Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

Includes bibliographies and index

Includes bibliographies and index

Includes bibliographical references

Includes bibliographical references

Tracklist: 1. Building Reading Readiness 2. Building The Basic Reading Skills 3. Taking Stock And Planning For The Future 4. An Illustrative Reading Lesson - Grade 4 - A Teacher-Supervisor Conference: Analysis Of The Lesson 5. How Parents Can Assist The School

Tracklist: 1. Building Reading Readiness 2. Building The Basic Reading Skills 3. Taking Stock And Planning For The Future 4. An Illustrative Reading Lesson - Grade 4 - A Teacher-Supervisor Conference: Analysis Of The Lesson 5. How Parents Can Assist The School

Tracklist: 1. Building Reading Readiness 2. Building The Basic Reading Skills 3. Taking Stock And Planning For The Future 4. An Illustrative Reading Lesson - Grade 4 - A Teacher-Supervisor Conference: Analysis Of The Lesson 5. How Parents Can Assist The School

TO PROVIDE EDUCATORS WITH BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE OF THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF ELEMENTARY READING INSTRUCTION, THE LOS ANGELES CITY SCHOOLS PRESENT A COMPILATION OF SELECTED REFERENCES. THE COMPILATION INCLUDES REFERENCES ON SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH, SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES, AND PROPOSALS IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF READING INSTRUCTION--READING READINESS, APPROACHES TO READING INSTRUCTION, SUPPLEMENTARY READING, READING IN THE CONTENT AREAS, AND READING DISABILITIES. THE INCLUSION OF A REFERENCE DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT OF THE TECHNIQUE OR THESIS PROPOSED. FOR THE CONTROVERSIAL AREAS OF READING INSTRUCTION, STATEMENTS BY THE PROPONENTS ARE INCLUDED, AND, WHENEVER POSSIBLE, EVALUATIVE STATEMENTS ON THE ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF CERTAIN PROPOSALS ARE PROVIDED. REFERENCES ARE ENTERED WITH COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS, A SHORT ANNOTATION, AND SOME EXCERPTS WHICH EXPLAIN THE MAIN THESIS. A LIST OF ADDITIONAL REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (NS)

TO PROVIDE EDUCATORS WITH BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE OF THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF ELEMENTARY READING INSTRUCTION, THE LOS ANGELES CITY SCHOOLS PRESENT A COMPILATION OF SELECTED REFERENCES. THE COMPILATION INCLUDES REFERENCES ON SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH, SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES, AND PROPOSALS IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF READING INSTRUCTION--READING READINESS, APPROACHES TO READING INSTRUCTION, SUPPLEMENTARY READING, READING IN THE CONTENT AREAS, AND READING DISABILITIES. THE INCLUSION OF A REFERENCE DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT OF THE TECHNIQUE OR THESIS PROPOSED. FOR THE CONTROVERSIAL AREAS OF READING INSTRUCTION, STATEMENTS BY THE PROPONENTS ARE INCLUDED, AND, WHENEVER POSSIBLE, EVALUATIVE STATEMENTS ON THE ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF CERTAIN PROPOSALS ARE PROVIDED. REFERENCES ARE ENTERED WITH COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATIONS, A SHORT ANNOTATION, AND SOME EXCERPTS WHICH EXPLAIN THE MAIN THESIS. A LIST OF ADDITIONAL REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (NS)

