Poor readers in secondary school

A follow-up of a representative sample of poor readers through secondary schooling confirmed persisting reading problems for most children. As a group, poor readers fell further behind a normal-reading comparison group during their early teens. Later reading progress was unrelated to gender, SES background, behavior problems or non-school attendance, though these factors did influence wider school attainments. Poor readers were more likely to leave school early, and had much depressed educational qualifications. There were no differences in the reading progress or academic attainments of specifically retarded (IQ-discrepant) and generally backward poor readers.     

Predicting homework time management at the secondary school level: A multilevel analysis

The purpose of this study is to test empirical models of variables posited to predict homework time management at the secondary school level. Student- and class-level predictors of homework time management were analyzed in a survey of 1895 students from 111 classes. Most of the variance in homework time management occurred at the student level, with parent education appearing as the only significant predictor at the class level. At the student level, the variation in homework time management was positively associated with self-reported grade, adult-oriented reasons for doing homework, learning-oriented reasons for doing homework, and student initiative in arranging the homework environment.     

Computer-assisted reading intervention in a secondary school: an evaluation study

There is widespread concern over literacy standards in UK schools and growing evidence that problems become increasingly intractable as children grow older. Computer-based reading instruction may provide a 'fresh start' that helps a child to rediscover the path to literacy. Recent controlled studies demonstrated that infant and junior school children could be given very cost-effective support using RITA, a computer-based literacy support system that assists, rather than replaces, the teacher in providing support tailored to each child's profile of reading attainments. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of RITA in secondary school with 8 children (mean age 11.7 years) who were initially very seriously disadvantaged in terms of literacy skills (mean reading age 7.3 years). The RITA intervention over a 10 week period led to effective and cost-effective literacy gains. Significant overall improvements were made in the skills targeted, including reading standard scores, and reading speed, accuracy and comprehension. All children reacted positively to the RITA lessons, and most made good progress towards their Individual Education Plans. It is suggested that computer-assisted reading support can be effective in supporting the majority of children with reading failure, even in secondary school.     

The Limerick Reading Initiative: a reading intervention targeted at struggling readers in primary school

In this study we examined the effectiveness of a reading intervention targeting a group of 24 struggling readers in ten primary schools in Ireland. The intervention consisted of two components; component one consisted of 15‐20 minutes delivery of the Toe‐by‐Toe programme (a well established systematic synthetic phonics programme) and the second component consisted of 15‐20 minutes guided oral reading using levelled texts. Using standardised measures of word reading, reading fluency, reading comprehension, word attack skills and spelling, we found that after five months of the intervention, the majority of the pupils made significant improvements in reading and reading fluency. The reading comprehension improvements were more varied with almost a quarter of participants showing remarkable progress, while the remainder recorded considerably less impressive gains. These results are very encouraging for classroom practitioners and demonstrate that research validated approaches can help at‐risk readers close the gap with their typically developing peers.     

Four methods of identifying change in the context of a multiple component reading intervention for struggling middle school readers

The results from controlled intervention research have indicated that effective reading interventions exist for children with reading difficulties. Effect sizes for older struggling readers, however, typically have not matched the large effects demonstrated with younger children. Standardized effect sizes for intervention/control comparisons obscure important individual differences within intervention and control groups—differences potentially relevant to the who and why of intervention success. The present study reports the outcomes of PHAST Reading, a research-based multiple component reading intervention. Participants were 270 Grade 6, 7, and 8 students reading significantly below age-level expectations, who participated in a year-long intensive small-group intervention. Four methods were applied to characterize individual change: (a) normalization relative to age-appropriate standards; (b) statistically-reliable pre–post change using the Jacobson–Truax index; (c) individually-estimated growth rates using hierarchical linear modeling; and (d) change to a fixed criterion across multiple measures. Each method was evaluated for its ability to identify intervention outcomes, replicate traditional group-based effect size metrics, and characterize individual differences across participants depending on whether change was demonstrated. Each method replicated traditional group-based effect sizes, with advantages in consistency and predictive power for the reliable change index and growth curve approaches.     

An investigation of extensive reading with remedial students in a Philippines secondary school

This chapter reports a 6-month study that used a matched-pairs pre-test, post-test control group design to evaluate the effectiveness of extensive reading with remedial reading students in a Philippines secondary school (n=60). Ninety percent of students at the school come from low-income homes where reading materials tend to be scarce. The dependent variable, reading proficiency, was assessed using the Informal Reading Inventory and the Gray Standardized Oral Reading Test. Each day, both groups received the same 40 min of English instruction, plus a remedial class. In their remedial class, the control group studied via a traditional approach, emphasizing intensive reading and phonics. For the extensive reading group, the remedial reading class involved reading self-selected materials and doing a variety of post-reading activities. Results suggest that extensive reading led to greater gains than traditional reading instruction. Details on how extensive reading was implemented and a rationale for extensive reading are provided.     

