AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGY INSTRUCTION, STRATEGY USE, ATTITUDES, AND ACHIEVEMENT

Abstract

This study explored the relationships among high school students’ reading comprehension achievement, three latent constructs (reading comprehension strategy use, reading comprehension strategy instruction, reading attitudes), and five control variables (gender, minority status, socio-economic status [SES], class time, class size). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the latent and control variables on reading comprehension achievement, direct effects among the latent constructs, effects of the control variables on the latent constructs, and group differences in reading comprehension achievement and the latent constructs across the control variables. Data were obtained from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009, including 5,233, 15-year-old students from 165 schools. Structural equation modeling results indicated 33% of student differences in reading comprehension achievement, 17% of differences in reading strategy use, 0.3% of differences in reading strategy instruction, and 15% of differences in reading attitudes were accounted for by their predictors. The results also suggested that all three latent factors predicted reading comprehension achievement, reading comprehension strategy instruction and reading attitudes predicted reading comprehension strategy use, and reading comprehension strategy instruction predicted reading attitudes. Further, the findings revealed socio-economic status predicted all three latent constructs and reading comprehension achievement, gender predicted reading comprehension strategy use and reading attitudes, and minority status predicted reading comprehension achievement and reading comprehension strategy use. Additionally, the results implied class time predicted reading comprehension achievement, reading comprehension strategy use, and reading comprehension strategy instruction; and class size predicted reading comprehension achievement and reading comprehension strategy use. Finally, the results indicated reading comprehension achievement differences across all five groups; reading comprehension strategy use differences across gender, minority status, socio-economic status, and class time; reading attitude differences across gender, minority status, and socio-economic status; and class time group differences in reading comprehension strategy instruction. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research were discussed.