Relations Between Component Reading Skills, Inferences, and Comprehension Performance in Community College Readers. Issue 5 (2nd July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Feller, Daniel P.; Magliano, Joseph; Sabatini, John; O'Reilly, Tenaha; Kopatich, Ryan D.
• Is Part Of: Discourse processes. Volume 57:Issue 5/6(2020)
• Page Start: 473
• Page End: 490
• Publication Date: 2020-07-02
• Subjects: Discourse analysis -- Periodicals; 401.41
• DOI: 10.1080/0163853X.2020.1759175
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0163-853X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to understand the reading challenges of underprepared college students. A sample of the participants was enrolled in supplemental literacy programs because they were deemed not ready for reading and writing in college. Community college participants completed a series of measures that assessed foundational skills for reading, bridging and elaborative inferences processes, a comprehension measure that reflected close comprehension of a text, and a scenario-based assessment that involved problem-solving with texts. Results suggest that bridging inferences were predictive of performance on measures of close comprehension, whereas elaborative inferences were predictive of performance on the scenario-based assessment. In terms of enrollment in supplemental literacy programs, variability in foundational skills and inferencing did not differ as a function of enrollment in these programs. However, underprepared students in this sample had greater difficulty engaging in complex literacy tasks that involved the application of information when compared to better-prepared students.