Research Project 1

Oral Language and Reading Success:

Presented by Justin Toney . . . .

A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Objective:

Introduction:

References and

Acknowledgements:

Methods:

Conclusion:

Beron, K., & Farkas, G. (2004, January). Oral Language and Reading Success: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. Structural Equation Modeling, 11(1), 110-131. Retrieved November 6, 2008, from Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection database.

Results:

In order to understand the social influences on student school success, researchers seek to connect family conditions with academic achievement. Many factors have been identified between a student's family background and their school achievements: Parental involvement in the school; Parents' social relations; High culture participation; Parental reading behavior. Reading achievement is directly related to overall school success. Research much identify what factors influence reading ability to better pinpoint the family-school relationship.

Data for the study comes from the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised (WJ-R). The examined selection was of 1,169 individuals between 5 and 17 years of age. The data was divided into a basic group (5-10 years) and an advanced group (11-17). Reading development is expected to differ by age. Factors examined: Social class as measured by mother's highest education acheivement Gender, race (restricted to Black and White), and age Cognative Abilities: Auditory Processing = the ability to fluently comprehend patterns amoung auditory stimuli Long-term Retrieval = storing of information and the fluency of retrieving it later through association. Processing Speed = ability to work quickly, particularly when measured under preassure to maintain focused attention.

Examining a national sample of U.S. children between 5 and 17 years old demonstrates that a child's basic auditory processing skills are a key mediating variable in the stratification of reading achievement between race and class. These findings complement existing research into other familial varables that influence overall school achievement. This research may be furthered by studying how family background affects cognition and behavior, and how these factors influence one another. The results re-affirm the importance of early school transition for low-income and minority children (such as HeadStart and other preschool initiatives) with an emphasis on linguistic and vocabulary learning.

To demonstrate that early-developed oral language skills, directly related to the socio-economic status of a child's upbringing, is the factor influenced by family background that in turn influences that child's school reading achievement.

Kurt J. Beron School of Social Sciences The University of Texas at Dallas

George Farkas Department of Sociology Pennsylvania State University

As expected, age has a very powerful positive effect on the three basic cognitive skills. African American students have significantly lower auditory processing skills than White students that do not appear at the advanced level, suggesting that the differences in reading ability stem from early low auditory processing abilities. The higher a mother's education, indicative of social class, significantly and positively relates to all three basic skills. This is true of both age groups. Statistically, auditory processing is the most influential determinant of basic reading and basic reading is the most influential determinant of advanced reading.