Although literacy achievement has improved in Chile, adolescents' underperformance in reading comprehension is still a serious concern. In English, core academic-language skills (CALS) have been found to significantly predict reading comprehension, even controlling for academic vocabulary knowledge. CALS are high-utility language skills that…

Discusses the progress in accurate measurement of reading, the major challenges for reading researchers in developing better measures in reading, and significant developments in the near future. (RS)

Research indicates that a special version of the cloze procedure is a reliable test of reading comprehension. (RB)

Concludes that the Estes Scale is an effective instrument for measuring levels of positive attitude toward books and reading. (RB)

This study, involving 131 students in grades ten, eleven, and twelve, investigated the effects of order of administration of subtests on scores from the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. Results indicated that order of administration had no significant effect on scores from the vocabulary subtest or on the total test score, but subjects taking the…

Describes a study designed to determine whether one-minute or two-minute tests of reading rates are more reliable and whether warm-up exercises improve the accuracy of rate measures. Indicates that results were inconsistent with theoretical expectations and past research and suggests that no changes in standardized testing practices are currently…

Reports preliminary findings of a study (in progress) on the statistical and content validity of eight reading achievement tests. (JM)

Confirms previous findings that the word recognition criterion for instructional reading level should be set at about 95 percent for students reading at grade levels one through six. (FL)

Concludes that the Cloze Reading Inventory and its coding form can be reliably employed by a variety of teachers for a variety of grade levels and passages. (FL)

Suggests that the popular and simple readability formulas may not be accurate enough to predict the instructional materials best suited to the reading abilities of secondary school students. (FL)

Discusses characteristics reading passages must have if they are to be used for main idea assessment. Analyzes each grade one to grade six passage on the Analytical Reading Inventory, Basic Reading Inventory, and Informal Reading Inventory, assessing suitability for use in main idea assessment. Finds many passages are unsuitable. (MM)

A STUDY DESCRIBED AS THE FIRST APPLICATION OF CROSS-VALIDATED UNIQUENESS ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES WAS DESIGNED TO ELIMINATE THE EFFECTS OF IMPERFECTIONS IN A PRIOR FACTOR-ANALYTIC STUDY OF READING COMPREHENSION WHICH USED TESTS ESPECIALLY CONSTRUCTED TO MEASURE MENTAL SKILLS IN READING. A UNIQUENESS ANALYSIS BASED ON LARGE SAMPLES WAS USED TO OBTAIN…