Influence of reading attitude on reading achievement: A test of the temporal-interaction model

Despite widespread efforts to prevent reading problems and an abundance of research about best practices in remediating reading skills deficits, reading continues to be exceptionally difficult for many students. Researchers have become interested in investigating the degree to which affective factors such as reading attitude relates to reading performance. In the current study, 76 fourth‐grade students were administered Curriculum‐Based Measurement tasks in reading (R‐CBM) and the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS; McKenna & Kear, 1990, 1999). In the fall of the following school year (4 months later), participants completed a high‐stakes statewide reading assessment. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and a path analysis were computed to address the research questions. Results indicated that both reading ability (β = .62, p = .01) and reading attitude significantly predicted reading achievement (Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress‐Plus;ISTEP+) 4 months later (β = .22, p = .01), supporting a temporal interactive effect (Kush, Watkins, & Brookhart, 2005) of prior reading attitude and skill on later reading achievement. Additional findings, implications for practice, directions for future research, and limitations of the study are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.