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This program, included in "Effective Reading Programs...," serves 1900 adults of all ages and several ethnic groups and nationalities. The students come from a large inner-city area and have educational levels below high school. The program was begun in 1965. An adult who wishes to enter the program first has an interview with one of the reading counselors, who attempts to identify the person's reason for coming to the program and to translate it into a specific educational goal. Counselors continue to give educational and vocational guidance throughout a student's participation in the program. After the initial counseling, the student meets with the instructor, who starts a folder in which all of the student's work is recorded. The student can then begin to work independently whenever he or she comes to the center, and the instructor can give help when needed. Those who read at a fourth-grade level or lower, work in small groups or individually with more teacher supervision. Instruction takes place in a "learning lab" setting, and a range of materials is available, from reading pacers for the more advanced students to language masters and primer-level books for beginning readers. (RB/AIR)

This program, included in "Effective Reading Programs...," serves 1500 children from five elementary schools. Almost 100 percent of the children are black and come from an inner-city community in which family income is low, with 50 percent of the school children from welfare families. Children selected for this program show a deficit in reading achievement equivalent to one and one-half years or more. The program began in 1971 and focuses on strengthening reading, vocabulary, and communication skills through the addition of nontraditional settings for instruction and the extension of the school year through July. Organized into six segments, each six-week segment includes four weeks of traditional classroom instruction, one week of special instruction at one of several community cultural institutions, and one week of vacation. Integrated into the regular classroom curriculum is time for the children to write about their experiences at the cultural institutions. The students are encouraged to use their new vocabulary in diary entries, and to learn to read by augmenting reading lessons with writing. In addition to planning activities, teachers schedule parent conferences and tutor students during the one-week vacation periods. (RB/AIR)

The purposes of this research project are (1) to test a theory which purports to identify the predictive antecedents (i.e., precursors) of developmental dyslexia (specific reading disability) several years before the disorder is clinically evident, and (2) to evaluate the mechanism which is postulated to underlie and influence later developmental changes in this disorder. The study focused on the predictive accuracy of a developmental-neuropsychological test battery which was given to a total population of white boys during kindergarten (1970) in order to forecast their reading achievement in subsequent years. The predictive accuracy of the test battery was determined by assessing reading in this population at the end of grades one, two, and three. The results revealed that performance on these tests during kindergarten was extremely predictive of the child's reading group membership in later grades, particularly with those children destined to become severely disabled or superior readers. These findings lend substantial support to the validity and utility of an early detection or warning system that could be administered economically before the child begins formal reading and at a time when he is less subject to the effects of academic failure. (RB)

The basic purpose of this project was to improve the reading achievement of educationally disadvantaged students, but improvement was also anticipated in the areas of self-reliance, feelings of self-worth, attitudes toward reading, and attendance. The 142 subjects (56 second graders, 50 third graders, and 36 fourth graders) attended one of the Reading Resource Centers for one hour each day in groups of ten or less. The central core of the program consisted of Educational Developmental Laboratories materials, "Listen, Look, and Learn," while additional use was made of the controlled reader, the look and write program, Tach-x recognition training, the aud-x for word and skills introduction, and individual and small group reading. Evaluative data showed that the centers (1) were successful in improving reading grade level achievement; (2) needed to place more emphasis on word meaning, paragraph meaning, and word study skills; (3) did not contribute to increased feelings of personal worth and self-reliance; (4) contributed to improved student attitudes toward reading; and (5) contributed only slightly to improved attendance patterns. Included are test results and other materials related to the project. (JM)

The purpose of this study was to provide descriptive information about the Pinellas County (Florida) Reading System (PCRS) as adapted by individual schools for selected pupils in the seventh and eighth grades. The results of this study indicate that low achieving pupils have made fluctuating but significant gains beyond normal expectations in reading in the various PCRS programs. The results justify the tentative conclusion that at least some of the gains above expectations reflect the System's impact. A definitive conclusion must be deferred until a more highly controlled study is conducted. (The data in this study are described in narrative and table form, and the mean reading scores from each of the schools in this study are included.) (RB)

