Publications
and Materials
1999 NRP
Progress Report
Section 2: The National Reading
Panel
1999 NRP Progress
Report Table of Contents
Introduction
In 1997, Congress asked the director
of the NICHD, in consultation with the Secretary of
the Department of Education, to create a National Reading
Panel (NRP). According to the congressional charge,
the Panel would determine from existing research the
most effective approaches for teaching children how
to read so that these findings might influence teaching
in the classroom and home.
Congress did not expect the Panel to
conduct its own research. Rather, it anticipated that
the Panel would review the research literature, identify
the methods that show the most promise, and then translate
the research into key findings that would be disseminated
to teachers and ultimately parents. Congress also expected
that the Panel would solicit information from the public
about pressing needs and about viewpoints toward the
research.
Requests for nominations to the Panel
were sent to scientists at the Department of Education
and NICHD who are involved in reading research, as well
as reading and scientific organizations. Electronic
mail lists that serve those interested in reading research
also were notified of the search for Panel members.
Eventually, nearly 300 individuals were nominated to
the Panel. From this list, NICHD and the Department
of Education selected the 14 individuals who now make
up the Panel.
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Members
of the Panel
The Panel includes prominent reading
researchers, leaders in elementary and higher education,
teachers, parents, and child development experts. They
are:
Dr. Donald Langenberg; Adelphi,
Maryland (Chair). Eminent physicist and Chancellor of
the 13-member University System of Maryland since 1990.
Has served as the Chancellor of the University of Illinois
at Chicago, Deputy Director (and Acting Director) of
the National Science Foundation, Professor of Physics
at the University of Pennsylvania, and President of
the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and the American Physical Society. Highly respected
nationally and internationally for his leadership capabilities,
his ability to forge consensus on difficult issues,
and his dedication to education at all levels.
Dr. Gloria Correro; Starkville,
Mississippi. Professor of Curriculum and Instruction
and Associate Dean for Instruction, Mississippi State
University. Highly respected educator and teacher educator
in Mississippi and the southeast and south central regions
of the country. Credited with establishing kindergarten
and early childhood programs in Mississippi, as well
as the Mississippi Reading Assistant program. Member,
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development, American
Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, Association
of Teacher Educators, National Association for the Education
of Young Children, Association for Childhood Education
International, Phi Delta Kappa, and Phi Kappa Phi.
Dr. Linnea Ehri; New York, New
York. Distinguished Professor, Ph.D. Program in Educational
Psychology, Graduate School and University Center of
the City University of New York. Nationally and internationally
recognized scientist for her research on early reading
development and instruction. Known among cognitive psychologists
for her ability to identify aspects of pedagogy that
are popular among teachers and to empirically examine
the underlying assumptions of the pedagogy. Past President,
Society for the Scientific Study of Reading; past Vice
President, American Educational Research Association
(Division C-Learning and Instruction); past member Board
of Directors of the National Reading Conference; recipient
of the Oscar S. Causey Award for Distinguished Research
(National Reading Conference). Member, International
Reading Association, Reading Hall of Fame, National
Reading Conference, American Educational Research Association,
American Psychological Association (Fellow), and Society
for the Scientific Study of Reading.
Mrs. Gwenette Ferguson; Houston,
Texas. Reading Teacher, North Forest Independent School
District (Houston). Chair, English Language Arts Department;
Kirby Middle School Teacher of the Year (1991). Received
the Kirby Middle School Award for Outstanding Dedication
and Service (1988, 1989,1990); Houston Area Alliance
of Black School Educators Outstanding Educator Award,
and North Forest Independent School District Achieving
Through Excellence Award. Member, National Council of
Teachers of English, Texas Council of Teachers of English.
Vice President Elect of Affiliates, North Forest District
Reading Council, Greater Houston Area Reading Council,
and Texas Classroom Teachers Association.
Ms. Norma Garza; Brownsville,
Texas. Certified Public Accountant for Law Firm of Rodriguez,
Colvin & Chaney, LLP. Founder and chair of the Brownsville
Reads Task Force. Serves on the Governor's Focus on
Reading Task Force, Governor's Special Education Advisory
Committee, Texas panel member of Academics Goals 2000.
Received the Texas State Board of Education "Heroes
for Children" Award. Member, International Dyslexia
Association. Strong advocate for business community
involvement in education.
Dr. Michael Kamil; Stanford,
California. Professor of Psychological Studies in Education
and Learning, Design, and Technology, School of Education,
Stanford University. Chair, Stanford University Commission
on Technology in Teaching and Learning Grants Committee;
Chair, Technology Committee of the National Reading
Conference (NRC). Former member of the Board of Directors
of the National Reading Conference and the National
Conference for Research in English. Former Editor of
the Journal of Reading Behavior (1988-89); Editor NRC
Yearbook (1980-82) and Co-editor of Reading Research
Quarterly (1991-1995). Co-authored Understanding Research
in Reading and Writing and co-edited Volumes I and II
of The Handbook of Reading Research. Received Albert
J. Kingston Award from the National Reading Conference
and the Milton Jacobson Readability Research Award from
the International Reading Association. Currently, member
of the American Psychological Association, American
Educational Research Association, International Reading
Association, National Conference for Research in English
(Fellow), and the National Reading Conference.
