Variance In Reading Achievement Research Articles

Self-perceptions as mechanisms of achievement inequality: evidence across 70 countries

Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds tend to have more negative self-perceptions. More negative self-perceptions are often related to lower academic achievement. Linking these findings, we asked: Do children’s self-perceptions help explain socioeconomic disparities in academic achievement around the world? We addressed this question using data from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey, including n = 520,729 records of 15-year-old students from 70 countries. We studied five self-perceptions (self-perceived competency, self-efficacy, growth mindset, sense of belonging, and fear of failure) and assessed academic achievement in terms of reading achievement. As predicted, across countries, children’s self-perceptions jointly and separately partially mediated the association between socioeconomic status and reading achievement, explaining additional 11% (ΔR2 = 0.105) of the variance in reading achievement. The positive mediation effect of self-perceived competency was more pronounced in countries with higher social mobility, indicating the importance of environments that “afford” the use of beneficial self-perceptions. While the results tentatively suggest self-perceptions, in general, to be an important lever to address inequality, interventions targeting self-perceived competency might be particularly effective in counteracting educational inequalities in countries with higher social mobility.

Validating school-based measures of educational disadvantage in Ireland

Reducing the socio-economic achievement gap is a key goal of education policy internationally. Since 2017, the stated intention in Ireland is to use the Pobal HP Deprivation Index to identify schools serving high proportions of disadvantaged students. In spite of this, little published research has compared the performance of the HP index to richer survey measures from large-scale educational assessments or examined its association with educational achievement at primary or second level. This paper aims to assess the validity and fitness for purpose of the HP index for use in identifying schools serving high concentrations of socio-economically disadvantaged students. Analyses draw on Ireland’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 dataset matched with administrative data. Findings show a strong correlation between school-average HP and other socio-economic measures examined. However, about one-in-five schools are identified as potential ‘false positives’ or ‘false negatives’ when school-average HP is used for identification purposes. Also, school-average HP explains less variance in reading achievement than other variables considered. Conclusions recognize the benefits of the HP index but emphasize the need for ongoing examination of the most appropriate methods of identification.

Measuring the Effect of Parents’ Socio-economic Status and Early Literacy Experience on Moroccan Students’ Reading Comprehension Development: An Illustration from PIRLS 2016

<p><em>Because students’ reading development is a subject to many influences, home-based factors constitute important components in this process. Parents socio-economic status (parents’ occupation and educational level) as well as early literacy experience before school are strongly linked to students’ reading comprehension achievement. However, less is known about home-based effects on Moroccan students’ reading comprehension development. This research is concerned with investigating the relations between early literacy experience before school, parents’ occupation and educational level and reading comprehension development. This study is framed within developmental systems framework. This perspective states that influences on reading achievement do not exist in isolation and that we must direct attention towards examining the interactions between the different layers of the systems (psychological and contextual factors) and the learners’ developmental outcomes (reading comprehension achievement). The reading comprehension is measured based on two reading purposes; a) reading for literary experience, b) reading to acquire and use information. Data of 7805 grade 4 students participating in PIRLS 2016 (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) is investigated. A multilevel linear regression analysis is used to model the relationship between parents’ SES, early literacy experience and reading comprehension achievement. These home-based factors explain 15% of variance in reading achievement. Early literacy activities before school and parents’ educational level, particularly fathers’ education have a substantial impact on reading comprehension achievement. These findings have important practical implications for encouraging early literacy experience before school and enhancing parents’ educational involvement</em></p>

Affirming and undermining motivations for reading and associations with reading comprehension, age and gender

BackgroundThere has been an increasing interest in negative or ‘undermining’ motivations for reading. In this study, we aimed to strengthen knowledge on the validity of the distinction between affirming and undermining motivations. First, we examined whether the structure of a questionnaire based on this distinction could be confirmed. Second, we examined the predictive value of undermining motivations for reading comprehension. Third, we studied moderator effects of gender and age.MethodsWe administered a reading motivation questionnaire and a reading comprehension test to 324 low‐achieving adolescents. The questionnaire included items on affirming and undermining motivations for school and leisure time reading: intrinsic motivation and avoidance, self‐efficacy and perceived difficulty.ResultsConfirmatory factor analyses supported the assumed structure of the questionnaire. Undermining motivations, particularly perceived difficulty, explained unique variance in reading achievement. Gender and age did not moderate effects of motivational variables.ConclusionsEducators need to be aware of the role of undermining motivations. Future research should examine if interventions can lead to the reduction of such motivations.

