Center for Reading and Language Reasearch

Competent reading requires various skills beyond those for basic word reading (i.e., core language skills, rapid naming,
phonological processing). Contributing “higher-level” or domain-general processes include information processing speed
and executive functions (working memory, strategic problem solving, attentional switching). Research in this area has relied
on largely Caucasian samples, with limited representation of children from racial or ethnic minority groups. This study
examined contributions of executive skills to reading competence in 761 children of minority backgrounds. Hierarchical
linear regressions examined unique contributions of executive functions (EF) to word reading, fluency, and comprehension.
EF contributed uniquely to reading performance, over and above reading-related language skills; working memory
contributed uniquely to all components of reading; while attentional switching, but not problem solving, contributed to
isolated and contextual word reading and reading fluency. Problem solving uniquely predicted comprehension, suggesting
that this skill may be especially important for reading comprehension in minority youth. Attentional switching may play a
unique role in development of reading fluency in minority youth, perhaps as a result of the increased demand for switching
between spoken versus written dialects. Findings have implications for educational and clinical practice with regard to
reading instruction, remedial reading intervention, and assessment of individuals with reading difficulty.

The present study investigated the relationship between reading skills and attributions, naming speed, and phonological awareness, across a wide range reading skill. Participants were 1105 school-aged children and youth from two understudied populations: African-American and Hispanic-American. Individual assessments of children ranging from 8 to 15 years were conducted for reading outcomes, cognitive and linguistic predictors of reading, and for attributions for success and failure in reading situations. Quantile regressions were formulated to estimate these relationships across the full skill span of each outcome. Reading-related attributions predicted contextual word recognition, sight word and decoding fluency, and comprehension skills. Attributions to ability in success situations were positively related to each outcome across the full span. On three reading outcomes, this relationship strengthened at higher skill levels. Attributions to effort in success situations were consistently and negatively related with all reading outcomes. The results provide evidence that the strength of the relationship between reading and attributions varies according to reading skill levels, with the strongest evidence for ability-based attributions in situations of reading success.