Progress in Understanding Reading Scientific Foundations and New Frontiers

From one of the most widely cited scholars in the field, this volume summarizes the gains that have been made in key areas of reading research and provides authoritative insights on current controversies and debates. Significant issues covered include phonological processes and context effects, the "reading wars" and how they should be resolved, and the meaning of the term "dyslexia".

The last 25 years have seen tremendous advances in the study of psychological processes in reading. Our growing body of knowledge on the reading process and reading acquisition has applications to such important problems as the prevention of reading difficulties and the identification of effective instructional practices. This volume summarizes the gains that have been made in key areas of reading research and provides authoritative insights on current controversies and debates. From one of the most accomplished and widely cited scholars in the field, the volume is divided into seven parts. Each part begins with a new introductory chapter presenting up-to-date findings on the topic at hand, followed by one or more classic papers from the author's exemplary research program. Significant issues covered include phonological processes and context effects in reading, the "reading wars" and how they should be resolved, the meaning of the term "dyslexia," and the cognitive effects and benefits of reading.

ContentsForeword, Isabel L. BeckPrefaceI. The Role of Context Effects in Models of Reading1. Early Applications of Information Processing Concepts to the Study of Reading: The Role of Sentence Context2. Automatic Contextual Facilitation in Readers of Three AgesRichard F. West and Keith E. Stanovich3. Toward an Interactive Compensatory Model of Individual Differences in the Development of Reading Fluency4. The Interactive Compensatory Model of Reading: A Confluence of Developmental, Experimental, and Educational PsychologyII. Phonological Sensitivity and the Phonological Core Deficit Model 5. Early Reading Acquisition and the Causes of Reading Difficulty: Contributions to Research on Phonological Processing6. Assessing Phonological Awareness in Kindergarten Children: Issues of TaskComparabilitywith Anne E. Cunningham and Barbara Cramer7. Explaining the Differences between the Dyslexic and the Garden-Variety Poor Reader: The Phonological-Core Variable-Difference Model8. The Phenotypic Performance Profile of Reading-Disabled Children: A Regression-Based Test of the Phonological-Core Variable-Difference Modelwith Linda S. SiegelIII. Matthew Effects in Reading9. Tying It All Together: A Model of Reading Acquisition and Reading Difficulty10. Matthew Effects in Reading: Some Consequences of Individual Differences in the Acquisition of LiteracyIV. The Importance of Word Recognition in Models of Reading11. The Word Recognition Module12. Concepts in Developmental Theories of Reading Skill: Cognitive Resources, Automaticity, and Modularity V. The Cognitive Consequences of Literacy13. Measuring Print Exposure: Attempts to Empirically Track Rich GetRicher Effects14. Exposure to Print and Orthographic Processing, with Richard F. West15. Does Reading Make You Smarter?: Literacy and the Development of Verbal Intelligence16. Literacy Experiences and the Shaping of Cognition, Stanovich, with Anne E. Cunningham and Richard F. WestVI. Discrepancy Definitions of Reading Disability17. Reading Disability Classification: Are Reforms Based on Evidence Possible?18. Discrepancy Definitions of Reading Disability: Has Intelligence Led Us Astray?VII. The Reading Instruction Debate: Comments on the Reading Wars19. Putting Children First by Putting Science First: The Politics of Early Reading Instruction20. Romance and Reality21. 25 Years of Research on the Reading Process: The Grand Synthesis and What It Means for Our Field