Parental involvement and pupil reading achievement in Ireland: ‎Findings from PIRLS 2011

Contradictory findings often emerge from research into parental involvement in education. Failure to account for national context may be a contributory factor. This paper uses a multilevel framework and Irish data from the 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study to examine associations between reading achievement and parental involvement. Findings show that informal measures of parental involvement accounted for a greater proportion of variance in reading achievement than formal or communication measures. There is some evidence that parental involvement can mitigate the effects of socioeconomic disadvantage. Low levels of parental monitoring, as measured by pupils having a TV in their bedroom or their own smartphone, are negatively associated with achievement, suggesting a need for ongoing parental education about this topic.

Contributions of Individual Differences and Contextual Variables to Reading Achievement of English Language Learners: An Empirical Investigation Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling

This nonexperimental study explored the relationships among individual differences, contextual variables, and reading achievement of English language learners (ELLs) in one large urban school district in the United States. The sample comprised 840 students in Grades 3–8 and 10 nested within 37 schools. Hierarchical linear modeling results indicate that English proficiency, metacognitive strategies, native language literacy, and school‐quality indicators—four variables potentially under the control of the educational system—positively contributed to student reading achievement. The final model explained 36% of the within‐school and 79% of the between‐school variance in reading achievement. Controlling for other variables, ELLs with disadvantaged educational backgrounds appeared to perform on par with their more educationally advantaged counterparts. These results suggest that schools may play a greater role in supporting ELLs with disadvantaged educational backgrounds.

The effects of academic optimism on elementary reading achievement

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between academic optimism (AO) and elementary reading achievement (RA).Design/methodology/approachUsing correlation and hierarchical linear regression, the authors examined school‐level effects of AO on fifth grade reading achievement in 29 elementary schools in Alabama.FindingsCorrelational analysis revealed that AO was positively correlated with RA (r=0.78,p<0.01), as were all the components of AO, namely: collective efficacy (r=0.70,p<0.01); faculty trust in students and parents (r=0.83,p<0.01); and academic emphasis (r=0.58,p<0.01). Percent free and reduced lunch, which was a proxy for socio‐economic status (SES), was negatively correlated with all the variables in the study. Hierarchical linear regression revealed that academic optimism had a significant effect on RA (b=0.52,p<0.01) and accounted for approximately 18 per cent of the variance in reading achievement above the effects of SES.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations include the small sample size of 29 schools and the fact that these schools were a part of a sample of convenience. Findings support the conceptualization that AO has a positive effect on RA.Practical implicationsWhile SES has been often seen as an insurmountable factor, this research suggests that the contextual conditions of trust, efficacy, and academic emphasis create an environment conducive for higher academic achievement, despite the level of poverty in the school.Originality/valueThe paper confirms prior studies that have found AO to be linked to achievement and further demonstrates the positive relationships between AO and RA in a sample of elementary schools.

Visual processing characteristics of children with Meares–Irlen syndrome

The potential role of visual processing deficits in reading difficulty was brought to public attention by claims that a large proportion of children with dyslexia suffer from a perceptual dysfunction currently referred to as Meares-Irlen syndrome (MISViS). A previous study showing that visual perceptual measures involving visual memory and discrimination predict independent variance in reading achievement [J. Learn. Disabil. 28 (1995) 216] provides a basis to examine their relationships with the diagnostic criteria of MISViS. This study examined these visual processing characteristics in 36 eight- to ten-year-old children, half of whom were experiencing reading difficulty. Children were assessed for MISViS by Irlen screeners; approximately half of the participants in each group were positively identified. Concurrent performance on standardized visual processing tests showed that while a positive diagnosis of MISViS is not indicative of reading ability, nor in particular of a visual-processing deficit subtype identified by Watson and Willows [J. Learn. Disabil. 28 (1995) 216], MISViS can indicate visual processing difficulties potentially related to visual attention inefficiency.