A GUIDE FOR TEACHING PHONIC AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND OTHER WORD PERCEPTION SKILLS AT THE PRIMER LEVEL THROUGH GRADE 6 PROVIDES DEFINITIONS, EXAMPLES, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TEACHER. INFORMATION IS PRESENTED WITHIN SIX CATEGORIES--(1) THE TOTAL READING PROGRAM, EMPHASIZING WORD PERCEPTION SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES, LANGUAGE UNDERSTANDINGS, READINESS, BASIC VOCABULARY, THE TEACHER'S ROLE, AND A BALANCED PROGRAM, (2) PHONIC AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS, INCLUDING DEFINITIONS OF RELATED TERMS, (3) SUGGESTED SEQUENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF PHONIC AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS IN CHART FORM, (4) SUGGESTED SEQUENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF WORD RECOGNITION SKILLS AND GENERALIZATIONS WITH EMPHASIS ON LEVEL OF INTRODUCTION, (5) SUGGESTIONS FOR INTRODUCING LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR RHYMING WORDS, INITIAL CONSONANTS, FINAL CONSONANTS, CONSONANT DIGRAPHS AND BLENDS, LONG VOWEL SOUNDS, VOWEL DIGRAPHS AND VARIANT SOUNDS, AND WORD STRUCTURE, AND (6) CHECK SHEETS FOR EVALUATION OF PUPIL PROGRESS FROM PRIMER LEVEL THROUGH GRADE 6 LEVEL. (LS)

A GUIDE FOR TEACHING PHONIC AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND OTHER WORD PERCEPTION SKILLS AT THE PRIMER LEVEL THROUGH GRADE 6 PROVIDES DEFINITIONS, EXAMPLES, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TEACHER. INFORMATION IS PRESENTED WITHIN SIX CATEGORIES--(1) THE TOTAL READING PROGRAM, EMPHASIZING WORD PERCEPTION SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES, LANGUAGE UNDERSTANDINGS, READINESS, BASIC VOCABULARY, THE TEACHER'S ROLE, AND A BALANCED PROGRAM, (2) PHONIC AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS, INCLUDING DEFINITIONS OF RELATED TERMS, (3) SUGGESTED SEQUENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF PHONIC AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS IN CHART FORM, (4) SUGGESTED SEQUENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF WORD RECOGNITION SKILLS AND GENERALIZATIONS WITH EMPHASIS ON LEVEL OF INTRODUCTION, (5) SUGGESTIONS FOR INTRODUCING LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR RHYMING WORDS, INITIAL CONSONANTS, FINAL CONSONANTS, CONSONANT DIGRAPHS AND BLENDS, LONG VOWEL SOUNDS, VOWEL DIGRAPHS AND VARIANT SOUNDS, AND WORD STRUCTURE, AND (6) CHECK SHEETS FOR EVALUATION OF PUPIL PROGRESS FROM PRIMER LEVEL THROUGH GRADE 6 LEVEL. (LS)

A GUIDE FOR TEACHING PHONIC AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS AND OTHER WORD PERCEPTION SKILLS AT THE PRIMER LEVEL THROUGH GRADE 6 PROVIDES DEFINITIONS, EXAMPLES, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR THE TEACHER. INFORMATION IS PRESENTED WITHIN SIX CATEGORIES--(1) THE TOTAL READING PROGRAM, EMPHASIZING WORD PERCEPTION SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES, LANGUAGE UNDERSTANDINGS, READINESS, BASIC VOCABULARY, THE TEACHER'S ROLE, AND A BALANCED PROGRAM, (2) PHONIC AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS, INCLUDING DEFINITIONS OF RELATED TERMS, (3) SUGGESTED SEQUENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF PHONIC AND STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS IN CHART FORM, (4) SUGGESTED SEQUENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF WORD RECOGNITION SKILLS AND GENERALIZATIONS WITH EMPHASIS ON LEVEL OF INTRODUCTION, (5) SUGGESTIONS FOR INTRODUCING LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR RHYMING WORDS, INITIAL CONSONANTS, FINAL CONSONANTS, CONSONANT DIGRAPHS AND BLENDS, LONG VOWEL SOUNDS, VOWEL DIGRAPHS AND VARIANT SOUNDS, AND WORD STRUCTURE, AND (6) CHECK SHEETS FOR EVALUATION OF PUPIL PROGRESS FROM PRIMER LEVEL THROUGH GRADE 6 LEVEL. (LS)

