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Children's Reading Comprehension and Assessment

• Edited by Scott G. Paris, Steven A. Stahl

• Price: $54.95
• Binding: Paperback (also available in Hardback)
• Pages: 440
• Published by: Routledge
• Publication Date: 9th February 2005
• ISBN: 978-0-8058-4656-0

About the Book

Originating in a recent CIERA conference held at the University of Michigan, this book brings together the nation's most distinguished researchers to examine how readers understand text and how comprehension is assessed. The first part provides both national and historical contexts for the study of reading comprehension. The second part examines how vocabulary, motivation, and expertise influence comprehension, and it includes analyses of the developmental course and correlates of comprehension. Chapters in the third part consider how schools focus on comprehension for instruction and assessment. The fourth part includes chapters on large-scale assessment that analyze how test formats and psychometric characteristics influence measures of reading comprehension. At the end of each part is a commentary--written by an expert--that reviews the chapters, critiques the main points, and synthesizes critical issues.

Key features of this outstanding new book include:

*Integration of Research and Practice--provides a bridge between conceptual issues studied by researchers concerned with reading comprehension theories and practical issues addressed by educators concerned with classroom instruction and assessment.

*Comprehension Focus--provides a thorough history and rigorous research-based analyses of reading comprehension.

*Assessment Focus--provides innovative approaches to comprehension assessment that include the influences of vocabulary, decoding, and motivation.

*Synthetic Commentaries--provides periodic summaries that analyze and synthesize research, practices, and issues discussed in each part.

*Expertise--contributing authors and commentators are highly respected authorities on reading comprehension (see table of contents).

This text is appropriate for educational and psychological researchers, reading educators, and graduate students in education and psychology. It is part of the CIERA series, which includes the following volumes:

Taylor and Pearson: Teaching Reading: Effective Schools, Accomplished Teachers (2002)

Van Kleeck, Stahl, and Bauer: On Reading Books to Children: Parents and Teachers (2003)

Hoffman and Schallert: The Texts in Elementary Classrooms (2005)

Table of Contents

Contents: Part I: Historical and Theoretical Foundations. A.P. Sweet, Assessment of Reading Comprehension: The RAND Reading Study Group Vision. P.D. Pearson, D.N. Hamm, The History of Reading Comprehension Assessment. W. Kintsch, E. Kintsch, Comprehension. N.K. Duke, Comprehension of What for What: Comprehension as a Non-Unitary Construct. Part II: Development and Motivational Factors in Reading Comprehension. P. van den Broek, P. Kendeou, K. Kremer, J. Lynch, J. Butler, M.J. White, E.P. Lorch, The Assessment of Comprehension Abilities in Young Children. S.G. Paris, R.D. Carpenter, A.H. Paris, E.E. Hamilton, Spurious and Genuine Correlates of Children's Reading Comprehension. S.A. Stahl, E.H. Hiebert, The "Word Factors": A Problem for Reading Comprehension Assessments. J.T. Guthrie, A. Wigfield, Roles of Motivation and Engagement in Reading Comprehension Assessment. R.C. Calfee, R.G. Miller, Comprehending Through Composing: Reflections on Reading Assessment Strategies. Part III: Assessment in School Contexts. B.M. Taylor, P.D. Pearson, Reading Assessment as a Tool to Evaluate and Improve Reading Instruction Within a School. A.S. Palincsar, S.J. Magnusson, E. Pesko, M. Hamlin, Attending to the Nature of Subject Matter in Text Comprehension Assessments. R.D. Carpenter, S.G. Paris, Issues of Validity and Reliability in Early Reading Assessments. M. Pressley, K. Hilden, Commentary on Three Important Directions in Comprehension Assessment Research. Part IV: Large-Scale Assessments of Reading Comprehension. T. Salinger, Assessment of Young Children as They Learn to Read and Write. J.R. Campbell, Single Instrument, Multiple Measures: Considering the Use of Multiple Item Formats to Assess Reading Comprehension. D.J. Francis, J.M. Fletcher, H.W. Catts, J.B. Tomblin, Dimensions Affecting the Assessment of Reading Comprehension. K.K. Wixson, J.F. Carlisle, The Influence of Large-Scale Assessment of Reading Comprehension on Classroom Practice: A Commentary.