Factores del hogar en el rendimiento escolar

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo examinar la relación que existe entre el rendimiento escolar y los factores asociados al hogar de alumnos de tercer grado de primaria que asisten a escuelas primarias localizadas en áreas urbanas y rurales de Guatemala. Se tomó al azar una muestra de 4,952 estudiantes (52% niños y 48% niñas) de tercer grado a nivel nacional. Se aplicaron pruebas de lectura y matemática y se obtuvo información de los factores asociados al rendimiento. Se analizaron los datos mediante dos técnicas estadísticas: análisis de regresión múltiple y análisis de correspondencia múltiple. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que un porcentaje importante de la varianza en el rendimiento, especialmente en lectura, se explica por ciertas variables relacionadas con el entorno del hogar. El resto, probablemente, se podría explicar por factores relacionados con el docente y con la escuela en sí, o por características individuales de los alumnos, que no pudieron ser medidos.

Sensory, Cognitive, and Linguistic Factors in the Early Academic Performance of Elementary School Children

Standardized sensory, perceptual, linguistic, intellectual, and cognitive tests were administered to 470 children, approximately 96% of the students entering the first grade in the four elementary schools of Benton County, Indiana, over a 3-year period (1995--1997). The results of 36 tests and subtests administered to entering first graders were well described by a 4-factor solution. These factors and the tests that loaded most heavily on them were reading-related skills (phonological awareness, letter and word identification); visual cognition (visual perceptual abilities, spatial perception, visual memory); verbal cognition (language development, vocabulary, verbal concepts); and speech processing (the ability to understand speech under difficult listening conditions). A cluster analysis identified 9 groups of children, each with a different profile of scores on the 4 factors. Within these groups, the proportion of students with unsatisfactory reading achievement in the first 2 years of elementary school (as reflected in teacher-assigned grades) varied from 3% to 40%. The profiles of factor scores demonstrated the primary influence of the reading-related skills factor on reading achievement and also on other areas of academic performance. The second strongest predictor of reading and mathematics grades was the visual cognition factor, followed by the verbal cognition factor. The speech processing factor was the weakest predictor of academic achievement, accounting for less than 1% of the variance in reading achievement. This project was a collaborative effort of the Benton Community School Corporation and a multidisciplinary group of investigators from Indiana University.

The Role of Speed of Processing, Rapid Naming, and Phonological Awareness in Reading Achievement

This study investigated the role of speed of processing, rapid naming, and phonological awareness in reading achievement. Measures of response time in motor, visual, lexical, grammatical, and phonological tasks were administered to 279 children in third grade. Measures of rapid object naming, phonological awareness, and reading achievement were given in second and fourth grades. Reading group comparisons indicated that poor readers were proportionally slower than good readers across response time measures and on the rapid object naming task. These results suggest that some poor readers have a general deficit in speed of processing and that their problems in rapid object naming are in part a reflection of this deficit. Hierarchical regression analyses further showed that when considered along with IQ and phonological awareness, speed of processing explained unique variance in reading achievement. This finding suggests that a speed of processing deficit may be an "extraphonological" factor in some reading disabilities.

Backward-masking and syllable–rate thresholds have only minor associations with reading achievement, compared to several cognitive and linguistic measures

Rate thresholds for syllable–sequences [the Indiana Test of Auditory Memory and Processing Rate—ITAMPR, Watson and Eddins, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105, 1236 (1999)] and backward-masking thresholds, were obtained from 220 children. These measures were only weakly associated with reading achievement and with speech recognition. Other tests, however, accounted for roughly half of the variance in teacher-assigned reading grades. Results of 36 sensory, perceptual processing, linguistic, and cognitive tests and subtests administered to the population from which these children were obtained (approximately 98% of the 472 entering first-graders in Benton County Indiana from 1995 to 1997), were well-described by four factors. These factors and the systematic variance in reading achievement associated with them were: Factor 1 (31%): reading-related skills (phonological awareness, letter- and word-identification); Factor 2 (12%): visual cognition (visual perceptual abilities, spatial perception, visual memory); Factor 3 (9%): verbal cognition (language development, vocabulary, verbal concepts); and Factor 4 (1%): speech processing (the ability to understand speech, measured under difficult listening conditions). These data are inconsistent with the hypothesis that temporal processing deficits are causally related to reading impairments. [Work supported by NIH/NIDCD, Indiana Univ., and the Benton County (Indiana) School Corporation.]

