Predictor of Reading Achievement

Annotated Research

Question: What is the best predictor of reading achievement?

 Answer: “Reading books outside of school was the best predictor of reading achievement, but on most days, children did little or no book reading.”  RC Anderson, PT Wilson and CG Fielding. 1988. P. 218.

Comment: I’m not surprised that reading of books outside of school is a good predictor of reading achievement. Obviously, if they read outside of school, they know how to read. And have an interest in reading. However, the second part of the finding—that on most days, children did not read books outside of school—negates the predictability. If they don’t read books outside of school, you have nothing to use to predict. I guess it’s a kind of Catch-22. Discouraging. RayS.

Title: “Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English.” Ed. JD Marshall and RK Durst. Research in the Teaching of English (May 1989), 208-222.