To individualize instruction in reading, a teacher needs diagnoses of each child's strengths and weaknesses. However, obtaining this information using traditional diagnostic tools is particularly difficult and time consuming because of the variety and complexity of the skills involved. This paper proposes the use of PLATO, a computer-aided instruction system, for the rapid diagnosis of reading skills. A study was conducted to compare the performance of children taking a reading comprehension test on PLATO to that of children taking the same test with paper and pencil. Fourteen fifth graders and 22 sixth graders from a medium-sized parochial school in Madison, Wisconsin, participated in the study. The results showed that with proper response procedures children performed comparably in the two testing situations. This paper contains the details of the study and includes a brief outline of future plans to develop a total on-line diagnostic system. (Author/RB)

This preliminary report describes an ongoing investigation begun in September 1970 of how Anglophone children with language-learning disabilities fare in French immersion programs. Their progress has been followed from Kindergarten to Grade 3, with positive preliminary results. The children have learned to read in both English and French; their school achievement is adequate; and they can understand as well as communicate in their second language with some facility. Furthermore, their first language acquisition does not appear to have been retarded by this educational experience. This report is considered preliminary due to the small number of children studied. But it is hoped that in several years the size of the experimental group will have increased enough to warrant drawing more general conclusions than is presently possible. (Author/AM)

Examined with 297 primary grade children were the effects on reading ability of matching a child's learning style with a compatible teaching method. After Ss' auditory or visual modality preference had been determined they were randomly assigned to classes so that 1/3 of each class showed an auditory preference, 1/3 showed a visual preference, and 1/3 had no preference or showed balanced development. Classes were instructed using either an auditory approach, a visual approach, or a balanced approach. The Ginn 360 reading series was adapted for either a visual or auditory emphasis, and teachers attended an 8-week summer inservice training session. Results for grade 1 indicated that children who showed an auditory preference achieved significantly higher when auditory decoding techniques were used and children with a visual preference achieved significantly higher when visual techniques were used. The hypothesis could not be validated for the 2nd and 3rd grades due to attrition of Ss though it was noted that all Ss receiving the visual training achieved higher than expected reading scores. (DB)

The purposes of this study were to determine the relationship between item readability and item difficulty in a standardized mathematics achievement test, and to determine if students could raise their mathematics achievement scores if they were given aid in reading items that presented them with reading difficulty. Two hundred third and fourth grade students from metropolitan Denver were selected for the study. It was concluded that the ability to read test items on a mathematics achievement test is a factor in the overall score, and that systematic instruction in some vocabulary words prior to the administration of a test could improve students' scores. The implications of the study are also examined. (RB)

A number of studies have been done on the relation between reading disability and complications of pregnancy and birth. The procedures and results of major studies are critically reviewed in this document, with attention given to issues of research design, test use, and statistical methods. Although none of the studies reviewed is free of methodological problems, the weight of the evidence supports the hypothesis that perinatal problems, especially low birth weight, are related to reading disability. Neonatal neurological damage is suggested as the major independent variable for investigators to pursue in the future. Included are an annotated list of references, an extensive table charting the findings of the major studies discussed in the document, and an appendix listing the reading and intelligence tests used in the major studies. (Author/JM)

