Vocabulary and basic reading skills: relevance to student performance in the PISA reading comprehension test

Abstract

A number of cross-national comparisons indicates that in many countries children’s performance in reading comprehension has deteriorated over the past decade. Icelandic students are no exception, with the most recent PISA results indicating a 24 point decline in their reading comprehension score between 2000 and 2012 (Almar M. Halldórsson, Ragnar F. Ólafsson & Júlíus K. Björnsson, 2012). This difference corresponds to the progress 15 year old students are expected to make over a period of 6 months, on average (OECD, 2013). Although a number of possible reasons for these results have been suggested, very few studies have examined specifically what factors might contribute to Icelandic students’ performance on the reading comprehension component of PISA. Accordingly, we have limited information about what underlies good performance on the PISA reading comprehension tests and what characterises students that find its tasks so difficult to solve. This article reports the results of a study conducted alongside the PISA survey in 2012 among 15 year old Icelandic students. Its main purpose was to explore which cognitive, linguistic and social factors predict students’ success in reading comprehension in PISA, particularly with regard to those who score below the second level of reading proficiency. Our main question focused on the predictive role of basic reading skills and vocabulary in reading comprehension achievement, over and above other known influencing factors, such as reading enjoyment and frequency, the use of reading comprehension strategies and self-regulated learning. Participants were 280 10th grade students from 15 schools who were given assessments of receptive vocabulary, sight-word reading, self-regulated learning, use of reading comprehension strategies, time spent on reading and attitudes towards reading. Their performance was then connected to their PISA reading comprehension score. The main results indicated that vocabulary was by far the strongest predictor of poor reading comprehension skills, even after controlling for the effects of other predictive variables in the study. Performance on this measure predicted 51% of students who performed below the second reading proficiency level, while self-regulated learning, use of reading comprehension strategies, time spent on reading and attitudes towards reading all together predicted only 13% of these same students. Sight-word reading was also a strong predictor of poor reading skills and correctly identified 33% of students that performed below the second reading proficiency level. These results indicate that a sizeable proportion of 15 year old Icelandic students are disadvantaged by insufficient vocabulary and inadequate reading skills, which impedes their ability to comprehend written text. They also underline the importance of promoting these skills, not only at the beginning of reading instruction but through the whole course of compulsory school.