Children's Reading Comprehension and Assessment

by Paris, Scott G.; Stahl, Steven A.

• ISBN13: 9780805846553
• ISBN10: 0805846557
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-02-16
• Publisher: Lawrence Erlbau

Summary

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

Foreword
P. David Pearson	xi
Preface	xv
Part I Historical and Theoretical Foundations
1 Assessment of Reading Comprehension: The RAND Reading Study Group Vision	3	(10)
Anne P. Sweet
2 The Assessment of Reading Comprehension: A Review of Practices-Past, Present, and Future	13	(58)
P. David Pearson and Diane N. Hamm
3 Comprehension	71	(22)
Walter Kintsch and Eileen Kintsch
4 Comprehension of What for What: Comprehension as a Nonunitary Construct	93	(14)
Nell K. Duke
Part II Developmental and Motivational Factors in Reading Comprehension
5 Assessment of Comprehension Abilities in Young Children	107	(24)
Paul van den Broek, Panayiota Kendeou, Kathleen Kremer, Julie Lynch, Jason Butler, Mary Jane White, and Elizabeth Pugzles Lorch
6 Spurious and Genuine Correlates of Children's Reading Comprehension	131	(30)
Scott G. Paris, Robert D. Carpenter, Alison H. Paris, and Ellen E. Hamilton
7 The "Word Factors": A Problem for Reading Comprehension Assessment	161	(26)
Steven A. Stahl and Elfrieda H. Hiebert
8 Roles of Motivation and Engagement in Reading Comprehension Assessment	187	(28)
John T. Guthrie and Allan Wigfield
9 Comprehending Through Composing: Reflections on Reading Assessment Strategies	215
Robert Calfee and Roxanne Greitz Miller
Part III Assessment in School Contexts
10 Using Study Groups and Reading Assessment Data to Improve Reading Instruction Within a School	237	(20)
Barbara M. Taylor and P. David Pearson
11 Attending to the Nature of Subject Matter in Text Comprehension Assessments	257	(22)
Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar, Shirley J. Magnusson, Ellen Pesko, and Maria Hamlin
12 Issues of Validity and Reliability in Early Reading Assessments	279	(26)
Robert D. Carpenter and Scott G. Paris
13 Commentary on Three Important Directions in Comprehension Assessment Research	305	(14)
Michael Pressley and Katherine R. Hilden
Part IV Large-Scale Assessments of Reading Comprehension
14 Assessment of Young Children as They Learn to Read and Write	319	(28)
Terry Salinger
15 Single Instrument, Multiple Measures: Considering the Use of Multiple Item Formats to Assess Reading Comprehension
Jay R. Campbell	347	(22)
16 Dimensions Affecting the Assessment of Reading Comprehension	369	(26)
David J. Francis, Jack M. Fletcher, Hugh W. Catts, and J. Bruce Tomblin
17 The Influence of Large-Scale Assessment of Reading Comprehension on Classroom Practice: A Commentary	395	(12)
Karen K. Wixson and Joanne F. Carlisle
Author Index	407	(10)
Subject Index	417