Academic Capabilities, Social Positionality, and the Reading Performance of Historically Underserved Students in Online Small Groups

Abstract

The exploratory study uses a series of linear regression analyses to examine the unique and combined contributions of students' academic capabilities and disposition and social positionality to the reading performance of a national sample of 8th graders who participated in online small group learning during the COVID-19 lockdown. The average scaled score on the 2022 state assessment, collated in NAEP Data Explorer, was the dependent variable. Data on student-perceived academic capabilities and disposition, social positionality, and participation in online small groups came from that source. Analyses were done in Explorer. Results showed that positionality on race/ethnicity and disability robustly and negatively predicted reading performance for Black and Hispanic students. Gender mattered for these groups. For most students, the online small group format made no significant contribution to performance, although further analysis showed that the face-to-face format contributed significantly to higher performance for all students. Asian students were the only non-White groups for whom positive contributions were evident for online learning. However, the demographics for Asians were skewed by parental education. Risks, ramifications, and remedies for fractured relationships and classroom social dynamics are explored.