The Effects of Selected Demographic Factors on the Reading Achievement of Middle School Students

Author

Kendrea J. Bryant, Texas Southern University

Document Type

Dissertation

Date of Award

5-2024

School/College

College of Education (COE)

Degree Name

Ed.D., Curriculum and Instruction

Committee Chairperson

Viveca Grant

Committee Member 1

Jacqueline Smith

Committee Member 2

Reginald Todd

Committee Member 3

Lillian Poats

Committee Member 4

Ronnie Davis

Keywords

attendance, middle school, reading achievement, reading comprehension scores, total reading scores, vocabulary scores

Abstract

Middle school is one of the most important times during which students gain knowledge. However, a large proportion of adolescents have continued to complete middle school without mastering essential knowledge of, and skills in, vocabulary and reading comprehension. Adolescents who miss school in the 30–60 days leading up to high-stakes exams experience declines in their reading scores. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of selected demographic factors on the reading achievement scores and attendance of middle school students. Specifically, this study involved examination of the effects of socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and ethnicity—both separately and in combination—on the vocabulary scores, reading comprehension scores, and total reading scores of middle school students in the reading section of the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness examination. The study also involved investigation of the effects of SES, gender, and ethnicity—both separately and in combination—on the attendance of middle school students. A 2 × 2 × 4 factorial research design was used in this investigation, and 480 middle school students were randomly selected to participate. Both student-level attendance records and standardized reading scores were analyzed using three-way analysis of variance. This study results confirmed that SES, gender, and ethnicity were driving factors behind differences in the reading achievement scores and attendance of middle school students. Results indicated statistically significance differences in vocabulary scores, reading comprehension scores, total reading scores, and attendance of middle school students based on SES, gender, and ethnicity, both separately and combined. The results suggest that other factors are likely involved in differences in the reading scores of middle school students.

Copyright

Copyright © for this work is retained by the author. Any documents and information presented are protected by copyright under US Copyright laws and are the property of the author. All Rights Reserved. For permission to use this content please contact the author or the Graduate School at Texas Southern University (graduate.school@tsu.edu).

Recommended Citation

Bryant, Kendrea J., "The Effects of Selected Demographic Factors on the Reading Achievement of Middle School Students" (2024). Dissertations (2016-Present). 92.
https://digitalscholarship.tsu.edu/dissertations/92