Wechsler-based CHC cross-battery assessment and reading achievement: Strengthening the validity of interpretations drawn from Wechsler test scores.

The Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) cross-battery approach to assessing cognitive abilities has been introduced to the field recently as an alternative to traditional assessment instruments and techniques (Flanagan, McGrew, & Ortiz, 2000; McGrew & Flanagan, 1998). This theory-based method of assessment was developed to provide a more valid and defensible way of deriving meaning from test scores than that provided by the traditional (and largely atheoretical) Wechsler Scale approach. The present study is the first to investigate the validity of the cross-battery approach using a sample of elementary school children (N= 166) who were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R; Wechsler, 1974) and Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised (WJ-R; Woodcock & Johnson, 1989). Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine whether (a) Wechsler-based CHC cross-battery assessment explained more variance in reading achievement than a traditional Wechsler model, and (b) whether the Wechsler-based CHC cross-battery model provided a more accurate description of the general and specific abilities on general and specific reading achievement than the traditional Wechsler model, as predicted in the extant ^/specific abilities literature. Findings showed that the g factor underlying the Wechsler-based CHC cross-battery model accounted for substantially more variance in reading achievement (25%) than the g factor underlying the atheoretical Verbal Comprehension-Perceptual Organization-Freedom From Distractibility (VC-PO-FFD) Wechsler model. In addition, findings demonstrated that when assessments are organized around the strong CHC theoretical model, specific cognitive abilities, including auditory processing (Ga), crystallized intelligence (Gc), and processing speed (Gs) explained a significant portion of variance in reading achievement beyond that accounted for by g. These

Naming speed, phonological awareness and the initial stage of learning to read

Phonological awareness in kindergarten and rapid naming of objects in Grade 1 were used as predictors of reading achievement in Grade 1. Two reading measures were used: oral decoding of both words and pseudowords. They were found to be highly correlated. Both rapid naming and phonological awareness accounted for independent variance in reading achievement except for pseudoword reading, where rapid naming did not contribute significantly after the effect of phonemic awareness had been accounted for. Phonological awareness was the stronger predictor and a large part of the variance was shared between it and rapid naming. The rapid naming testing procedure functioned well and its potential as a research and diagnostic tool is discussed.

Language Basis of Reading and Reading Disabilities: Evidence From a Longitudinal Investigation

This study examined the contributions of phonological processing and oral language abilities to reading and reading disabilities in young children. Two approaches were taken. First, 604 participants were divided into good and poor readers on the basis of reading performance in second grade. Reading groups were then compared in terms of kindergarten phonological processing and other language abilities. In a second approach, multiple regression was employed to investigate the relative contributions of phonological processing and oral language abilities in predicting second-grade reading achievement across reading groups. Results indicated that over 70% of poor readers had a history of language deficits in kindergarten. Most of these children had problems in both phonological processing and oral language. Regression analyses further indicated that oral language and phonological processing abilities each accounted for unique variance in reading achievement. These results suggest that language-based theories of reading and reading disabilities must include both phonological processing and oral language abilities.

Neuromotor maturation and psychological performance: a developmental study.

Groups of 50 normal kindergarten and 50 first-grade children were examined three times at six-month intervals on the extended neuromotor examination for children, as well as on measures of reading achievement and language performance. The joint effect of five neuromotor measures accounted for a substantial percentage of variance in reading achievement and language performance 12 months later. As a global measure, neuromotor status therefore may constitute a reliable, independent criterion of developmental age for psychological investigations of young, normal children. The best individual predictors of psychological outcome were mirror movements and speed of timed motor repetitions, while reading achievement and automated naming speed were the dependent measures most closely associated over time with neuromotor status. Such findings suggest that the individual motor signs may also provide indirect clues about the presumed functional relationship between development of motor co-ordination and language competence.