Types of reading deficiencies in the secondary school and college

MIND OVER MATH by Stanley Kogelman and Joseph Warren. New York: McGraw‐Hill Company, 1978. 239 pp. $3.95.

THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN EDUCATION: A GUIDE TO INFORMATION SOURCES. Edited by Francesco Cordasco, David N. Alloway, and Marjorie Scilken Friedman. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1979. xii + 313 pp. $24.00

CONSULTATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION by Daniel H. Pilon and William H. Bergquist edited by Gary H. Quehl and Jean Brodsky. Washington, DC: The Council for The Advancement of Small Colleges, 1979. 159 pp. $10.95 plus $1.25 postage and handling.

BUSING U.S.A. edited by Nicolaus Mills. New York: Teachers College Press; Teachers College, Columbia University, 1979. 376 pp.     

A synthesis of fluency interventions for secondary struggling readers

Previous research studies examining the effects of fluency interventions on the fluency and comprehension outcomes for secondary struggling readers are synthesized. An extensive search of the professional literature between 1980 and 2005 yielded a total of 19 intervention studies that provided fluency interventions to secondary struggling readers and measured comprehension and/or fluency outcomes. Findings revealed fluency outcomes were consistently improved following interventions that included listening passage previewing such as listening to an audiotape or adult model of good reading before attempting to read a passage. In addition, there is preliminary evidence that there may be no differential effects between repeated reading interventions and the same amount of non-repetitive reading with older struggling readers for increasing reading speed, word recognition, and comprehension.     

A developmental learning strategy for early reading in a laboratory nursery school

A three-year investigation on early reading, using a developmental learning model for cognitively structuring and sequencing learning processes, was designed to test the efficacy of the model in a practical nursery school setting with a diversity of teaching styles. Using primers, guides, and materials developed by the investigator, over 80% (107) of 132 three-to five-year-old children learned to read with moderate to high fluency and interest. Pretest letter recognition skill, CA, and especially MA (but neither IQ nor sex of child) predicted success in learning. Certain analytic-integrative cognitive operations, which were built into the method, and a minimal general level (MA) of cognitive and language development appear essential to learning to read.

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Résumé Le but d'une enquête sur la question d'apprendre à lire tôt était de mettre au point un modèle de la structure et de la série d'apprentissage développemental (developmental learning) dans un contexte d'une école maternelle avec une variété de styles d'instruction. A l'aide de livres élémentaires, de guides, et de matériaux développés par l'investigateur, plus de 80 pour cent (107) de 132 enfants âgés de trois à cinq ans ont appris à lire avec facilité et avec intérêt d'assez bien à bien. L'habileté à reconnaître des lettres aux prétests, l'âge chronologique (CA), et l'âge mental (MA) (mais ni l'IQ ni le sexe de l'enfant) ont prédit le succès à apprendre. Certaines des opérations de la méthode et un niveau général de base (MA) du développement cognitif et de la langue semblent nécessaire pour apprendre à lire.

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The author wishes to express his appreciation to the many people who helped make this project possible—administrators, teachers, testers, parents, and above all the children. I would like to mention, especially, Roald Campbell, Dean of the Graduate School of Education, University of Chicago, for his administrative and financial support; Frank Lloyd, Director of the University Laboratory School; the teachers, Ann Benedict, Carol Brindley (also for test illustrations), Kay Franklin, Yvonne Lawson, Gloria Needleman, Marianna Terry, Arlene Labow, Joan Schreiner, and Masha Semkoff; to researchers, Eleanor Haspel, Julia Holt, James McGinnis, Ann Rotstein, and particularly Muriel Lo for the analysis of data; to Jane Hill (for editorial assistance); to Joyce Flow for her excellent typing; and my three daughters, Josephine, Monique, and Velia for illustrating the primers as only children can.     

Response to intervention with secondary school students with reading difficulties

The authors summarize evidence from a multiyear study with secondary students with reading difficulties on (a) the potential efficacy of primary-level (Tier 1), secondary-level (Tier 2), and tertiary-level (Tier 3) interventions in remediating reading difficulties with middle school students, (b) the likelihood of resolving reading disabilities with older students with intractable reading disabilities, (c) the reliability, validity, and use of screening and progress monitoring measures with middle school students, and (d) the implications of implementing response to intervention (RTI) practices at the middle school level. The authors provide guidance about prevailing questions about remediating reading difficulties with secondary students and discuss future directions for research using RTI frameworks for students at the secondary level.     

A reading program for gifted high school students

Many of the basic principles of future studies are closely related to the objectives and approaches of gifted education. Including future studies as an integral part of a gifted education curriculum would give added meaning to these programs.     

