Rethinking Reading Comprehension

Anne Polselli Sweet, EdD, who directed the RAND reading study while Scholar-in-Residence at RAND, is with the U.S. Department of Education’s research agency, the Institute for Education Sciences, where she focuses on research in reading and K–12 literacy. She oversees national efforts to conduct research, does intramural research on literacy-related issues, and works on interagency research initiatives with the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She served as program director in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) and in the National Institute of Education. Preceding her tenure with the U.S. Department, Dr. Sweet was Associate Superintendent for Instruction in Virginia. She taught reading and language arts, elementary through graduate school, and served in various leadership posts in public schooling. Her research interests include cognitive and motivational aspects of reading. Dr. Sweet has edited books, authored book chapters, and written articles for peer-reviewed research journals.
 
Catherine E. Snow, PhD, who chaired the RAND Reading Study Group, is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has published widely on language development and literacy development as well as on research and policy issues in second language learning and literacy. For 17 years Dr. Snow was editor of Applied Psycholinguistics. She is a cofounder of the Child Language Data Exchange System, a past president of the American Educational Research Association, and a member of the National Academy of Education. She chaired the National Research Council Committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, which produced a report that has been widely adopted as a basis for reforming reading instruction.