Measures of visual-auditory integration and their relations to reading achievement in early grades.

Several tests of visual-auditory integration were designed to represent the various tasks that have been found to correlate with reading achievement in the early grades. The battery of tests was administered to about 100 first, 84 second, and 110 third graders. Several questions were posed: (1) Do the various tests of integration measure the same underlying ability or are there separate abilities that are tapped by the various tests? (2) Are the various tests correlated with reading because they tap a common integrative ability that is related to reading or are there several abilities, each related to reading independently to the others? (3) To what extent are the relationships between the integrative abilities and reading separate from the relationship between reading and IQ? Results indicated that there are separate integrative abilities, and multiple regression analyses showed that several of the integrative measures were correlated with reading independently of the other measures. Further, several of the integrative measures accounted for significant reading variance beyond that accounted for by IQ tests. The results were discussed in the context of the need to differentiate adequately between various patterns of perceptual weakness in the diagnosis and remediation of perceptually based reading difficulties.     

Letter naming time,digit span,and precocious reading achievement

In two 6-month longitudinal studies of intellectually advanced preschool children, letter naming time and backward digit span were moderately good predictors of concurrent reading achievement (PIAT Reading Recognition Score). None of the remaining measures in a battery of standard cognitive indices, including Stanford-Binet MA, was associated with reading achievement. The results of cross-lagged correlation analysis of data from one of the two samples suggested that individual differences in time to access name codes for visual stimuli predict, but are not a consequence of, individual differences in reading achievement. The results of the cross-lagged analysis for the second sample were inconclusive. As a whole, the results are consistent with findings from other populations indicating that both short term memory span and efficiency of retrieval from long term memory are related to reading ability. The results also indicate, however, that the relationship between retrieval efficiency and reading achievement in precocious readers cannot be described by extrapolation of threshold estimates from the performance of older, unselected groups of readers.     

Auditory discrimination, intelligence, and reading achievement at grade 1.

To determine the relations of auditory discrimination and intelligence to reading achievement in first grade the California Test of Mental Maturity, the California Achievement Test (reading), and the Buktenica Modification of the Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test were administered to 78 first grade students. Correlations suggested a stronger relation between auditory discrimination and reading than between IQ and reading as measured here; however, range of reading scores were restricted. Results support Wepman's developmental theory. The methodological approach includes simultaneous consideration of effects of auditory discrimination and intelligence.     

Exploring sex differences in expectancy,attribution, and academic achievement

Two studies were carried out to explore if sex differences in expectancy and attribution of achievement are related to sex differences in academic performance. Study I investigated expectancy and attribution of achievement, operationalized as grade point index, among 176 male and 116 female college freshmen. Men were found to form higher expectations for future grades. Attributions measured through assigning percentage weights to ability, luck, effort, and difficulty as causal explanations of one's grade point index showed that men make more ability and women more effort attributions. Despite these differences in expectancy and attribution patterns, men and women were found not to differ in their performance. In Study II 120 college freshmen, half of them male, half female, filled out questionnaires before and after a midterm examination. A subsample of 49 also completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The results basically confirm the previous study's findings, except in Study II, men and women gave equally high weights to effort as a cause. The results also show that a feminine sex-role orientation is associated with a debilitating pattern of expectancy and attribution and lower performance, especially among women. Implications of the results for unraveling inconsistencies in the attribution literature and for a need to clarify connotations of femininity are discussed.The author wishes to express her gratitude to the members of the Psychology and Guidance Division of the College of Basic Studies, Boston University, for their assistance in preparing the questionnaire and collecting the data for Study I. Research for Study II was supported by grant MH 31181-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health. Mark Nachbar provided assistance in analyzing the data to both studies. Jan Mokros, Joseph Pleck, and Dan Jaquette provided valuable comments on an earlier version of this article.     

