Standard 1 - Reading: Word Recognition, Fluency, and Vocabulary Development 

      1. Books are a rich source of academic vocabulary.

Hayes, D.P., & Ahrens, M. (1988). “Vocabulary Simplification for Children: A Special Case of ‘Motherese’.” Journal of Child Language, 15, 395-410.

2. Because books present more advanced and less familiar vocabulary than everyday speech, they take students beyond their existing oral vocabularies and present them with new concepts and words.

Blackowicz, C. & Obrochta, C. (2005). "Vocabulary Visits: Virtual Field Trips for Content Vocabulary Development." The Reading Teacher, 59(3), 262-268.

3. Reading volume [the amount of reading that students do] has a significant impact upon word recognition, spelling, vocabulary development, reading comprehension, and general knowledge. The amount of print exposure and reading volume can account for cognitive differences among children and significant differences in their reading achievement. Reading widely and frequently has significant dividends for all students, not just the smart kids or the able readers.

Cunningham, A.E., & Stanovich, K.E. (2003). “Reading Matters: How Reading Engagement Influence Cognition.” In D. Lapp & J. Flood (Eds.) The Handbook of Language Arts, (pp: 666-675). Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Cunningham, A.E., & Stanovich, K.E. (1998). “What Reading Does for the Mind.” American Educator, Spring/Summer, 22:8-15.

Standard 2- Reading: Reading Comprehension

1. Students in both 4th and 8th grade, when exposed to real texts - books and stories - rather than short passages in basal readers performed better in reading comprehension.

Wenglinsky, H. (2003). “Using Large-scale Research to Gauge the Impact of Instructional Practices on Student Reading Comprehension: An Exploratory Study.” Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11, 19.

2. The amount of reading students do is a strong predictor of reading comprehension, outweighing such factors as intelligence, economic background, and gender.

Reutzal, D.R. & Gikkubgsworth, P.M. (1991). “Reading Time in School: Effect on Fourth Graders’ Performance on a Criterion-referenced Comprehension Test.” Journal of Educational Research, 84: 170-176.

3. Extensive reading of developmentally appropriate material of many kinds, both in and out of school, results in substantial growth in vocabulary and comprehension abilities and in the information base of students.

Squires, J.R. (2004). “Extensive Reading.” In G. Cawelti (Ed.). Handbook of Research on Improving Student Achievement, 3^rd ed. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service, p. 126.

4. School libraries that provide ample collections of instructional-level texts play a key role in literacy learning.

Mosenthal, J., Lipson, M.Y., Sortino, S., Russ, B., & Mekkelsen, J. (2001). “Literacy Lessons in Rural Vermont: Lessons from Schools Where Children Succeed.” In B. Taylor & P.D. Person (Eds.), Teaching Reading: Effective Schools and Accomplished Teachers (115-140). Newark: NJ: Erlbaum.

Reading Achievement: 

    1.  Access to an abundance of books ...results in increased reading motivation and increased reading achievement.

Guthrie, J.T., Schafer, W.D., Von Secker, C., & Alban, T. (2000). “Contributions Of Instructional Practices to Reading Achievement in a Statewide Improvement Program.” Journal of Educational Research, 94(4), 211-225.

   2.  According to the results on the 2000 PISA [international test of reading performance], students who were habitual readers and who were engaged in their reading were more likely to have high levels of measured reading achievement.

Krisch, I., deJong, J., LaFonain, D., MacQueen, J., Mendelovits, J., and Moneur, C. [2002]. Reading for Change: Performance and Engagement Across Countries: Results from PISA 2000.  Paris, France: Center for Educational Research, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

    3.  The level of reading engagement significantly effects reading achievement on NAEP, even when background variables of

          nonverbal   intelligence, background knowledge, and socioeconomic status are statistically controlled for. Students who are

          engaged   readers read more, use their reading strategies more strategically, read more complex text, and score

    higher on tests of reading achievement.

Guthrie, J.T., Wigfield, A., Metsala, J.L., & Cox, K.E. (1999). “Motivational and Cognitive Predictors of Text Comprehension and Reading Amount.”  Scientific Studies of Reading, 3: 231-256.

        4.  Access to interesting texts is a critical factor in promoting reading engagement and motivation. According to Guthrie and

             Humenick, access to interesting texts ranks highest of four key factors influencing motivation and engagement.

Guthrie, J.T. & Humenick, N. (2003). “Motivating students to read.” In McCardle, P. and Chhabra, V. (eds.), The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research. Baltimore, MD: Paul Brooks Publishers.

     5.  Legislators need to know that one key to reducing the variability in cognitive differences among students caused by lack of print

          exposure and reading volume is to provide them with engaging books to read. The name of the game is increased academic

          achievement.  If we can show legislators that reading achievement will improve with increased access to books, they may fund

          the Library Materials Grant legislation.