Preventing Early Reading Failure - by Joseph K. Torgeson
". . . we now have tools to reliably identify the children who are likely destined for early reading failure. Most importantly, . . . we can say with confidence that if we intervene early, intensively, and appropriately, we can provide these children with the early reading skills that can prevent almost all of them from ever entering the nasty downward spiral . . ."

Questions to Ask - These questions were compiled through a collaborative effort by parents, educational consultants, teachers, professors from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Charlotte, and staff from the Exceptional Children's Assistance Center. Funding for these documents was provided by The North Carolina State Improvement Project, Public Schools of North Carolina, Exceptional Children Division
Questions Parents Can Ask about Reading Improvement
Questions Parents Can Ask about Spelling, Writing, and Testing

Evaluating Facts, Fictions, and Factions in the Reading Wars - by Barbara W. Wise, Ph.D.

Reading Recovery: Distinguishing Myths from Reality - By William E. Tummer, Ph.D. and James W. Chapman, Ph.D.

Database of evidence-based research on reading instruction - A searchable database offered by the Partnership for Reading, an initiative of the National Institute for Literacy, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the U.S. Department of Education

Informed Instruction for Reading Success: Foundations for Teacher Preparation - A Position Paper of the International Dyslexia Association - prepared by Susan Brady, Ph.D., and Louisa Moats, Ed.D

Reading and Learning Disabilities - Position Paper of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, Approved June 1996 and Updated April 2001

Why Children Succeed or Fail at Reading - Research from National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Program in Learning Disabilities

Reading Disabilities: Why Do Some Children Have Difficulty Learning to Read? What Can Be Done About It? - G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D.

Rethinking Learning Disabilities - G. Reid Lyon, Jack M. Fletcher, Sally E. Shaywitz, Bennet A. Shaywitz, Joseph K. Torgesen, Frank B. Wood, Ann Shulte and Richard Olson

A Synthesis of Research on Reading from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - Bonita Grossen, University of Oregon

Put Reading First - The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read - This document was published by The Partnership for Reading, a collaborative effort of the National Institute for Literacy, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the U.S. Department of Education to make evidence-based reading research available to educators, parents, policy-makers, and others with an interest in helping all people learn to read well. The findings and conclusions in this publication were drawn from the 2000 report of the National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction--Reports of the Subgroups.

Putting Reading First - Southwest Education Development Laboratory

American Federation of Teachers - Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science, What Expert Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do - Louisa Moats (1999)

Whole Language Lives on, The Illusion of "Balanced" Reading Instruction - Louisa Moats, Ed.D. (2000)

When Older Students Can't Read - Louisa C. Moats, Ed.D.
Both students and educators become frustrated when students beyond 3rd grade display reading difficulties. Research-based reading strategies can build a foundation for reading success in students of all ages.

A Child Becomes a Reader: Proven Ideas for Parents from Research -- Birth to Preschool - National Institute for Literacy, September 2002.
When does a child learn to read? Many people might say in kindergarten or first grade. But researchers have told us that children can begin to learn reading and writing at home, long before they go to school. This booklet offers advice for parents of children from birth to preschool on how to support reading development at home, and how to recognize preschool and day care activities that start children on the road to becoming readers.

A Child Becomes a Reader: Proven Ideas for Parents from Research -- Kindergarten through Grade Three - National Institute for Literacy, September 2002. - The road to becoming a reader begins the day a child is born and continues through the end of third grade. At that point, a child must read with ease and understanding to take advantage of the learning opportunities in fourth grade and beyond. This booklet offers advice for parents of children from grades K-3 on how to support reading development at home, and how to recognize effective instruction in their children's classrooms.

Research-Based Principles for Adult Basic Education Reading Instruction - National Institute for Literacy, September 2002
This publication represents the best information available about how adults learn to read. It is designed to serve two primary audiences: educators and policy makers who make decisions about the content of adult basic education reading instruction and researchers eager to identify new avenues of study to add to our understanding of this field.

Put Reading First: Helping Your Child Learn to Read - The Partnership for Reading: National Institute for Literacy; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; and U.S. Department of Education, September 2001.
This brochure, designed for parents of young children, describes the kinds of early literacy activities that should take place at school and at home to help children learn to read successfully. It is based on the findings of the National Reading Panel.

The Partnership for Reading - Bringing Scientific Evidence to Learning

Connections to Literacy - National Dissemination Center fro Children with Disabilities

Language Arts - Reading and Writing - The Access Center

National Institute for Literacy - publications

Definitions -

The term 'reading' means a complex system of deriving meaning from print that requires all of the following: (A) The skills and knowledge to understand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are connected to print. (B) The ability to decode unfamiliar words. (C) The ability to read fluently. (D) Sufficient background information and vocabulary to foster reading comprehension. (E) The development of appropriate active strategies to construct meaning from print. (F) The development and maintenance of a motivation to read. (20 U.S.C.§ 6368 (5))

The term 'essential components of reading instruction' means explicit and systematic instruction in- (A) phonemic awareness; (B) phonics; (C) vocabulary development; (D) reading fluency, including oral reading skills; and (E) reading comprehension strategies. (20 U.S.C.§ 6368 (3))

The term 'scientifically based reading research' means research that- (A) applies rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading difficulties; and (B) includes research that- (i) employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment; (ii) involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn; (iii) relies on measurements or observational methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and observations; and (iv) has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review. (20 U.S.C.§ 6368 (6))

Reading Rockets - extensive website

Children of the Code - Interviews with Reading Researchers and Historians

Preventing Early Reading Failure—and Its Devastating Downward Spiral - Joe Torgesen's feature article in Fall 2004 issue of the American Educator

Writing

The "Write Stuff" for Preventing and Treating Writing Disabilities - Virginia Berninger, Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Washington at Seattle



Assessments

Test Reviews Online - Searchable database of information on 4000 commercially available tests

Testing for Dyslexia - 12 page Fact Sheet from the International Dyslexia Association