading ability levels were trained in the three types of question answer relationships: text explicit, text implicit, and script implicit. Repeated measures multivariate analyses of variance on two passages indicated that the training enhanced students' understanding of task demands of questions and their answer quality.…

This paper first provides a summary and overview of what is already known and what is needed to learn about item types for future assessments by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). In essence, the question addressed is whether constructed response items provide more information about what students are capable of doing than that…

This work investigates the relationship between the programmatic and classroom instructional factors of schools and students' reading and writing achievement in 14 high-poverty schools. The study finds that schools which rated higher on a scale of collaborative leadership showed greater student growth in reading fluency and writing. Classroom…

The purpose of this essay is to explore both what is known and what needs to be learned about the information value of performance items "when they are used in large scale assessments." Within the context of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), there is substantial motivation for answering these questions. Over the…

The existing literature on reading comprehension instruction is organized and reviewed. The authors question whether explicit training to improve comprehension or monitoring strategies should be offered, since these behaviors improve with maturity and experience and in the absence of any apparent training, but conclude that it is possible that…

Views both reading and writing as acts of composing and presents planning, drafting, aligning, revising, and monitoring as components of the composing model of reading. (JL)

In the bottom-up model of the reading process, the reader's first task is to decode the symbols into sound representations. By contrast, the top-down model assumes that the reader begins by guessing about the meaning of some unit of print. Each model suggests different instructional practices. (Author/SJL)

Three models were constructed to predict pronunciation responses: final consonant, type-token, and invariant principal response. Six synthetic words were constructed according to contextual and word-position constraints. The final consonant model was superior. (Author/CP)

Describes problems resulting from certain uses of research in practical situations that indicate that reading educators should be cautious about how they use the findings of research in teaching. (MKM)

Notes that studies of reading comprehension have increased and discusses some possible reasons for the changing research emphasis. (MKM)

A successful reading instruction program requires ample time for actual text reading; teacher-directed comprehension strategy instruction; opportunities for peer and collaborative learning; and time for discussing what has been read. To develop independent, motivated, lifelong readers, a substantial part of children's reading instructional time…

Discusses policy and assessment tools needed to support literacy instruction in the future, identifying changes in literacy education policy that moved from teacher-centered professional judgments to legislative curricular mandates in the 1980s. Examines this country's policy, reading, and assessment heritage and discusses future policy and…

Describes theoretical and practical problems facing the field of early reading, examining: readers and texts (reader processes, text difficulty, linguistic and cultural knowledge, and unique learners); home and school (home-school match, communities and reading, preschools as contexts for reading acquisition, and best practices); and policy and…