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Deals with the significance of neurological science and reading research to the improvement of reading instruction. Comparison of reading and spoken language; Characterization of developmental dyslexia; Incidence and distribution of dyslexia; Phases in the acquisition of literacy.

The article presents a response to the article "The Gully in the 'Brain Glitch' Theory," in the same issue. The authors dispute the information presented by Judy Willis in that article and state that neuroimaging studies reveal an underactivation in the brain region influencing fluency in struggling readers. They identify left-hemisphere posterior brain areas that fail to function properly in children with dyslexia and associate one of these areas with the ability for skilled, fluent reading. The authors defend the research that supports phonics instruction for beginning or struggling readers. Five critical components of reading are listed: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Comments on an article which criticized previous research on the prevention and remediation of reading failure. Overview of studies on classroom instruction; Increase in the funding for research for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in 2003.