Predicting reading achievement for Kindergarten boys and girls

This study assessed the validity of the Kindergarten Teacher Rating Scale (KTRS) in predicting reading achievement for male and female students. The KTRS was a significant predictor of reading achievement for both boys and girls; differential predictive validity for boys and girls was not found. The KTRS explained about 30% of the variance in reading achievement both at the end of the 1st grade and the beginning of 2nd grade. The proportion of variance in reading achievement explained by variance in KTRS scores was significantly greater than the proportion of variance in reading achievement explained by variance in reading readiness scores. There were no significant differences in the mean KTRS scores for male and female students.

Sources of individual differences in reading acquisition.

Sources of individual differences in reading achievement were investigated in a longitudinal study of 543 children, A variety of individual attributes covering prereading abilities, oral language abilities, motor skills, personality, and home background were measured at school entry. Reading achievement was subsequently assessed at the end of Kindergarten and Grade 1. The strongest predictors of reading achievement were tasks tapping phonological processing skills, interdigital dexterity, and familiarity with the alphabetic code of English script. Collectively, individual attributes accounted for 63% of the variance in reading achievement at the end of Kindergarten and 59% at the end of Grade 1. A short set of five predictors offers a potentially useful screening test for the early identification of reading-disabled children. The effect of the ability composition of a child's class and school was also assessed. Significant ability-composition effects were obtained, accounting for 9% of Kindergarten and 6% of Grade 1 reading achievement variance over and above variance owing to individual factors. Peer ability was as strong a predictor of individual reading achievement as individual ability. Children emerging from primary school exhibit enormous variation in their reading achievement. Within a single school it is possible to find children who are reading at several grades above their own grade level, while other children at the same school are reading at several grades below. Furthermore, there are often substantial differences in reading achievement between schools. The source of this enormous variation in achievement has been the focus of considerable research in the last two decades. Both in-school factors, such as school and teacher characteristics, and out-of-school factors, such as individual pupil abilities and family background, have been investigated. The general conclusion from this research is that out-of-school factors have a far greater We wish to thank the district inspectors, principals, teachers, parents, and pupils associated with the schools in the Geelong region where the research was carried out. Particular thanks are due Barbara Matthews and Bobbie Waterman for their help with the testing of subjects and analysis of data. Financial support for the research was provided by the Percy Baxter Charitable Trust, Deakin University, and the Australian Research Grants Scheme.

The Speed of Word Recognition Subprocesses and Reading Achievement in College Students

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN the speeds of word encoding, lexical access, semantic memory access processes, and reading achievement were investigated using college undergraduates as subjects. In Experiment 1 subjects made decisidns about pairs of words using visual, name, or semantic information. In Experiment 2, silbjects used semantic information to make categorical decisions about word or picture pairs. Reading achievement was measured for all subjects using the Nelson-Denny Reading Test and a prose comprehension task. The speed of word rec6gnition subprocesses accounted for significant proportions of the variance in reading achievement. However, reading achievement was most strongly related to the speed of semantic memory access for both words and pictures. These results suggest reading deficiencies may occur as a result of either slow semantic memory access speeds or a lack of organization of information in semantic memory.

The relationship between auditory perceptual skills and reading ability: a meta-analysis.

A review of research examining the relationship of auditory perceptual skills to reading ability is presented. The techniques of meta-analysis were used to statistically integrate the findings from 106 studies. A total of 723 correlation coefficients were collected and aggregated across five auditory perceptual skills, five reading achievement variables, three grade levels, and three subject characteristics. In addition, a correlation matrix was constructed from the 723 coefficients and used as the basis for a factor analysis, cannonical correlation analysis, and step-wise multiple regression analyses describing the interrelationships among auditory perception, intelligence, and reading achievement. The present findings indicate that auditory perception is an important correlate of reading ability with the proportion of explained variance in reading achievement depending on the combination of auditory and reading variables considered. It was concluded that auditory perceptual skills should be considered in an assessment of factors for predicting reading achievement.