Reports on a study of the curriculum in six paired elementary schools in Los Angeles. Concludes that, if a school has low scores on inferential, interpretive reading, the cure is probably not to give students more of the basics but to develop their vocabularies and general knowledge by providing broad instruction in the content areas. (FL)

Reveals that the Rauding Scale of Prose Difficulty provides results closer to Spache and Dale-Chall values than does the Singer Eyeball Estimate of Readability (SEER) technique. (FL)

Describes the Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation, which provides teachers with a tool for assessing children's phonemic awareness and identifying children who may experience difficulty in reading and spelling. Offers evidence of its reliability and validity, and discusses its use. (SR)

Reports on the work of three nominees for the 1992 Andersen medal, awarded to recognize a body of work that has made a lasting contribution to children's literature. Discusses the work of Finnish author Hannu Makela; Argentinian writer, poet, and singer Maria Elena Walsh; and the Iranian author Hooshang Moradi Kermani. (RS)