This paper discusses affective strategies for teaching reading at the elementary school level. The contents include: "Use of Newspaper," which presents a chart of reading skills to be used by the teacher and provides such suggestions for developing interest in the newspaper as having a newspaper editor visit the classroom, role playing as advertising salespeople, and writing a class newspaper; "Listening Stations Enjoyable," which discusses how to use listening stations to develop oral vocabulary, to provide students with practice in visualization, and to involve students in poetry study; "Applying Word Attack," which discusses a strategy of word identification using a formula; "Television Programs Used," which looks at educational television programs and how they can be used to develop imagination, to teach reading, and to provide situations for dramatization; and "Conclusion." (WR)

This paper discusses affective strategies for teaching reading at the elementary school level. The contents include: "Use of Newspaper," which presents a chart of reading skills to be used by the teacher and provides such suggestions for developing interest in the newspaper as having a newspaper editor visit the classroom, role playing as advertising salespeople, and writing a class newspaper; "Listening Stations Enjoyable," which discusses how to use listening stations to develop oral vocabulary, to provide students with practice in visualization, and to involve students in poetry study; "Applying Word Attack," which discusses a strategy of word identification using a formula; "Television Programs Used," which looks at educational television programs and how they can be used to develop imagination, to teach reading, and to provide situations for dramatization; and "Conclusion." (WR)

This paper discusses affective strategies for teaching reading at the elementary school level. The contents include: "Use of Newspaper," which presents a chart of reading skills to be used by the teacher and provides such suggestions for developing interest in the newspaper as having a newspaper editor visit the classroom, role playing as advertising salespeople, and writing a class newspaper; "Listening Stations Enjoyable," which discusses how to use listening stations to develop oral vocabulary, to provide students with practice in visualization, and to involve students in poetry study; "Applying Word Attack," which discusses a strategy of word identification using a formula; "Television Programs Used," which looks at educational television programs and how they can be used to develop imagination, to teach reading, and to provide situations for dramatization; and "Conclusion." (WR)

The persistent reading struggles and failure of nearly 40 percent of all American children, little improved over time, has led to aggressive government-funded efforts in school districts to train veteran teachers in the science of reading. The accumulated scientific findings of nearly 60 years of research gained the nation's attention with the release of a number of significant reviews and compendia of the research beginning in 1990, but most notably the National Reading Panel report in 2000. The findings call for explicit, systematic teaching of phonemic awareness and phonics, guided oral reading to improve fluency, direct and indirect vocabulary building, and exposure to a variety of reading comprehension strategies. All this attention on veteran teachers begs the question: How are future teachers being prepared to teach reading? In this study, the National Council on Teacher Quality makes a unique effort to learn what aspiring teachers are taught about reading instruction. From a randomly selected, representative sample of 72 education schools, NCTQ reviewed 223 required reading courses, including evaluations of syllabi as well as 227 required reading texts. Schools were scored on how well their courses presented the core components of the science of reading. The findings are alarming. Only 15 percent of the education schools provide future teachers with minimal exposure to the science. Moreover, course syllabi reveal a tendency to dismiss the scientific research in reading, continuing to espouse approaches to reading that will not serve up to 40 percent of all children. Course texts were equally disappointing. Only four of the 227 texts were rated as "acceptable" for use as a general, comprehensive textbook. This distressing trend in teacher training demands attention from federal and state governments, professional organizations dedicated to improving and supporting education schools, textbook publishers, and educations schools themselves. The report closes with recommendations to ameliorate this serious failure in adequately preparing teachers in the best practices of reading instruction. The following were appended: (1) Scoring Methodology; (2) Examples of Syllabi; and (3) Ratings for Required Texts. (Contains 54 footnotes.) [Principle funding for this publication was provided by The D&D Foundation.]

