The Differential Importance of Component Skills on Reading Comprehension Test Performance Among Struggling Adolescent Readers

Abstract

Reading comprehension tests vary in format and characteristics, which may influence the extent to which component skills are involved in test performance. With students in Grades 6 to 8 with reading difficulties, dominance analyses examined the differential importance of component reading and language skills (word- and text-reading fluency, vocabulary, listening comprehension, and working memory) on several standardized tests of reading comprehension: The Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, 4th edition (GMRT), Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation, Gray Oral Reading Test, 5th edition (GORT-5), and the Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC). Students’ word- and text-reading fluency skills were generally the most dominant predictors of performance on most reading comprehension tests, especially those with a time limit (GMRT and TOSREC). Listening comprehension was most important on the GORT-5, a test in which students read passages orally and listen to questions read by an examiner. Working memory was the least important component skill across the reading comprehension tests. Overall, results were consistent with previous work indicating that reading comprehension measures vary with regard to the skills or knowledge sources that are most important for test performance and extend these findings to struggling adolescent readers. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Commercially Developed Tests of Reading Comprehension: Gold Standard or Fool’s Gold?

“…These tests are strikingly different from one another with respect to the texts students read, questions they answer, and response modes permitted them. Unsurprisingly, these tests of reading comprehension do not correlate strongly with each other (e.g., Clemens et al, 2020; Francis et al, 2006; Keenan, Betjemann, & Olson, 2008; Keenan & Meenan, 2014). For example, in a sample of 995 younger and older students, Keenan and Meenan (2014) obtained an average correlation of .54 (range = .45–.68) among four commercial tests of reading comprehension.…”

“…Variability in texts, questions, and modes of response result in unique and implicit weightings of the importance of students’ skills and knowledge. Decoding and word recognition skills appear more important on comprehension measures that involve short passages or cloze tasks (Andreassen & Bråten, 2010; Clemens et al, 2020; Francis et al, 2006; García & Cain, 2014; Keenan et al, 2008; Keenan & Meenan, 2014; Nation & Snowling, 1997; Spear‐Swerling, 2004). Oral language skills are more consequential on tests with longer passages (Francis et al, 2006; Keenan et al, 2008) and on tests requiring responses to questions asked verbally (Clemens et al, 2020).…”

“…Decoding and word recognition skills appear more important on comprehension measures that involve short passages or cloze tasks (Andreassen & Bråten, 2010; Clemens et al, 2020; Francis et al, 2006; García & Cain, 2014; Keenan et al, 2008; Keenan & Meenan, 2014; Nation & Snowling, 1997; Spear‐Swerling, 2004). Oral language skills are more consequential on tests with longer passages (Francis et al, 2006; Keenan et al, 2008) and on tests requiring responses to questions asked verbally (Clemens et al, 2020). Struggling readers perform more like average readers on tests with response formats requiring lower level text processing (e.g., retell, sentence verification, cloze) than on tests requiring responses to open‐ended and multiple‐choice questions (Collins, Lindström, & Compton, 2018).…”

A Research-Based Literacy Instruction MTSS for Juvenile Correctional Facilities

“…Youth within a Class are more like each other and significantly different from those in other Classes. For example, LPA has been used to identify the reading Classes of late elementary school English learners with and without dyslexia (Miciak et al, 2022), the word reading and listening comprehension abilities of fourth graders with significant reading comprehension deficits and cognitive challenges (Capin et al, 2021), the language and reading comprehension skills of adolescent struggling readers in urban schools (Brasseur-Hock et al, 2011), the reading abilities of adolescent readers with differing attentional abilities (Tsujimoto et al, 2019), and the language and reading capabilities of struggling adolescent readers (Brasseur-Hock et al, 2011; Clemens et al, 2021).…”

Undergraduate Students’ Use of Metacognitive Strategies While Reading and the Relationship Between Strategy Use and Reading Comprehension Skills

“…However, most students do not adequately develop this skill and have lower scores in reading comprehension tests compared to previous years (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2019). Today, reading skill is not only essential for academic success (Clemens et al, 2020) but also a prerequisite for successful participation in areas of adult life (Rajchert, Zultak, & Smulczyk, 2014). Literacy in all areas of life is the currency of modern societies and those with below-average skills cannot expect to earn above-average salaries in this global economy (OECD, 2010).…”