Collegiate year of eligibility, sex, and sports achievement motivation

The relations among year of eligibility, sex, and achievement motivation were investigated with 88 athletes representing three levels of collegiate eligibility (Year 1, Year 2/3, and Year 4) by sex. Participants were given Achievement Motivation subscales for Sporting Environments (approach-success practice, approach-success competition, failure-avoidance practice, failure-avoidance competition). A 3 x 2 analysis of variance showed significant main effects for year of eligibility and sex, and an interaction for age x sex for the failure-avoidance competition scores. Mean approach-success and failure-avoidance practice scores were not significantly different. Fear of failure may be less for male athletes in Year 4 of eligibility.     

Examining the core: Relations among reading curricula, poverty, and first through third grade reading achievement

Policy changes at the federal and state level are endeavoring to improve student achievement at schools serving children from lower-SES homes. One important strategy is the focus on using evidence-based core reading curricula to provide a consistent framework for instruction across schools. However, rarely have these curricula undergone rigorous comparative testing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the effects of six core reading curricula on oral reading fluency growth, while appraising whether these effects differ by grade level and for children living in lower socioeconomic (SES) households. Over 30,000 students in first through third grade Florida Reading First classrooms comprise this academically and economically diverse cross-sectional. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to model latent growth curves for students' reading fluency scores over the school year. Growth curves revealed differences across curricula as well as between students of lower and higher SES, suggesting that reading fluency growth trajectories for curricula varied depending on student SES and grade level. Findings indicate that while there are similarities among curricula, they sometimes differ in their ability to promote reading skill growth. Differences by grade level and SES were also detected. However, many of these differences were small. Implications for the use of curriculum as a conduit for improving reading instruction are discussed.     

Examining transactional influences between reading achievement and antisocially-behaving friends

The association between poorer academic outcomes and having antisocial friends is reliably demonstrated yet not well understood. Genetically sensitive designs uniquely allow for measuring genetic vulnerabilities and/or environmental risk in the association of antisocial friend behavior and poor school achievement, allowing for a better understanding of the nature of the association. This study included 233 pairs of twins from the Florida Twin Project on Reading. First, the role of antisocial friends as an environmental moderator of reading comprehension was examined. Antisocial friends significantly moderated the nonshared environmental variance in reading comprehension, with increased variation at lower levels of association with antisocial friends, with niche-picking indicated. Second, the role of reading comprehension as an environmental moderator of antisocial friends was examined. Reading comprehension significantly moderated the nonshared environmental variance in associating with antisocial friends, with increased variance at lower levels of reading comprehension and indication that common genetic influences contributed to higher reading achievement and better-behaved friends. In total, these results suggested reciprocal influences between reading achievement and antisocially-behaving friends. The impact of antisocial friends appeared to be limited in the extent to which they can undermine reading achievement, and high reading achievement appeared to support less association with antisocial friends.     

Bender-Gestalt developmental scores: predicting reading and mathematics achievement

This study examined the relative importance of perceptual-motor processes and intelligence in predicting reading and mathematics achievement of children of low birthweight. Subjects were two groups of 153 children, ages 6 to 12 years, of either low (3 lb. or below, n = 72) or normal birthweight (n = 81) who participated in a comparative study on sequelae of children of low birthweight. To examine the utility of the Bender-Gestalt test in predicting academic achievement, Bender developmental scores, WRAT reading and mathematics scores, and WISC-R Full Scale IQs from both groups were compared and then intercorrelated separately. The mean comparisons indicated that children of low birthweight scored significantly lower on both Bender scores and reading achievement and had lower IQs than those of normal birthweight. Bender scores also appeared to have more utility for predicting reading and mathematics achievement for children of low birthweight than for those of normal birthweight.     

Kindergarten predictors of three aspects of reading achievement

Kindergarten measures of intelligence, auditory perception, visual perception, and associative learning were used to predict three aspects of reading achievement (word attack, word recognition, and comprehension) at the end of Grades 1,2, and 3 for 79 subjects. The predictability of each measure was a function not only of grade, but also of the aspect of reading achievement being predicted. Multiple correlations of the predictors tended to increase across grade levels and were highest for the comprehension aspect of reading. The Number Facility subtest of the PMA was the over-all best predictor or reading achievement. Possible reasons for this and other findings are discussed.