"What gets assessed is what gets taught" is a common assertion whose meaning is often underestimated. It is not just what gets assessed, but how it is assessed that has implications for what is learned. When a child who is asked the meaning of his report card grades responds, "If I knew that I'd be the teacher" he is saying something about the…

Theories about reading have neglected basic differences in the developmental trajectories of skills related to reading. This essay proposes that some reading skills, such as learning the letters of the alphabet, are constrained to small sets of knowledge that are mastered in relatively brief periods of development. In contrast, other skills, such…

Based on ecological theory, this study examined how four components of children's home and child-care literacy environments, and the connections between these environments, were associated with preschool-age children's literacy and language development. Interview and standardized assessment data were collected from 85 preschool-age children, their…

This is a compilation of reports on international literacy research. The report includes 4 separate reports on Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia. In the first report, research correspondent Marta Infante reports on two studies that reflect the growing interest of Chilean professionals in studying reading-related factors such as phonemic…

The authors examine why calls for use of informational text in classrooms have been increasing and discuss what is meant by informational text. They then examine issues related to book choice and purpose, focusing particularly on informational trade books on topics in natural sciences and in the social world. Recommended practices that…

In this article, the author presents a study which focused on some of the gaps in current knowledge about vocabulary acquisition from storybook reading. First, the study examined the effects of storybook reading on the vocabulary acquisition of 4- and 5-year-olds. Second, the study not only employed repeated readings of stories but also employed…

Scholars who are drawn to qualitative research methodologies represent a diverse group of disciplines and fields. They also represent themselves as researchers and the theoretical frameworks in which they work quite differently. Indeed, it was this diversity in representation that initially motivated us to propose a New Directions feature on…

The Carnegie Corporation of New York is associated with the very foundations of literacy going back to the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie himself and of the Corporation in its early years. Andrew Carnegie's legacy includes over 2,500 free public libraries that he saw as a link "bridging ignorance and education." In fact, Carnegie, the…

This article contains summaries of reports from international research correspondents (IRCs) as part of the continued effort to make the International Reports on Literacy Research, a regular feature of "Reading Research Quarterly," more representative of the field of literacy education. With an eye toward encouraging the IRCs to report…

In this article, the author describes some of the possible components needed to develop multilevel theory that support the scaling of reading interventions. Scaling can be defined in a number of ways: depth, sustainability, spread, and shift (see Coburn, 2003). The author treats "scaling" in this paper as it has been traditionally…

"What gets assessed is what gets taught" is a common assertion whose meaning is often underestimated. It is not just "what" gets assessed, but "how" it is assessed that has implications for what is learned. When a child who is asked the meaning of his report card grades responds, "If I knew that I'd be the…

This is a compilation of reports on international literacy research. The report includes 3 separate reports on France, United Kingdom and Brazil. In the first report, research correspondent Jacques Fijalkow presents research into variations of reading motivation related to students' socioeconomic status (SES), age, and gender. Three of these…

This study examined the effectiveness of a little book curriculum in facilitating the independent word-solving skills of first-grade readers. The curriculum was based on a theoretical model that identified two critical dimensions of text-based support for beginning readers: linguistic content and cognitive load. The 15-week little book…

This study investigated the effectiveness of combining enhanced classroom instruction and intense supplemental intervention for struggling readers in first grade. Further, it compared two supplemental interventions derived from distinct theoretical orientations, examining them in terms of effects on academic outcomes and whether children's…

This study examined the functions of Instant Messaging (IM) among seven youths who regularly used this digital technology in their daily lives. Grounded in theories of literacy as a social and semiotic practice, this research asked what functions IM served in participants' lives and how their social identities shaped and were shaped by this form…