The persistent reading struggles and failure of nearly 40 percent of all American children, little improved over time, has led to aggressive government-funded efforts in school districts to train veteran teachers in the science of reading. The accumulated scientific findings of nearly 60 years of research gained the nation's attention with the release of a number of significant reviews and compendia of the research beginning in 1990, but most notably the National Reading Panel report in 2000. The findings call for explicit, systematic teaching of phonemic awareness and phonics, guided oral reading to improve fluency, direct and indirect vocabulary building, and exposure to a variety of reading comprehension strategies. All this attention on veteran teachers begs the question: How are future teachers being prepared to teach reading? In this study, the National Council on Teacher Quality makes a unique effort to learn what aspiring teachers are taught about reading instruction. From a randomly selected, representative sample of 72 education schools, NCTQ reviewed 223 required reading courses, including evaluations of syllabi as well as 227 required reading texts. Schools were scored on how well their courses presented the core components of the science of reading. The findings are alarming. Only 15 percent of the education schools provide future teachers with minimal exposure to the science. Moreover, course syllabi reveal a tendency to dismiss the scientific research in reading, continuing to espouse approaches to reading that will not serve up to 40 percent of all children. Course texts were equally disappointing. Only four of the 227 texts were rated as "acceptable" for use as a general, comprehensive textbook. This distressing trend in teacher training demands attention from federal and state governments, professional organizations dedicated to improving and supporting education schools, textbook publishers, and educations schools themselves. The report closes with recommendations to ameliorate this serious failure in adequately preparing teachers in the best practices of reading instruction. The following were appended: (1) Scoring Methodology; (2) Examples of Syllabi; and (3) Ratings for Required Texts. (Contains 54 footnotes.) [Principle funding for this publication was provided by The D&D Foundation.]

A study examined specific reading competencies after participating in Hmong literacy instruction in an after-school setting in the Thermalito, California School District, grades kindergarten through 4. Control and treatment groups were established to compare the English literacy skills of the Hmong students who participated in 40 hours of primary language instruction with those students in grades kindergarten through 4 who did not receive primary language literacy instruction. The instrumentation was a researcher-designed readiness test for the non-readers of English, and for those students who could read English, California Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) Comprehension scores were used. Results indicated that the CTBS scores of reading comprehension had to be dismissed as a measure, leaving all students who read above the primer level with no means of evaluation. The Reading Readiness Test, used with the students who could not read or could read at the primer level, showed significant improvement by the treatment group in word recognition. The other components of the readiness test which assessed letter recognition, sound identification and recognition of sight words did not reliably indicate improved performance by the treatment group. Findings suggest that Hmong literacy skills be included in the school instruction program at all grade levels. The success of the after-school Hmong literacy program cannot be measured solely by test performance but is better gauged by the willingness of the students to participate, the desire of the parents to maintain culture through literacy, and the noticeable improvement of self-esteem which is inculcated by becoming literate in one's home language. (Contains 47 references, 5 tables and 2 figures of data.) (Author/RS)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of rating errors on the speech rating process, (2) the efficiency and accuracy of informal assessment procedures in determining instructional reading levels in the elementary school, (3) reading proficiency discriminators derived from definitions of reading based on a national survey of competency tests for grade 11 from 133 large urban school districts, (4) an administrative model for monitoring the teaching of student assessment standards in communication, (5) the relationship between concept of story and a standardized measure of reading comprehension, (6) differences in student comprehension resulting from the use of a probing technique, (7) the effect of different peer performance discrepancy decision rules on the proportion of elementary school students determined eligible for special education assessment in reading or math, (8) the development and validation of a reading attitude assessment instrument for junior high school students, (9) recalculation of four traditional and two cloze-derived readability formulas, (10) a comparison of two models for individual scoring of National Assessment of Educational Progress's 1979-80 reading/literature data for 17-year olds, and (11) an elementary school program for effective acquisition of basic skills. (HTH)

This book, part of a series which serve as guides for K-12 teachers who are striving to align lively, classroom-tested practices with standards, gathers together brief articles spotlighting suggestions for effective instruction. The book contains dozens of diverse and thought-provoking activities for helping very young readers to grow into the world of literature. The book begins with a focus on growing reading skills such as predicting and sequencing, then progresses toward more complex experiences that involve response to literature, discussion, and collaborative work. A final section of the book gathers together ideas for interdisciplinary and multisensory approaches to reading, ranging from concrete, tactile exercises to strategies embracing fine arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. (NKA)

