The role of RAN and reading rate in predicting reading self-concept

Social identity theory states that a person’s self-concept is created from comparison with others (Walsh & Gordon, 2008). In the case of reading, oral reading is a salient feature young children have to compare themselves on to their classroom peer group. The current study was set to explore the ability of oral reading tasks such as rapid naming and reading rate as well as measures of accuracy and reading comprehension to independently predict reading self-concept among young developing Hebrew readers. Data from 138 s to third grade students was analyzed using a structural equation modeling analyses (SEM). Findings indicated that the path between RAN-L and reading rate was the strongest and single predictor of reading self-concept. The findings suggest that speed-based performance is linked to both cognitive and psychosocial related difficulties and that slow readers are at risk for lower reading self-concept.