Recent research shows that reading comprehension relies heavily on prior knowledge. Far more than generic "reading skills" like drawing inferences, making predictions, and knowing the function of subheads, how well students learn from a nonfiction text depends on their background knowledge of the text's subject matter. And in a cyclical…

Reading problems are one of the most frequent reasons students are referred for special education services and the disparity between students with reading difficulties and those who read successfully appears to be increasing. As a result, there is now an emphasis on early intervention programs such as RTI. In many cases, early intervention in…

Our aim in this paper was to provide an analysis of goal orientation parameters with respect to reading comprehension strategy use for students with and without reading difficulties (RD). Non-RD students appeared to be more mastery oriented and less performance avoidant compared to RD ones. Also, non-RD students used, more, deeper, more…

This paper offers a detailed discussion of materials developed for the Chicago Mastery Learning Reading with Learning Strategies (CMLR/LS) program, an upper elementary program in which appropriate learning strategy instructions are embedded within the text for each assigned task. Its purpose is to provide researchers and educators with a…

This article describes a strategic approach for reading and comprehending scientific information from a middle school science textbook. First, the word-reading skills of children with and without reading difficulties are compared. Second, studies investigating the effectiveness of a syllable-based reading approach on the word-reading skills of…

A city-wide elementary school reading program that emphasizes mastery learning and continuous progress in Chicago, Continuous Progress--Mastery Learning, is blamed for the declining reading test scores of high school students there. The program's origins and evolution are described along with a new program, Chicago Mastery Learning Reading, which…

Previous studies of unusually effective urban schools have focused on school characteristics considered influential in the schools' success, but few provide specific guidance for improving achievement in other schools. This study sought to describe organizational processes and arrangements within elementary schools implementing the Chicago Mastery…

This guide provides a description of a mastery learning reading program based on a language approach to teaching reading. All suggested activities stress the use of skills to obtain meaning from reading as the main goal of instruction. Sections include a discussion of the elements of this mastery learning instructional program that notes the need…

A Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) program for nontraditional adult learners was developed, implemented, and evaluated for the purpose of making recommendations as to the need for and nature of further related research. Proposed program settings were two classes of adult basic education students and one of prison inmates. A case study…

A Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) program for nontraditional adult learners was developed, implemented, and evaluated. The study objective was to determine if further investigation of use of PSI was worthwhile. From a review of literature and practice of PSI and adult learning, conclusions were drawn regarding major factors to consider…