The purpose of this study was to frame the outlines of an interpersonal theory derived from exploratory research among adolescent reading failures. The theory postulates that adolescent reading failure syndrome results from and is maintained by conscious elements of choice manifested in the adolescent's perception preferences. The affective readiness for failure in reading tasks is, therefore, a deeply seated psychological generator of the reading failure disturbance showing extreme resistance to modification through traditional remedial reading school practices, but worthy of as vigorous an exploration as has been undertaken into the more familiar cognitive parameters of successful reading performance. The subjects, 180 seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth grade Black male students, were evaluated through personal interviews, questionnaires, and observation over an 80-week period by the researcher. Results indicate that adolescent reading failure is accompanied by perception preferences for retreat into one of three views of the world depending upon the interpersonal and intrapersonal pressures of the moment. Such preferences are characterized by: (1) unsocialized aggression, reflecting overt and covert hostile disobedience, quarrelsomeness, physical and verbal aggressiveness, vengefulness, and destructiveness; (2) social approval anxiety, reflecting continuous anxiety, unrealistic fears, immaturity, self-consciousness, inhibition and frustration; or (3) unsocialized withdrawal, reflecting seclusiveness, detachment, sensitivity, shyness, and a flagging desire to form close personal relationships. (Author/HMV)

Two studies were conducted during 1973-1974 on a number of comic book styles as viewed by children classified as good, poor, and functionally illiterate readers. Subjects were exposed to a wide range of formats and reading difficulty in comic book slides, and their eye movement was observed and recorded. Results showed that good readers systematically attacked each frame regardless of format or content; however, poor readers displayed irratic eye movement and were quickly discouraged by large blocks of print. A number of possible improvements have been suggested to make comic book print more appealing to poor readers, and these suggestions will be implemented and evaluated in a future research study. (EMH)

"The Electric Company" was created by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) as an experiment in using television to teach reading skills to children in grades 2-4 who were having difficulty learning to read in school. With more than 500 shows completed and four seasons behind it, the series continues to be an experiment. The methods of presenting the curricula via television are still being tested, altered and refined to build on the show's experience and to attain optimum effect. There has been a gradual shifting in emphasis from a show to be viewed at home to one to be used in a classroom. The series was initially conceived as primarily an after-school program, but research during the first season of 1971-72 made it clear that the series had dramatically found its way into schools and was being incorporated into the classroom routine. (JY)

The second-year evaluation of the Electric Company children's television series used reading tests to assess the skills and concepts addressed on the show. Tests were given in October and May, and teacher questionnaires were administered three times during the second year. Classroom atmosphere during the viewing time was observed as well. The positive impact of the Electric Company on reading skills and student attitudes was as favorable in the second year as in the first, though the size of the impact in the second year was less. One year's viewing seemed to provide the major benefits for students. No particular teacher attitudes or behaviors were consistently found to have a relationship with student reading skill gains as measured by this evaluation. A summary of the first-year evaluation is appended. (CH)

This investigation describes a field test of the materials entitled "Reading: An Educational Approach to Disability" (READ), which were developed to aid disabled readers in the beginning stages of learning to decode English print. The subjects were 15 Title I reading teachers working in small groups with 183 second-grade children. The questions of interest were whether the READ materials, more effectively than games of traditional phonics, could teach students to decode short vowel trigrams and increase students' word recognition and reading comprehension skills. Results suggest that both the READ and the games programs were more effective than traditional phonics in developing students' ability to decode the meanings of written sentences and that the READ materials were more effective in developing the ability to decode unknown words in isolation for children in the lowest achievement subgroup. Revisions in the program prior to dissemination, followed by repeated validation study, are recommended. Tables illustrating the text are included. (Author/JM)

A study was conducted to determine competencies which teacher trainees should master. The following five competencies were hypothesized as important influences on learning disabled (LD) students' learning of word-attack skills: stating behavioral objectives, matching instruction to objectives, teaching rather than dispensing instruction, positive verbal reinforcing, and overlearning--extended practice on a newly introduced skill. Ten supervising teachers in ten elementary classrooms and 31 student teachers engaged in a year-long study comparing three methods of teaching reading to LD students. A total of 194 observations were made in these classrooms, with one supervisor and as many as five student teachers involved in each class. Measurement and analysis of LD student reading achievement showed that all five competencies were present in the classrooms providing the most effective instruction and that the following three competencies were frequently absent in the least effective classrooms: matching instruction to objectives, positive reinforcing, and overlearning. (JM)

