In studies of educational achievement, students' self-reported number of books in the family home is a frequently used proxy for social, cultural, and economic background. Absent hard evidence about what this variable captures or how well, its use has been motivated by strong associations with student outcomes. I show that these associations rest…

Survey research in education is a popular quantitative research design and is used to determine opinions, attitudes, behavior, habits, and perceptions on a wide variety of topics. While many people are familiar with survey methods, it is often used in a 'quick and dirty' way to get information. This case aims to describe some of the challenges of…

Programs representing various instructional strategies have been designed and implemented in public schools to teach non-English speaking students. This study addressed the relative effectiveness of two strategies designed to enhance non-English speaking students' chances of academic success. The research problem was: Do language-based…

This article presents a critical analysis of empirical studies assessing literacy and other domains of academic achievement among children with cochlear implants. A variety of recent studies have demonstrated benefits to hearing, language, and speech from implants, leading to assumptions that early implantation and longer periods of implant should…

The present review examines research on the effects of technology use on reading achievement in K-12 classrooms. Unlike previous reviews, this review applies consistent inclusion standards to focus on studies that met high methodological standards. In addition, methodological and substantive features of the studies are investigated to examine the…

This randomized pretest/posttest group study examined the impact of explicit instruction in decoding, comprehension, and fluency on the reading achievement of incarcerated students from facilities in a southwestern (SW) state, a southeastern (SE) state, and a mid-Atlantic (MA) state. Comparisons were made between instruction comprised of higher…

Asserts that the inference that a "hump" in the statistical distribution of reading achievement data represents retardation is unwarranted. Contends that the use of any particular cutoff point to identify severe underachievement in reading is arbitrary, and thus that the issue of reading retardation prevalence is inseparable from its definition.…

In this same "Kappan" Issue, Walberg and Greenberg mistakenly allege that Success for All was developed for ulterior (financial) motives, is based on questionable research, and has had poor results. Literacy achievement has not risen for 70 years. Success for All is no panacea but is tackling this problem. (10 references) (MLH)

Research indicates that factors other than media patterns--including such variables as home environment, role models, and personality characteristics--appear to influence reading behavior. New, sophisticated theoretical models are needed, however, to examine the relationship between television and reading. (Author/GC)

When critiquing a 1992 IEA study of reading in 31 nations, Herbert Walberg unfairly panned U.S. reading instruction, considering that American 9-year-olds finished second and 14-year-olds tied for eighth place. Apparently, "progress" was down for high-scoring countries. Two UCLA researchers discovered that the Los Angeles student…

Critiques K. Kavale's meta-analysis, which reported reliable significant correlations between auditory-perceptual skills and reading achievement. Concludes that Kavale fails to provide evidence that teaching auditory-perceptual skills is useful to learning disabled children unless skills are functional reading skills. (Author/CL)

Noting that one reason for the discrepant results found in research on reading difficulties is the variety of approaches used to assess reading and spelling problems, this paper examines two of these approaches in terms of their implicit assumptions and inherent failings. The paper first discusses the etiological approach, which tries to identify…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE IF A HAWTHORNE EFFECT WERE PRESENT IN A 3-YEAR LONGITUDINAL STUDY WHICH COMPARED TWO METHODS OF TEACHING READING IN FIRST GRADE. THE INITIAL SUBJECTS WERE TWO TEACHERS AND FIVE FIRST-GRADE CLASSES OF RANDOMLY ASSIGNED STUDENTS WHO COMPOSED ONE EXPERIMENTAL, ONE CONTROL, AND THREE SUBCONTROL GROUPS.…

Prison inmates (n=71) were randomly assigned to an experimental group (computer-assisted and traditional instruction) or control group (traditional only). The study attempted to avoid flaws of similar research by using the same traditional instructors, same length of instruction, and posttest administration after 4 weeks. No differences in reading…

Noting the limitations of recent word recognition research, this paper suggests ways that these limitations might be overcome and then extends these suggestions into a framework for distinguishing between good and poor readers' ability to comprehend words. The paper begins by reviewing the major models of word recognition and discussing their…