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In 1991, the United States participated in the International Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Reading Literacy Study that assessed the reading literacy of fourth-grade students in 32 countries. When a new study of fourth-grade reading literacy was being planned for 2001, the IEA decided to create a new assessment: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). This Working Paper compares the frameworks, texts, and items of these two international studies. The paper is divided into the following sections: Executive Summary; Introduction; Definitions of Reading; Purposes for Reading; Reading Passages; Distribution of Item Types in NAEP and PIRLS; Reading Processes Assessed by NAEP and PIRLS; To What Extent Do NAEP and PIRLS Measure Similar Skills?; Detailed View of Cross-Classification; and Conclusion. Appended are: Expert Panel Members; Example Passages; Readability and Lexile Analysis; and Classification of Items. (Contains 7 references, 14 tables, and 4 figures.) (NKA)

In September 1998, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) established a 1-year task force to review the NCES's role concerning lifelong learning. The eight-member task force established a working definition of lifelong learning ("a process or system through which individuals are able and willing to learn at all stages of life, from preschool through old age") and conducted the following activities: (1) summarized and prioritized policy issues concerning lifelong learning; (2) synthesized exiting data to address monitoring and policy needs; (3) identified and prioritized gaps in existing data; and (4) developed recommendations on data collection strategies. The recommendations focused on the following lifelong learning issue areas: the adult population; learning attitudes and skills of adults; labor market demand for adult learning; participation levels and patterns; goals, incentives, and disincentives; investments in adult learning; adult learning providers; instructional delivery and new technologies; informal learning; services and accommodations for adults; outcomes and effectiveness; and the government's role in adult learning. The task force concluded that adult learning is an important area of education that should have a coherent data collection and reporting system within NCES and that NCES should take the following steps to develop such a system: (1) develop a compendium report summarizing existing information on lifelong learning; and (2) modify existing survey instruments that collect relevant information. (MN)

Using data from the 1991 IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) Reading Literacy Study, a study compared United States fourth- and ninth-grade students to students in 32 other countries; examined relationships between reading comprehension and aspects of family, schooling, and community; and investigated the nature of reading instruction in American classrooms. National samples of classes at the grade level containing the most 9-year-olds and 14-year-olds were used. A "world average" was constructed of the 18 participating nations that are also members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Results indicated that (1) American fourth graders outperformed students from all other countries except Finland; (2) American ninth graders' performance was closely grouped with that of students from 15 other nations; (3) in the United States, White students read better than Black and Hispanic students; (4) most groups of American students outperformed the OECD average; (5) students whose parents did not finish high school read at about the same level as the OECD average at fourth grade, but fell below the average in the ninth grade; (6) when differences in wealth, race/ethnicity, level of parental education, and other related attributes were taken into account, children from one-parent mother-only families did as well as children from two-parent families; (7) parents' educational attainment influenced reading comprehension over and above other aspects of family background; (8) what teachers said they believed about reading instruction differed markedly from what they actually did and had students do. (Contains 70 references, 43 notes, 4 exhibits, 3 tables, and 29 figures of data.) (RS)

Intended for parents and based on the premise that parents are their children's first and most important teachers, this booklet is a distillation of findings from the 1984 report of the Commission on Reading, "Becoming a Nation of Readers." The introduction reiterates the commission's conclusions (1) that a parent is a child's first tutor in unraveling the puzzle of written language; (2) that parents should read to preschool children and informally teach them about reading and writing; and (3) that parents should support school-aged children's continued growth as readers. Chapter 1 defines reading as the process of constructing meaning from written texts, a complex skill requiring the coordination of a number of interrelated sources of information. Chapter 2, on the preschool years, focuses on talking to the young child, reading aloud to the preschooler, and teaching children about written language. The third chapter, on beginning reading, counsels parents on what to look for in good beginning reading programs in schools, and how to help the child with reading at home. The fourth chapter, on developing readers and making reading an integral part of learning, offers suggestions for helping the child succeed in school and for encouraging reading for fun. The afterword calls on teachers, publishers, and school personnel, as well as parents, to participate actively in creating a literate society. The booklet concludes with a list of organizations that provide practical help or publications for parents. (NKA)

Intended to help principals with the design and implementation of reading instruction in their schools, the recommendations presented in this booklet are drawn directly from the findings discussed in "Becoming a Nation of Readers" in 1984. The conclusions of the Commission on Reading are described in ways that every principal can act upon. Taking the information that was laid out by the Commission, the booklet turns it into action plans that principals can use. The goal is to enhance reading instruction so that the "verified practices of the best teachers in the country can be introduced throughout the country." After a foreword by Barbara Bush and an introduction, the first section describes what a school that values literacy looks and feels like. The second section discusses what a principal should know about reading, while the third section considers what a principal can do to help create a community of readers. The final section identifies ways in which parents, teachers, textbook publishers, and schools can help children achieve their potentials as readers. Twenty-eight notes are included. (NKA)