Abstract
The selection of basal reading series for a school district is a serious curriculum decision; in effect, the selected series becomes the district's reading curriculum. This study addresses methodological problems confronting decision-oriented evaluation of reading materials within a naturalistic setting. Effects of selected process and attitude variables on reading achievement are reported to illustrate the feasibility of responding to the methodological problems.
With the intent of selecting a basal reading series and exploring factors that may increase reading achievement, five series were pilot tested in four grades (1,2,3, and 6) in a total of 60 classes. In addition to pre and post achievement, process and attitude data were included as well as characteristics of teacher, classroom learning environment, and instruction.
Regression analysis showed that achievement was unaffected by series or by teacher's years of teaching, amount of inservice preparation, number of formal reading courses, or awareness of the series' design. The learning environment contributed the only significant predictor variable of achievement, specifically the degree of competitiveness perceived by students in their reading classes. These findings supported by additional process data on implementation of the series led to selection procedures that differ widely from traditional reading selection criteria.