Includes bibliographies

Teaching mathematics for equity is critical because it provides opportunities for all students, especially those who have been traditionally marginalised, to learn mathematics that is rigorous and relevant to their lives. This article reports on our work, as mathematics teacher educators, on exposing and engaging 60 elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) in readings and reflection on various perspectives on teaching mathematics for equity. We drew on Brookfield's (1995) four critical lenses for reflection framework to select readings and create questions that required PSTs to critically reflect upon teaching mathematics for equity. An analysis of the reflections revealed a variety of responses as the PSTs critically reflected on equity, culture, and race in the context of mathematics teaching and learning. While some PSTs expressed teachers should be cognisant of equity when teaching mathematics, others were uncomfortable discussing equity related topics in the classroom. After critically reflecting on the readings and class discussions, the PSTs wanted to learn more and research different cultures so they would have a better understanding on how to integrate equity in their mathematics lessons.

Formative assessments--assessments that measure what students do and do not know, so that teachers can modify their instruction accordingly--have been widely hailed as a potential vehicle for improving student achievement. Yet little solid research evidence exists about their effectiveness, especially in reform-rich school districts. This study examines the effects of the Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading (FAST-R) initiative in the Boston Public Schools system (BPS), where the use of data to improve instruction is a general priority of the school district. The study looks at changes in reading scores over time at 21 BPS schools that operated FAST-R during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years and changes at a group of comparison schools serving demographically similar students during the same period. The MDRC evaluation includes process and impact analyses. The process analysis found that teachers at the FAST-R schools who took a survey administered as part of the study reported that the professional development they received from the BPE FAST-R coaches was helpful and contributed to their understanding of data and their ability to work with students. At the same time, while the intervention was implemented as intended (it was meant to be flexible and to provide as much or as little coaching to individual schools as administrators and teachers sought), it was not very intensive; the majority of survey respondents spent only one to five hours with the FAST-R data coach during the 2006-2007 school year. Moreover, comparison school teachers who took the survey reported receiving at least as much professional development as their FAST-R counterparts, were as likely to find it useful, and spent as much or more time analyzing data, including data from other (non-FAST-R) formative assessments. The impact analysis examines the effects of FAST-R on the reading test scores of third- and fourth-graders. FAST-R's impacts on student achievement--that is, the difference that FAST-R made over and above what was going on in the comparison schools--are generally positive but not statistically significant, as measured by MCAS reading scores. In other words, these differences could have arisen by chance. Effects on another measure of student reading, the Stanford Achievement Test, are more mixed but are also not statistically significant. While FAST-R schools put in place a particular model of data utilization, other BPS schools were pursuing similar goals, and this fact, along with the intervention's lack of intensity, may have undercut the likelihood that it would generate substantial and statistically significant impacts in this evaluation. Thus, this single study in a single district is not the last word on the potential of FAST-R. Much remains to be discovered about how teachers can best learn to use data to improve their instruction and boost the achievement of their students. Following an Overview, Preface, and an Executive Summary, this report is organized into four chapters. Chapter 3 discusses the professional development activities in FAST-R and non-FAST-R schools highlighted by the findings of the principal and teacher surveys. The chapter also considers how teachers perceived the utility of the FAST-R intervention for their instructional practices. Chapter 4 describes the findings from the impact analysis of FAST-R with regard to student achievement, exploring the range of student outcomes on the MCAS and the SAT-9 reading assessments. In addition, the chapter reports on an analysis to measure the impact of FAST-R on students' ability to make inferences and find evidence while reading. Lastly, subgroup analyses to compare the effect of FAST-R on various groups of students (by, for example, gender and socioeconomic status) are discussed. Chapter 5 presents the overall conclusions that may be drawn from the study's analyses and their implications for the use of formative assessments and data-driven instruction to improve reading skills. Appended are: (1) The Analytic Model Used in the FAST-R Impact Analysis; (2) List of FAST-R and Non-FAST-R Schools; (3) Subgroup Analyses of the Effects of the FAST-R Program; and (4) Sample of FAST-R Assessment Student and Teacher Materials. (Contains 28 tables, 5 figures, and 3 boxes.)