On the effects of motivation on reading performance growth in secondary school

This research aimed at identifying unique effects of reading motivation on reading performance when controlling for cognitive skills, familial, and demographic background. We drew upon a longitudinal sample of N = 1508 secondary school students from 5th to 8th grade. Two types of intrinsic reading motivation (reading enjoyment, reading for interest), one type of extrinsic reading motivation (competition), and reading self-concept were measured by self-report questionnaires. Cognitive skills (reasoning, decoding speed) and reading performance were assessed using standardized tests and background variables were collected using student and parent questionnaires. Applying latent growth curve modeling, positive unique effects of reading enjoyment and reading self-concept and a negative unique effect of competition on the initial level of reading performance were recorded. Moreover, a positive unique effect of reading for interest on reading performance growth was recorded. One may conclude that enhancing students’ interest might be fruitful in terms of nurturing reading performance.     

Within‐year changes in Chinese secondary school students' perceived reading instruction and intrinsic reading motivation

This study aimed to expand on existing research about motivational change by investigating within‐year changes of adolescents' intrinsic reading motivation and perceived reading instruction among students from different grades and achievement levels. Six hundred and ninety five students from 10 secondary schools in Hong Kong voluntarily completed a questionnaire that measured these two variables at the beginning and near the end of a school year. The study's findings indicated that students' intrinsic reading motivation was generally stable over a school year. A significant increase in the perceived degree of mastery goal structure in reading instruction was observed near the end of the school year. Students' perception of instruction remained a strong and positive predictor of intrinsic motivation after controlling their prior motivation and other background variables. Different factors affecting students' motivational change are discussed to provide insights for promoting their reading motivation and counter the prevalent trend of motivational decline.     

A reading policy for a comprehensive school (11–16)

Redefield School is a seven-form entry secondary modern that is in the process of developing into a senior comprehensive school. Situated on the outskirts of Oxford it serves a large council estate with a population of 10,000, half of whom are under 20. The English department consists of a team of eight specialists; English is taught in mixed-ability classes.Children's literature in education invited the Head of Department, John L Foster, who has been teaching at Redefield for six years, to describe a reading policy for a comprehensive school.     

Non‐at‐risk adolescents' attitudes towards reading in a Singapore secondary school

In this paper, we examine the various nuanced dimensions of adolescents' dispositions towards reading in one secondary school in Singapore, where a high‐stakes examination culture often threatens to colonise the practices of leisure reading. Our focus is on the better and more avid readers as they were the ones that developed the more negative attitudes towards reading at the end of their first year in secondary school. Our analysis found that there were no significant differences between boys and girls in their declining attitudes, and that for both ‘intrinsic motivation’ saw the greatest decline. However, attitudes related to learning orientation remained stable, suggesting both the impact of constraints in an exam‐oriented educational structure as well as possibilities for developing reading pedagogy and adolescent reading programmes. We argue that the more educators are aware of the multidimensionality and complexity of the attitudes and values that students bring to their reading, the more effectively they will be able to design and implement programmes and pedagogy to foster positive attitudes and promote a lifelong love for reading.     

A reading level match study of nonword reading skills in poor readers with varying IQ.

This study evaluated the hypothesis that poor readers are characterized by poor nonword reading skills, but that a specific deficit, as opposed to a developmental lag, in nonword reading will be found only in subjects whose reading is discrepant from intellectual ability. To test this hypothesis, we measured nonword reading skills in 93 (64 male, 29 female) third-grade poor readers and 54 (37 male, 17 female) fifth-grade poor readers (with and without reading/IQ discrepancies) who were matched to 147 (81 male, 66 female) nondisabled first graders on word identification skills. Results showed third- and fifth-grade poor readers to be significantly more impaired than word-identification level match first graders on all measures on nonword reading. These findings were not related to the verbal IQ level within the poor reader groups and, thus, provide strong evidence for a deficit in nonword reading skills that is not explained by verbal intelligence.     

构建以学习者为中心的小学作业新模式

作业作为教与学的交汇点 ,它的设计与运用是影响教学实效的关键技术。在强调作业是学生的独立学习方式的教改背景下 ,作业设计也要体现“学生为本”的思想。具体有 :①尊重学生选择 :选择难易 ,选择完成时间 ,选择作业数量 ,选择批改对象 ;②作业选材从课本为中心向学生为中心转移 ,设计的题目考虑学生是否需要 ,学生是否可能 ,学生是否乐意等因素 ;③学生参与设计 (如编制测验性作业等 ) ,设计主体将从教师独立设计向学生或家长共同参与转变 ;④承认差异 ,强调层次性 ,在作业分层设计与布置以及反馈技巧等方面进行新尝试。传统作业已形成了…