Literature related to behavior modification is surveyed to draw implications for the diagnosis and treatment of reading deficits and for the inservice and preservice training of reading teachers. A 39-item bibliography is included. (AA)

This paper presents data on a follow-up study of a project in the 1960's: a classroom assessment and intervention program directed at mental health for all the first grade classrooms of Woodlawn, a black poor community on Chicago's south side. Now, ten years later, the mental health of these adolescents as well as the mental health, structure, and process of the family are being studied. The general research objective is to learn what early and concurrent factors predict good versus poor functioning at adolescence. The study reported here focuses primarily on the "How I Feel" instrument constructed to measure self-reported psychological well-being in adolescence. To circumvent the generally poor reading skills of the population, the test items are presented on a tape accompanied by a single answer booklet in which answers are reported. The tapes were produced by a black actor. Items were developed for the usual clinical components of psychopathology: anxiety, depression, anger and aggression, bizarre-peculiar-paranoia, obsessions, and compulsions, fears and phobias, mania and grandiosity, plus a global psychopathology construct. Results of the various statistical analyses and reliability and validity data are included. The results show great potential for affective measurement in school settings. (RC)

This paper critically reviews selected studies in the area of reading comprehension, in order to characterize the differential patterns that skilled and unskilled comprehenders employ. The research reviewed is organized into three broad components: (1) decoding, (2) accessing the meaning of single printed words, and (3) text organization processes, or obtaining meaning from larger stretches of text. Results from various studies suggest that good and poor comprehenders differ primarily in the first and third components. Speculations are offered on the interrelationships between these components and their effect on reading comprehension processes. (Author)

School characteristics associated with reading achievement and characteristics of low achievers in reading are examined in separate articles in this report. The first article begins with a review of the literature on school effects, arguing that there are school variables that show consistent associations with achievement, when the structure and function of the school system (rather than simple input/output measures) are considered. Studies of successful reading programs are examined in order to isolate common characteristics. Finally, the literature on educational innovation is extensively reviewed. The second article focuses on research findings distinguishing between good readers and poor readers, in terms of cognitive abilities and other skills related to reading. (AA)

The manual is designed to provide guidelines for developing basic educational components in manpower programs for youth from poverty backgrounds who dropped out of school before graduating from high school and whose educational deficiencies reduce their employability or their ability to profit from training programs. It discusses relevant theoretical principles, reviews the significant approaches to the problem, and outlines the elements of an education component for manpower programs which reflects the current state of the art. Chapters cover the following topics: goals of an education component, the reading process, reading problems, proposed remedial strategies, the mathematics unit, the advanced general education unit, principles and application, diagnosing and testing, and program design. Three brief appendixes provide background information; a list of supplementary materials related to reading, language skill, and mathematics; and a bibliography. (Author/JR)

A formulated definition of the term dyslexia is proposed in this paper in order to clarify the semantical confusion which exists among both specialists and the general public. Dyslexia is explained as a generic term for severe and puzzling reading disability, found to be both acute (where reading-age lags 25 percent or more below mental age) and chronic (resistant to treatment). Qualifiers are suggested to more precisely define the term. Specific dyslexia should be used where the intention is to indicate that there is no evidence of complications. Compund dyslexia will have primary (bearing on the origins of the problem) or secondary (resulting from the condition) complicating conditions. Etiological qualifiers should be congenital, suggesting genetic origins; psychoneurotic, suggesting origins in emotional reactions or distress; and constitutional, suggesting a disability arising from minimal brain damage, chemical imbalance, or constitutional trauma. A hierarchy of terms to describe lack of reading ability is as follows: sub-optimal, disabled, severely disabled, dyslexic, and alexic--a virtual nonreader. A distinction is made between dyslexia and illiteracy. The questionnaire sent to a number of professional educators asking their judgment on the definition of dyslexia is included. (MKM)