Formative assessments--assessments that measure what students do and do not know, so that teachers can modify their instruction accordingly--have been widely hailed as a potential vehicle for improving student achievement. Yet little solid research evidence exists about their effectiveness, especially in reform-rich school districts. This study examines the effects of the Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading (FAST-R) initiative in the Boston Public Schools system (BPS), where the use of data to improve instruction is a general priority of the school district. The study looks at changes in reading scores over time at 21 BPS schools that operated FAST-R during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years and changes at a group of comparison schools serving demographically similar students during the same period. The MDRC evaluation includes process and impact analyses. The process analysis found that teachers at the FAST-R schools who took a survey administered as part of the study reported that the professional development they received from the BPE FAST-R coaches was helpful and contributed to their understanding of data and their ability to work with students. At the same time, while the intervention was implemented as intended (it was meant to be flexible and to provide as much or as little coaching to individual schools as administrators and teachers sought), it was not very intensive; the majority of survey respondents spent only one to five hours with the FAST-R data coach during the 2006-2007 school year. Moreover, comparison school teachers who took the survey reported receiving at least as much professional development as their FAST-R counterparts, were as likely to find it useful, and spent as much or more time analyzing data, including data from other (non-FAST-R) formative assessments. The impact analysis examines the effects of FAST-R on the reading test scores of third- and fourth-graders. FAST-R's impacts on student achievement--that is, the difference that FAST-R made over and above what was going on in the comparison schools--are generally positive but not statistically significant, as measured by MCAS reading scores. In other words, these differences could have arisen by chance. Effects on another measure of student reading, the Stanford Achievement Test, are more mixed but are also not statistically significant. While FAST-R schools put in place a particular model of data utilization, other BPS schools were pursuing similar goals, and this fact, along with the intervention's lack of intensity, may have undercut the likelihood that it would generate substantial and statistically significant impacts in this evaluation. Thus, this single study in a single district is not the last word on the potential of FAST-R. Much remains to be discovered about how teachers can best learn to use data to improve their instruction and boost the achievement of their students. Following an Overview, Preface, and an Executive Summary, this report is organized into four chapters. Chapter 3 discusses the professional development activities in FAST-R and non-FAST-R schools highlighted by the findings of the principal and teacher surveys. The chapter also considers how teachers perceived the utility of the FAST-R intervention for their instructional practices. Chapter 4 describes the findings from the impact analysis of FAST-R with regard to student achievement, exploring the range of student outcomes on the MCAS and the SAT-9 reading assessments. In addition, the chapter reports on an analysis to measure the impact of FAST-R on students' ability to make inferences and find evidence while reading. Lastly, subgroup analyses to compare the effect of FAST-R on various groups of students (by, for example, gender and socioeconomic status) are discussed. Chapter 5 presents the overall conclusions that may be drawn from the study's analyses and their implications for the use of formative assessments and data-driven instruction to improve reading skills. Appended are: (1) The Analytic Model Used in the FAST-R Impact Analysis; (2) List of FAST-R and Non-FAST-R Schools; (3) Subgroup Analyses of the Effects of the FAST-R Program; and (4) Sample of FAST-R Assessment Student and Teacher Materials. (Contains 28 tables, 5 figures, and 3 boxes.)

