For more than twenty years the benefits of extensive reading have been proclaimed to the ELT community, but the inclusion of extensive reading in ELT programmes is far from universal. Extensive reading appears to be particularly absent in higher educational and English for Academic Purposes settings. This paper reports on the implementation of an…

Research has identified certain comprehension strategies that seem to work in an optimal manner to increase the reading comprehension of K-12 students. However, little evidence exists about whether teachers use identified, research-based strategies when teaching. In view of the critical nature of literacy achievement for diverse populations and…

The America Reads Project is a program that trains San Francisco State University (SFSU) undergraduates to serve as tutors in local elementary schools. This paper focuses on the findings from the 3rd year of the project (1999-2000). For the 3rd year, 55 undergraduates were trained in a 3-unit course. Eleven elementary schools participated in…

In an effort to obtain an accurate account of the evaluation processes used by learning assistance programs, a questionnaire was distributed to 231 institutions in the United States requesting information of the following types: type of program, population served, funding sources, evaluation rationale and methodology, information gained and…

Discusses research related to the relationship between interest in reading materials and reading achievement. (FL)

The paper trail leading to reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, scheduled for 2007, is already clogged and will keep getting more so. One needs to select sets of recommendations carefully to avoid being awash in conflicting or redundant ideas. In this article, the author presents a critique, that calls for a major shift in…

The primary purpose for reading is to derive the meaning of an author's message, which has been transmitted through print, as it relates to the reader's personal need to go from a point of lesser to greater information. Within the college reading improvement program, the many purposes surrounding reading should intersect to form the basis for…

A questionnaire was mailed to 341 colleges and universities granting graduate degrees in reading to obtain information about the function and operation of their reading clinics. The concerns addressed include the function of the clinic, the type of clients served, the type of staff employed, the kinds of services offered, and the kind of funding…

This study evaluated the reading component of a compensatory education program designed to aid college students whose skills are not sufficient to meet the demands of required English and other courses in the basic studies curriculum. The reading course is required for students who score below 550 on the SAT verbal subtest and who score poorly on…

Concludes that greater attention must be paid to program evaluation, differential treatment models must be identified that address sequence of treatment within a semester and across several semesters, and reading research must be reconceptualized along the lines of retention research if college reading instruction is to be effective. (FL)

Simple Bayesian approaches can be applied to answer specific questions in evaluating an individualized reading program. A small reading and study skills program located in the counseling center of a major research university collected and compiled data on student characteristics such as class, number of sessions attended, grade point average, and…

This paper presents a review of the literature that identifies the salient issues, trends, questions, and programs which bear upon the growth, development, and future professionalism of college reading improvement programs (CRIPS). The paper reviews the four broad areas of: (1) administrative concerns (including organizational structure,…

After research between 1960 and 1977 relating to college reading program effectiveness was identified, a statistical procedure called Meta-Analysis was used to integrate findings and determine any composite benefit of instruction. Of 676 references on the initial list, 66 studies were identified as having quantifiable data within the limits of the…

Describes an evaluation model used to assess the effectiveness of a reading and study skills program at Washington State University, then suggests how it can be used in other reading and study skills centers.(FL)

Orton-Gillingham (OG) and Orton-Gillingham-based reading instructional programs are commonly implemented reading programs in the United States. Twelve studies that employed quasi-experimental or experimental designs are reviewed. These studies included elementary students, adolescents, and college students. Of the 12 studies, 5 reported that the…