More Smoke and Mirrors: A Critique of the National Reading Panel (NRP) Report on "Fluency"

In a response to a commentary of mine (Stephen Krashen, "Reading Report: One Research's 'Errors and Omissions,'"Education Week, May 10, 2000, p. 49), Timothy Shanahan, speaking for the NRP, notes that some studies were omitted because "The panel did not attempt to address second-language issues as the report clearly states." (see Timothy Shanahan, " Reading Panel: A Member Responds to a Critic," Education Week, May 31, 2000, p. 39). The NRP selection criteria do not mention English as a second language. Instead, the report notes only that studies had to be carried out with "English language reading" (p.3-23). Excluding second language acquirers resulted in ignoring some of the most important studies in the literature, both in terms of theory and practice.

Studies included in Table 2 follow.

Duration less than seven months, positive:

Burley, 1980, op.cit.; Anne Wolf and Larry Mikulecky, "Effects of Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading and of Reading Skills instruction on Changes in Secondary School Students' Reading Attitudes and Achievement." in P. David Pearson and Jane Hanson,eds., 27th Yearbook of the National Reading Conference. (Clemson, S.C.: National Reading Conference, Clemson, S.C.,1978) pp. 226-228.; Mabel Aranha, "Sustained Silent Reading Goes East," Reading Teacher, vol. 39, 1985, pp.214-217; Ira Gordon and Christine Clark. "An experiment in individualized reading," Childhood Education vol. 38, 1961, pp. 112-113; Holt and O'Tuel, op.cit.; Mary Husar, "Reading and more reading," Elementary English vol. 44, 1967, pp. 378-385,382 (grade 6); Beniko Mason and Stephen. Krashen, "Extensive Reading in English as a Foreign Language," System vol.25, 1997, pp. 91-102 (study 1).

Duration less than seven months, no difference:

Evans and Towner, op.cit. ; Collins, op. cit,; Edith Sperzl,. The Effect of Comic Books on Vocabulary Growth and Reading Comprehension." Elementary English, vol. 25,1948, pp. 109-113. Marvin Oliver, "The Effect of High Intensity Practice on Reading Comprehension." Reading Improvement, vol. 10, 1973, pp. 16-18; idem,, "The Effect of High Intensity Practice on Reading Achievement," Reading Improvement vol.13, 1976, pp. 226-228.; Isabel Schon, Kenneth Hopkins, and Carol Vojir. "The Effects of Spanish Reading Emphasis on the English and Spanish Reading Abilities of Hispanic High School Students." Bilingual Review vol. 11, 1984, pp. 33-39 (Tempe group); Harry Sartain, "The Roseville Experiment with Individualized Reading." Reading Teacher, vol.12, 1960, pp. 277-281 ("good reader" group); Summers and McClelland, op. cit. (three groups); Husar, op. cit. (grades 4,5), Holt and O'Tuel, 1989, op. cit. (grade 8);

Duration less than seven months, negative: Hoyle Lawson, "Effects of Free Reading on the Reading Achievement of Sixth Grade Pupils," in J.A. Figuerel, ed. Forging Ahead in Reading, (Newark, Del: International Reading Association,1968), pp. 501-504.; Sartain, op. cit. ("slow reader" group); San Diego County, "A Plan for Research. In Sam Duker, ed. Individualized Reading: Readings,. (Metuchen, N.J. Scarecrow Press, 1965) pp. 359-363.

Duration seven months to one year, positive:

Warwick Elley, "Acquiring Literacy in a Second Language: The Effect of Book- Based Programs." Language Learning, vol.41, 1991, pp. 375-411 (Singapore, P1 survey); Marion Jenkins, "Self-Selection in Reading." Reading Teacher vol.11, 1957, pp. 84-90; Lois Bader, Jeannette. Veatch, and J. Lloyd Eldridge, "Trade Books or Basal Readers?" Reading Improvement, vol.24, 1987, pp. 62-67; Davis, op. cit. (medium ability readers); Mason and Krashen, op. cit. (studies 2a,2b, 3); Propitas Lituanas, George Jacobs, Willy. Renandya. "A Study of Extensive Reading with Remedial Reading Students," In Y. M. Cheah and S. M. Ng, eds. Language Instructional Issues in Asian Classrooms . (Newark: International Reading Association, 1999) pp. 89-104.

Duration seven months to one year, no difference:

Manning and Manning, op. cit. (pure SSR and student-teacher conference conditions); Schon, Hopkins and Vojir, 1984, op. cit. (Chandler School District); Isabel Schon, Kenneth Hopkins, and Carol Vojir, "The Effects of Special Reading Time in Spanish on the Reading Abilities and Attitudes of Hispanic Junior High School Students." Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, vol. 14, 1985, pp. 57-65 (grade 7, grade 8); James McDonald, Theodore Harris, and John Mann. "Individual Versus Group Instruction in First Grade Reading." Reading Teacher, vol.19, 1966, pp. 643-646, 652; Vincent Greaney, "A Comparison of Individualized and Basal Reader Approaches to Reading Instruction." Irish Journal of Education, vol.1, 1970, pp. 19-29; Floyd Davis and James Lucas, "An Experiment in Individualized Reading," Reading Teacher, vol. 24, 1971, pp. 737-743,747 (grades 7 and 8); Ann Healy, "Changing Children's Attitudes Toward Reading," Elementary English, vol.40, 1963, pp. 255-257, 279; Davis, op. cit. (high ability readers).

Duration longer than one year, positive:

Warwick Elley and Francis Mangubhai. 1983. "The Impact of Reading on Second Language Learning,"Reading Research Quarterly vol.19, 1983. pp.53-67 (grades 4 and 5); Elley, op. cit. (Singapore, sample of 512, P3 survey), Miriam Aronow, "A Study of the Effect of Individualized Reading on Children's Reading Test Scores," Reading Teacher, vol. 15, 1961, pp. 86-91; Ben Bohnhorst and Sophia Sellars, "Individual Reading Instruction vs. Basal Textbook Instruction: Some Tentative Explorations," Elementary English, vol. 36, 1959, pp. 185-190, 202; Frances Cyrog, "Self-Selection in Reading: Report of a Longitudinal Study," In Malcolm Douglas, ed. Claremont Reading Conference: 26th Yearbook (Claremont, Ca.: Claremont Graduate School, 1962) pp. 106-113; Rodney Johnson, "Individualized and basal primary reading programs," Elementary English, vol. 42, 1965, pp. 902-904, 915.

Duration longer than one year, no difference:

Ruth Cline and George Kretke, "An Evaluation of Long-Term SSR in the Junior High School, Journal of Reading, March, 1980, pp. 503-506; " Warwick Elley, Ian Barham, Hilary Lamb, and Malcolm Wyllie. 1976. "The Role of Grammar in a Secondary School Curriculum." Research in the Teaching of English vol.10, 1976. pp. 5-21.

Shanahan claimed that most omitted studies of sustained silent reading using native speakers of English were unpublished dissertations (Shanahan, op. cit.). None of the studies listed above are unpublished dissertations. All were published in refereed journals, except for two studies published in the National Reading Handbook Yearbook (Lawson, Wolf and Mikulecky), one from a book published by the International Reading Association (Lituanas, Jacobs, and Renandya), one study from the Claremont Conference Handbook (Cyrog), and one school district report (San Diego County).