Formative assessments--assessments that measure what students do and do not know, so that teachers can modify their instruction accordingly--have been widely hailed as a potential vehicle for improving student achievement. Yet little solid research evidence exists about their effectiveness, especially in reform-rich school districts. This study examines the effects of the Formative Assessments of Student Thinking in Reading (FAST-R) initiative in the Boston Public Schools system (BPS), where the use of data to improve instruction is a general priority of the school district. The study looks at changes in reading scores over time at 21 BPS schools that operated FAST-R during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years and changes at a group of comparison schools serving demographically similar students during the same period. The MDRC evaluation includes process and impact analyses. The process analysis found that teachers at the FAST-R schools who took a survey administered as part of the study reported that the professional development they received from the BPE FAST-R coaches was helpful and contributed to their understanding of data and their ability to work with students. At the same time, while the intervention was implemented as intended (it was meant to be flexible and to provide as much or as little coaching to individual schools as administrators and teachers sought), it was not very intensive; the majority of survey respondents spent only one to five hours with the FAST-R data coach during the 2006-2007 school year. Moreover, comparison school teachers who took the survey reported receiving at least as much professional development as their FAST-R counterparts, were as likely to find it useful, and spent as much or more time analyzing data, including data from other (non-FAST-R) formative assessments. The impact analysis examines the effects of FAST-R on the reading test scores of third- and fourth-graders. FAST-R's impacts on student achievement--that is, the difference that FAST-R made over and above what was going on in the comparison schools--are generally positive but not statistically significant, as measured by MCAS reading scores. In other words, these differences could have arisen by chance. Effects on another measure of student reading, the Stanford Achievement Test, are more mixed but are also not statistically significant. While FAST-R schools put in place a particular model of data utilization, other BPS schools were pursuing similar goals, and this fact, along with the intervention's lack of intensity, may have undercut the likelihood that it would generate substantial and statistically significant impacts in this evaluation. Thus, this single study in a single district is not the last word on the potential of FAST-R. Much remains to be discovered about how teachers can best learn to use data to improve their instruction and boost the achievement of their students. Following an Overview, Preface, and an Executive Summary, this report is organized into four chapters. Chapter 3 discusses the professional development activities in FAST-R and non-FAST-R schools highlighted by the findings of the principal and teacher surveys. The chapter also considers how teachers perceived the utility of the FAST-R intervention for their instructional practices. Chapter 4 describes the findings from the impact analysis of FAST-R with regard to student achievement, exploring the range of student outcomes on the MCAS and the SAT-9 reading assessments. In addition, the chapter reports on an analysis to measure the impact of FAST-R on students' ability to make inferences and find evidence while reading. Lastly, subgroup analyses to compare the effect of FAST-R on various groups of students (by, for example, gender and socioeconomic status) are discussed. Chapter 5 presents the overall conclusions that may be drawn from the study's analyses and their implications for the use of formative assessments and data-driven instruction to improve reading skills. Appended are: (1) The Analytic Model Used in the FAST-R Impact Analysis; (2) List of FAST-R and Non-FAST-R Schools; (3) Subgroup Analyses of the Effects of the FAST-R Program; and (4) Sample of FAST-R Assessment Student and Teacher Materials. (Contains 28 tables, 5 figures, and 3 boxes.)

This investigation was conducted in order to compare gains in knowledge of selected reading concepts of preservice teachers in their senior year of a four-year academic, undergraduate teacher education program at the University of Dallas, regardless of course sequencing and past scholastic achievement. Sixty preservice teachers, taught by the same instructor, were administered the Inventory of Teacher Knowledge in Reading prior to and following instruction. The findings indicated that requiring a course in children's literature before classes in methods of teaching reading increased the knowledge of selected reading concepts. The students who followed the new course sequence of children's literature had initial gains on knowledge of selected reading concepts and sustained these gains compared to the students who had the traditional course sequence of methods of teaching reading prior to children's literature. (WR)

The television course, "Teaching Elementary School Reading," represents the third in a series of inservice education programs developed and produced by the New Hampshire Network to improve the professional knowledge and skills of teachers previously isolated by geographic barriers characteristic of the rural environment of northern New England. The information presented in this document, the extensive formal evaluation of the program, is organized according to the following five-fold format: (1) the biographical characteristics and professional expectations of teacher-enrollees; (2) the assessment of targeted process information including enrollee assessment of the 15-lesson instructional series, generally, and the related television lessons, study guide, regional work sessions, and classroom follow-up activities; (3) the change data represented by pre- post instrument administration and statistical analysis of on-going data input; (4) the results of a final "retrospective" course evaluation; and (5) a summary of the project effort with emphasis on the implications of inservice teacher education courses for regional education, including recommendations of plausible changes in design, documentation, production, and evaluative segments of the reading course. Among the major needs underlined by the study is the need for a thorough reexamination of the underlying concept of inservice teacher education. (Author/JES)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 22 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: development of a primary reading vocabulary; a strategy for teaching students how to identify main ideas and supporting details; reading readiness and reading programs in Wisconsin public school kindergartens; approaches for teaching reading to educationlly disadvantaged students; effects on reading achievement of a computer-managed systems approach, diagnostic prescriptive teaching, a high motivational low anxiety reading program, a training program in humanistic education, paired simultaneous oral reading, and reading textbook selection procedures; a program for involving parents in the teaching of reading; a method for helping children learn to anticipate subsequent information in their reading; the relationship between teacher expectance of student reading achievement and formality of teacher speech; strategies for teaching reading comprehension; effects of home reading experiences on academic readiness; a cross-age tutoring program; student and teacher attitudes toward basal reader programs; and a criterion-referenced reading program for kindergarten pupils. (GW)

