Investigating the Relationship between Perceptions of a “Good Reader” and Reading Performance among Elementary and Middle School Students: An Exploratory Study

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between student perceptions of a “good reader” and their reading performance. A total of 100 students (grades 1–8) who attended an after-school program for low-income youth completed the Student Perceptions of a Good Reader Scale (SPGRS) that includes two subscales: Perceptions-Decoding Efficiency (PerDecoding) and Perceptions-Comprehension (PerComp). Additionally, a measure of reading comprehension (Measures of Academic Progress Growth Reading [MAP]) and a curriculum-based measure of oral reading fluency (ORF) were administered. Participants’ scores on the PerComp subscale were significantly higher than on the PerDecoding subscale for both skilled and unskilled readers, indicating that, regardless of level of reading performance, these young readers perceive that behaviors related to reading comprehension are more important than behaviors related to efficiently decoding words in defining a good reader. Regression analyses reveal that both types of perceptions (decoding efficiency and comprehension) are significantly related to reading comprehension for upper elementary and middle school students. However, participants’ ORF and reading comprehension did not significantly predict their perceptions of a good reader. Despite some reading experts’ concerns that the current emphasis on reading fluency as an indicator of student reading proficiency may negatively impact children’s views of reading, these findings reveal that children associated behaviors with reading comprehension as more highly indicative of a good reader.