Converging Trajectories

2011/08/25 by Michael J. Kieffer · 115 citations
Mathematics · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Demography #Language proficiency #Linguistics #Longitudinal study #Mathematics #Mathematics education #Multilingual Education and Policy #Parental Involvement in Education #Population #Psychology #Reading (process) #Reading and Literacy Development #Reading comprehension #Socioeconomic status #Sociology #Statistics

paper · doi:10.3102/0002831211419490

published in American Educational Research Journal 48(5), 1187-1225 (SAGE Publishing)

openalex publication_date 2011/08/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22

Abstract

Using longitudinal data on a nationally representative U.S. cohort, this study examined the roles of language minority (LM) status and English proficiency in English reading growth across the elementary and middle school years. Piecewise growth modeling was used to compare English reading growth trajectories for native English speakers and LM learners of differing initial English proficiency, with and without controlling for socioeconomic status. LM learners who enter kindergarten fluent in English catch up with native English speakers nationally by first grade and maintain nationally average levels through eighth grade. LM learners with initially limited English proficiency demonstrated English reading trajectories that remain substantially below national averages, but converge with those of their peers from similar socioeconomic backgrounds during middle school.

Citations

• Exploring Sources of Reading Comprehension Difficulties Among Language Minority Learners and Their Classmates in Early Adolescence

Cited by

• Who Gets to Read What? Tracking, Instructional Practices, and Text Complexity for Middle School Struggling Readers
• How Do Word Reading and Word Spelling Develop Over Time? A Three‐Year Longitudinal Study of Hong Kong Chinese–English Bilingual Children
• Developmental patterns of receptive vocabulary and reading comprehension from age 4 to 14: A sequential latent growth model design
• Dina Feitelson Research Award [wikipedia]
• Identifying differences in early literacy skills across subgroups of language-minority children: A latent profile analysis. [europepmc]
• CBM maze-scores as indicators of reading level and growth for seventh-grade students. [europepmc]
• Relations between Reading and Writing: A Longitudinal Examination from Grades 3 to 6. [europepmc]
• First and Second Language Reading Difficulty Among Chinese-English Bilingual Children: The Prevalence and Influences From Demographic Characteristics. [europepmc]
• Spanish Phonological Awareness in Kindergarten Uniquely Supports Second-Grade English Morphological Awareness in Spanish-English Dual Language Learners. [europepmc]
• An Extensive Reading Intervention for Emergent Bilingual Students With Significant Reading Difficulties in Middle School. [europepmc]

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