"Reference books for collateral reading": p. 383-387

"Reference books for collateral reading": p. 383-387

Designed to tap the rich collection of instructional techniques in the ERIC database, this compilation of lesson plans offers practical suggestions for teaching remedial reading at the elementary level. The 42 lesson plans in this book are divided into four sections: (1) creative activities; (2) games; (3) reading comprehension; and (4) reading skills. A user's guide, activity chart, and a 26-item annotated bibliography of related sources in the ERIC database are included. (RS)

Designed to tap the rich collection of instructional techniques in the ERIC database, this compilation of lesson plans offers practical suggestions for teaching remedial reading at the elementary level. The 42 lesson plans in this book are divided into four sections: (1) creative activities; (2) games; (3) reading comprehension; and (4) reading skills. A user's guide, activity chart, and a 26-item annotated bibliography of related sources in the ERIC database are included. (RS)

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INITIATE A PROGRAM FOR TEACHING MUSIC READING SKILLS, USING THE PIANO KEYBOARD IN COMBINATION WITH PROGRAMED LEARNING, AND TO COMPARE IT WITH CONVENTIONAL METHODS OF MUSIC INSTRUCTION. FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH GRADERS AT ONE CLEVELAND PUBLIC SCHOOL COMPRISED THE CONTROL GROUP RECEIVING CONVENTIONAL MUSIC READING INSTRUCTION. THE SAME GRADES AT ANOTHER CLEVELAND SCHOOL WERE THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP FOLLOWING THE LEARNING PROCEDURES DEVELOPED BY THE AUTHOR. THE EXPERIMENT WAS PERFORMED OVER 2 SEMESTERS, THE SECOND SEMESTER REPEATING THE MATERIAL COVERED IN THE FIRST. ALL GROUPS WERE TESTED IN 5 AREAS OF MUSIC KNOWLEDGE. THEY TOOK A PRETEST BEFORE THE FIRST SEMESTER, A POSTTEST BEFORE THE SECOND SEMESTER, AND A TERMINAL TEST AFTER THE SECOND SEMESTER. THE MANN-WHITNEY "U" TEST WAS USED TO ANALYZE DATA OBTAINED. TEST RESULTS IN AREAS 1 AND 2, STAFF KNOWLEDGE AND KNOWLEDGE OF TONAL ORGANIZATION, WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER FOR EXPERIMENTAL STUDENTS THAN FOR CONTROL STUDENTS. RESULTS IN THE OTHER 3 AREAS REVEALED THAT TYPICAL METHODS ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL AND THAT THE AUTHOR'S METHOD HAS POTENTIAL, THOUGH IT NEEDS TO BE FURTHER DEVELOPED. THE RELIABILITY OF THE TESTS WAS DETERMINED BY KUDER-RICHARDSON RELIABILITY COEFFICIENTS AND SPEARMAN RANK CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS. (MS)

M8.640. 59ill

M8.640. 59ill

M8.640. 59ill

M8.640. 59ill

M8.640. 59ill

M8.640. 59ill

M8.640. 59ill

"Reference books for collateral reading": p. 383-387

"Reference books for collateral reading": p. 383-387

"Reference books for collateral reading": p. 383-387

"Reference books for collateral reading": p. 383-387

Includes bibliographies and index

Includes bibliographies and index

48 p. 23 cm

48 p. 23 cm

Includes bibliographical references

Includes bibliographical references