Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children
	Catherine E. Snow, M. Susan Burns, and Peg Griffin, Editors
	Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children, National Research Council
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Acknowledgments

Many people contributed in many different ways to the completion of this report, and we are most grateful for their efforts. First, the committee and staff would like to acknowledge Ellen Schiller (U.S. Department of Education), Naomi Karp (U.S. Department of Education), and Reid Lyon (National Institutes of Health) for assistance given during the project. Judith Heumann, Tom Hehir, and Louis Danielson of the Office of Special Education (U.S. Department of Education) and Duane Alexander of the National Institutes of Health provided support and encouragement. Our thanks to Rebecca Fitch (U.S. Department of Education) and Fritz Mosher (Carnegie Corporation) for their help in developing plans for liaison activities.

During the information-gathering phase of our work, a number of people made presentations to the committee on programs that focused on the prevention of reading difficulties: Steve Barnett (moderator); Elizabeth Segal (Beginning with Books); Marcia Invernizzi (Book Buddies); Andrew Hayes (Comprehensive Family Literacy Program); John Guthrie (Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction); Bob Stark (Early ID: Reading Early Identification and Intervention); Barbara Taylor (Early Intervention in Reading); Jerry Zimmerman and Carolyn Brown (Breakthrough to Literacy); Sabra Gelfond (HAILO); Annette Dove (Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters--HIPPY); Pia Rebello (Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters--HIPPY); Darcy Vogel (Intergenerational Tutoring Program); Ethna Reid (Keyboarding, Reading, Spelling); Bob Lemire and Kathy Hook (Phonics-Based Reading); George Farkas (Reading One-One); M. Trika Smith-Burke (Reading Recovery); James Wendorf, Linda Gambrell, and Suzanne Kealey (RIF's Running Start Program); John Nunnary (Success For All); Marilyn Howard (Auditory Discrimination in Depth).

In addition, materials and advice were provided by various programs and professional and advocacy groups. The program materials include: 4 H Family; Books Aloud; Books and Beyond; Children's Television Workshop/Sesame Street; Class-Wide Peer Tutoring; Cornell Cooperative Extension; Dyslexia Training Program; Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound; First Book; Four Blocks; Four Remedial Reading Programs; Friend/Non-Friend; Getting Books in Children's Hands; Ladders to Literacy: Kindergarten; Ladders to Literacy: Preschool; Listening Comprehension; Little Planet Publishing; National Reading Research Center-Georgia; National Speech Language Therapy Center; New Chance; Open Court; Project Read Program; Project Seed; Reach Out and Read; Readnet: Pathways to Literacy Readnet Foundation; Stony Brook Reading and Language; Sound Partners; Waterford Early Reading Program; Wiggle Works; and Youth Opportunities Unlimited.

The professional associations and other groups include the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; American Humane Association; American Library Association; American Psychological Association, Division 37; Child, Youth and Family Services; American Public Welfare Association; Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America; Child Welfare League of America; Families, 4-H and Nutrition; Home and School Institute; Initiatives for Children; Institute for Educational Leadership; International Reading Association; Learning Disabilities Association; National 4-H Council; National Association for Bilingual Education; National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Association of School Psychologists; National Association of State Boards of Education; National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health; National Center for Family Literacy; National Center for Immigrant Students; National Education Association; National School Boards Association; Save the Children International; and School-Age Child Care Project.

The panel was assisted in its deliberations by a number of people who wrote background papers: Steven Barnett, "The Effects of Preschool Programs on Reading Achievement"; Lynn Fuchs, "Monitoring Student Progress Toward the Development of Reading Competence: Classroom-Based Assessment Methods"; Stanley Herr, "Special Education Law and Young Children with Reading Disabilities or at Risk of Such Disabilities"; Laura Klenk, "Review of Selected Remediation and Early Intervention Programs"; James McClelland, "The Basis and Remediation of Language Impairments in Children"; Kevin S. McGrew, "The Measurement of Reading Achievement by Different Individually Administered Standardized Reading Tests: Apples and Apples, or Apples and Oranges?"; Robert Needlman, "Pediatric Interventions to Prevent Reading Problems in Young Children"; Carol Padden, "Reading and Deafness"; Bennett A. Shaywitz, "The Neurobiology of Reading and Reading Disability"; Margaret J. Snowling, "A Review of the Literature on Reading, Informed by PDP Models, with Special Regard to Children Between Birth and Age 8, Who May Be at Risk of Not Learning to Read."

Numerous researchers also shared their work with the committee, including Catherine Dorsey-Gaines (Kean College of New Jersey); Vivian L. Gadsden (University of Pennsylvania); Russell Gersten (University of Oregon); Robert Rueda (University of Southern California); Rune J. Simeonsson (University of North Carolina); Frank R. Vellutino (State University of New York, Albany); and special education project directors present at our information-gathering meeting in July 1996.

This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the National Research Council in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The content of the review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: Benita A. Blachman, School of Education, Syracuse University; Peter Bryant, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford; Courtney Cazden, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University; Britton Chance, Departments of Biochemistry and Biophysics (emeritus), University of Pennsylvania; Ruth Fielding-Barnsley, Psychology Department, University of New England, New South Wales, Australia; John Guthrie, College of Education, University of Maryland, College Park; Eileen Kowler, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University; Frank Manis, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California; Luis Moll, Division of Language, Reading, and Culture, University of Arizona; P. David Pearson, College of Education, Michigan State University; W. Charles Read, School of Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Patrick Suppes, Center for the Study of Language and Information (emeritus), Stanford University; Richard Wagner, Department of Psychology, Florida State University; and Grover J. Whitehurst, Department of Psychology, State University of New York, Stony Brook.

While the individuals listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, responsibility for the final content of this report rests solely with the authoring committee and the National Research Council.

Throughout the research, conceptualization, and writing phase of this work, our coeditor, Peg Griffin, was an invaluable colleague--a strong-minded collaborator, a tireless writer, and a reliably good-natured colleague. Alexandra Wigdor, director of the Division on Education, Labor, and Human Performance, and Janet Hansen, also of the division, provided guidance and support throughout the project. This final product has benefited enormously from the editorial attention of Christine McShane. Marie Suizzo, Marilyn Dabady, Roger Butts, and Sharon Vandivere ably assisted the committee at different stages. The committee extends its sincere thanks and appreciation to all those who assisted us in our work.

Catherine Snow, Chair
Susan Burns, Study Director
Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children