Focusing on research about children's acquisition of reading and spelling skills, this paper discusses the larger picture of reading acquisition, issues addressed by research, and results of this research. The paper cites numerous studies on the subject, including studies on whether environmental print experiences enable young children to process…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 6 titles discuss the following topics: (1) the effects of comparison/contrast writing instruction on the reading comprehension of tenth-grade students; (2) an exploration of the role of language awareness in high school students'…

In this report, basic skills areas for three grade levels are covered, along with average grade equivalent scores on the California Achievement Tests for the 1981-1982 school year. Included are reading comprehension, language, and mathematics scores for grades 3, 5, and 8. The major findings from analyses of the statewide results indicate that…

In this report, basic skills areas for three grade levels are covered, along with average grade equivalent scores on the California Achievement Tests for the 1982-83 school year. Included are reading comprehension, language, and mathematics scores for grades 3, 5, and 8. The major findings from analyses of the statewide result indicate that the…

The first part of this document presents the results of a survey of early entrance testing procedures in 25 Florida districts and details teacher ratings of 486 first-grade and 154 kindergarten students whose entrance test results had permitted them to enter kindergarten a year earlier than other students with birthdays between October and…

A study of the role of classroom lessons in the acquisition of English as a second language by Spanish speakers that compared language acquisition at school and during the summer months is reported. An introductory chapter outlines fundamental assumptions about the loci and intentionality of second-language learning, and the second chapter…

Intended for teachers and students, this document presents updated information about the design, the sections, and the scoring of the Grade 12 diploma examinations in English 30 and 33 for the 1985-86 school year in Alberta, Canada. It contains blueprints illustrating the relationship between the content and scoring of writing and reading test…

The Professional and Administrative Career Examination measures judgment ability using comprehension and logical order of events item types. Since the verbal component of comprehension items is high, and since these items are extremely difficult to write and document, a search was conducted for a simpler item type for assessing judgment. Three…

A research project was designed to determine whether eleventh and twelfth grade students of carpentry possess the reading skills necessary to comprehend instructional materials used in the field and classroom. A sample population of ninety-two students from twenty-seven school districts was selected for testing from three facilities. Three hundred…

The effectiveness of "preferred interest" materials in adult reading classes was tested by comparing pretest and posttest scores for the silent reading subtest of the Standard Reading Inventory. The study collected data for 20 adults that received reading instruction by traditional teaching methods (large group arrangement and commercial…

A study was conducted in Jalapa, Mexico, to test the hypothesis that a student of average and below average language aptitude may have greater difficulty with the accelerated pace of learning in an intensive program. The Modern Language Association Cooperative Spanish Test was administered to the eight beginning students enrolled in the Jalapa…

This intensive course is designed to teach students to understand and speak Chad Arabic. The course is intended to be covered in approximately 360 hours in the classroom and the language laboratory. About 90 hours should be occupied with the pre-speech phase, which emphasizes passive recognition rather than active production. This phase consists…

Resulting from a project involving district, state, and federal educational agencies, the papers in this, the second of two volumes, are intended to provide information from research and practice that can help school districts in their efforts to make decisions about goals and methods of basic skills instruction. The topics of the papers in the…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The eight titles deal with the following topics: (1) the initiating and responding communication behaviors of primary school students who score high as compared to those who score low on language and reading tests; (2) listening…

Through readings and activities contained in this booklet, which is part of the "What If...Series," secondary students and adults learn about how a bill becomes a law and at the same time acquire effective coping skills. By using the materials, students will learn who makes laws, what laws are about, when and where laws are made, and how an idea…