Dr. Cora Bagley Marrett; Amherst,
Massachusetts. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
and Provost, University of Massachusetts-Amherst. As
Assistant Director, National Science Foundation (1992-1996),
was first person to lead the Directorate for Social,
Behavioral and Economic Sciences. Also served as Director
of the United Negro College Fund/Mellon Programs; Associate
Chairperson for Department of Sociology, University
of Wisconsin; and member, Board of Directors, Center
for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Served
in 1979 on the President's Commission on the Accident
at Three Mile Island. Member, Board of Governors, Argonne
National Laboratory; Board of Directors, Social Science
Research Council; Commission on the Behavioral and Social
Sciences and Education, National Research Council; Peer
Review Oversight Group for the National Institutes of
Health; National Advisory Council for the Fogarty International
Center, also of the National Institutes of Health. Fellow,
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
and Vice President, American Sociological Association.
Dr. S. J. Samuels; Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Professor, Department of Educational Psychology,
University of Minnesota. Recipient of the College of
Education Distinguished Teaching Award. Internationally
respected reading researcher. Highly experienced consultant
to inner-city schools. Selected for the Reading Hall
of Fame. Received the Wm. S. Gray Citation of Merit
from the International Reading Association and the Oscar
O. Causey Award from the National Reading Conference
for Distinguished Research in Reading. Member of the
Governing Council, Center for Research in Perception,
Learning and Cognition at the University of Minnesota;
American Educational Research Association; American
Psychological Association (Fellow); International Reading
Association; and National Reading Conference.
Dr. Timothy Shanahan; Chicago,
Illinois. Professor of Urban Education, Director of
the Center for Literacy, and Coordinator of Graduate
Programs in Reading, Writing, and Literacy at the University
of Illinois at Chicago. Internationally recognized reading
researcher with extensive experience with children in
Head Start, children with special needs, and children
in inner-city schools. Editor of the Yearbook of the
National Reading Conference and formerly Associate Editor
of the Journal of Reading Behavior. Received the Albert
J. Harris Award for Outstanding Research on Reading
Disability and the Milton D. Jacobson Readability Research
Award from the International Reading Association. Member,
Board of Directors of the International Reading Association.
Member, American Educational Research Association, National
Council on Research in Language and Literacy, National
Council of Teachers of English, National Reading Conference,
and Society for the Study of Reading.
Dr. Sally Shaywitz; New Haven,
Connecticut. Professor of Pediatrics and Co-Director,
Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention,
Yale University School of Medicine. Neuroscientist nationally
and internationally recognized for research contributions
in reading development and reading disorders, including
recent demonstration of neurobiological substrate of
reading and reading disability. Unique for contribution
to development of conceptual model of reading and reading
disability and for identifying high prevalence of reading
disability in girls. Received Distinguished Alumnus
Award, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Most recently
served on National Academy of Sciences Panel on Preventing
Reading Difficulties in Children. Diplomate, American
Board of Pediatrics; member, Institute of Medicine of
the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of
Pediatrics, American Association for the Advancement
of Science, American Educational Research Association,
Council for Exceptional Children, International Dyslexia
Association, Society for Developmental and Behavioral
Pediatrics, Society for Pediatric Research, Society
for Research in Child Development, and Society for the
Scientific Study of Reading.
Dr. Thomas Trabasso; Chicago,
Illinois. Irving B. Harris Professor, Department of
Psychology, The University of Chicago. Cognitive scientist
internationally recognized for investigations of comprehension
during reading. Has most recently developed a connectionist
model that simulates dynamic processing over the course
of reading. Has served as Chair of Department of Psychology,
Editor of Cognitive Psychology, and Associate Editor
of the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Member,
Psychonomic Society, Society for Research in Child Development,
American Educational Research Association, International
Reading Association, National Reading Conference, American
Psychological Society, Society for Discourse and Text
Processing (Founding Member and Chair), and Society
for the Scientific Study of Reading.
