A considerable, though not entirely adequate body of facts has been assembled about decoding but much less is known about the process of understanding written text. Researchers and practitioners, accordingly, have strongly urged the NIE to focus its attention and that of the field upon the problems of reading comprehension.(p.2)The RFP outlined application responsibilities this way:Application -The Center will identify and implement means by which knowledge gained from research relevant to reading can be utilized in developing and improving practices for informal and formal reading instruction. The Center will also be involved in identifying means by which basic research on reading and linguistic communication can be made more relevant to practical problems in improving the level of reading comprehension. (p. 5) Apparent in the RFP were three assumptions that are especially pertinent for teacher education:1. Reading comprehension can be taught.2. Reading comprehension is being taught.3. What is done to teach it is not as effective as comprehension instruction needs to be if reading problems are to be reduced.As a veteran observer of elementary school classrooms, I was especially struck by the second assumption because frequent visits to schools have revealed almost no comprehension instruction. However, two facts could account for this. First, comprehension instruction never was the preselected focus for an observation and, second, the bulk of the observing was in primary grades.In one four-year study in which grades 1, 2, 3, and 4 were observed, comparisons of the last two grades with the first two prompted such conclusions as these:Classroom observations during the third grade year revealed a few other changes--none of a kind that would foster greater progress in reading. To cite an example, the amount of time given to reading instruction appeared to decrease, whereas the amount of time spent on written assignments increased. This was especially true for the best readers, who were now being given lengthy assignments. (Durkin, 1974-75, pp. 34-35) In summary, it could be said that the fourth-grade reading program continued to have basal readers, workbooks, and worksheets as its core. In addition, instruction continued to be deemphasized in the sense that less time was spent on teacherdirected lessons, whereas written assignments continued to grow longer and to become more numerous. (Durkin, 1974-75, p. 42) When the NIE contract for the Center for the Study of Reading was awarded to the University of Illinois, I decided to see what conclusions would be reached if middle-and upper-grade classrooms were observed for the purpose of finding, describing, and timing comprehension instruction.Such a study seemed central to the mission of the Center since it is impossible to improve instruction until what goes on now, and with what frequency, is known. Pilot StudyWhat was uncovered in earlier classroom observations suggested categories for describing what teachers might do in the time scheduled for reading inst...

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This paper discusses a six year study, the first of which was a two-year language arts program that began with four year olds, and the second part of which was a four-year effort to trace the progress made in reading by children who participated in that program as compared with the reading achievement of classmates who had not been participants. The chief aim of the two year preschool program was to provide participants with enjoyable language arts experiences from which they might or might not learn to read. The only requirement of this group was that they be four years old by December of the school year. Findings showed that when differences in intelligence test scores were accounted for, children in the experimental program obtained higher mean scores on reading tests during grades one through four. At the end of grades one and two, differences were large enough to merit statistical significance, but at the end of grades three and four, this was not the case. (HCD)

Like other successful readers, poor black children who are successful in reading began early and enjoy reading. Other factors contributing to success are harder to determine.