Dr. Joanna Williams; New York,
New York. Professor of Psychology and Education, Columbia
University. Internationally recognized scholar for research
on linguistic, cognitive, and perceptual bases of reading
development and disorders. Fulbright Scholar, University
of Paris; Oscar S. Causey Award for Outstanding Contributions
to Reading Research from the National Reading Council;
elected to Reading Hall of Fame (1994); and recognized
as a Guy Bond Scholar by the University of Minnesota
(1997). Currently serves as Editor of Scientific Studies
in Reading and has served as the Editor of the Journal
of Educational Psychology. Member, American Educational
Research Association, American Psychological Association
(Fellow), Council for Exceptional Children, International
Reading Association, National Conference on Research
in English, National Reading Conference, New York Academy
of Sciences, and Society for the Scientific Study of
Reading.
Dr. Dale Willows; Toronto, Ontario,
Canada. Professor, Department of Human Development and
Applied Psychology, Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education, University of Toronto. Internationally recognized
scholar in reading development and reading difficulties.
Has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of
Research on Reading and Reading Research Quarterly.
Member, American Educational Research Association, International
Dyslexia Association, International Reading Association,
and National Reading Conference.
Dr. Joanne Yatvin; Portland,
Oregon. Principal, Cottrell and Bull Run Schools, Boring,
Oregon. Forty-one years' experience as a classroom teacher
and school administrator. Served as Chair of the Committee
on Centers of Excellence for English and the Language
Arts, National Council of Teachers of English. President
of the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English and
the Madison (Wisconsin) Area Reading Council, and a
member of the National Advisory Board, Educational Resources
Information Center on Reading and Communication Skills
ERIC/RCS. Named Elementary Principal of the Year by
the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the
Wisconsin State Reading Association. Received the Distinguished
Elementary Education Alumni Award from the University
of Wisconsin School of Education. Member, National Council
of Teachers of English, International Reading Association,
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development,
and Oregon Reading Association.
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Staff of
the Panel
The National Reading Panel also has
a number of support staff personnel to direct the Panel’s
day-to-day efforts. These staff are:
F. William Dommel, Jr., J.D., Executive
Director
Mary E. McCarthy, Ph.D., Senior
Staff Psychologist
Vinita Chhabra, M.Ed., Research
Scientist
Judy Rothenberg, Secretary
The Panel receives logistical support
from IQ Solutions, Inc. (IQ Meeting Manager Jamie Nusbacher)
and communications and strategic counsel from The Widmeyer-Baker
Group, Inc. (Project Manager Patrick Riccards).
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Charge to
the Panel
Implementing the directive of the Congress,
Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development, charged the Panel
as follows:
The Congress of the United States,
when it asked that the National Reading Panel be established,
directed the Panel to "assess the status of research-based
knowledge (of reading development and disability), including
the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching
children to read." Based on this assessment, the
Panel is to "present a report to the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education,
and the appropriate congressional committees. The report
should present the Panel’s conclusions, an indication
of the readiness for application in the classroom of
the results of this research, and, if appropriate, a
strategy for rapidly disseminating this information
to facilitate effective reading needed regarding early
reading development and instruction.
A recent report by the National Research
Council Committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties
in Young Children summarized converging evidence on
what must be in place for children to learn to read
and on various approaches to reading instruction. This
report provides a valuable foundation on which the National
Reading Panel can build.
Accordingly, the Panel is charged to
conduct an extensive and critical review, analysis,
and synthesis of the research literature on how children
learn to read, and on how the components of skilled
reading behavior are developed by various approaches
to reading instruction for children of differing backgrounds,
learning characteristics, and literacy experiences.
Taking into account the relevance, methodological rigor
and applicability, validity, reliability, and replicability
of the reported research the Panel should address the
following questions:
- What is known about the basic process by which children
learn to read?
- What are the most common instructional approaches
in use in the U.S. to teach children to learn to read?
What are the scientific underpinnings for each of
these methodological approaches, and what assessments
have been done to validate their underlying scientific
rationale? What conclusions about the scientific basis
for these approaches does the Panel draw from these
assessments?
- What assessments have been made of the effectiveness
of each of these methodologies in actual use in helping
children develop critical reading skills, and what
conclusions does the Panel draw from these assessments?
- Based on answers to the preceding questions, what
does the Panel conclude about the readiness for implementation
in the classroom of these research results?
- How are teachers trained to reach children to read,
and what do studies show about the effectiveness of
this training? How can this knowledge be applied to
improve this training?
- What practical findings from the Panel can be used
immediately by parents, teachers, and other educational
audiences to help children learn how to read, and
how can conclusions of the Panel be disseminated most
effectively?
- What important gaps remain in our knowledge of how
children learn to read, the effectiveness of different
instructional methods for teaching reading, and improving
the preparation of teachers in reading instruction
that could be addressed by additional research?
In carrying out this charge, the Panel
shall use the means necessary to retrieve, review, and
analyze the relevant research literature; seek information
and viewpoints of researchers and other professionals
in reading instruction as well as of teachers and parents;
and exert its best efforts to complete its work of developing
responses to the questions above and submit a final
report.
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1999 NRP Progress Report
Table of Contents
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