Pressure Points in Reading Comprehension: A Quantile Multiple Regression Analysis

The goal of this study was to examine how selected pressure points or areas of vulnerability are related to individual differences in reading comprehension and whether the importance of these pressure points varies as a function of the level of children’s reading comprehension. A sample of 245 third-grade children were given an assessment battery that included multiple measures of vocabulary, grammar, higher-level language ability, word reading, working memory, and reading comprehension. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and quantile regression analyses were undertaken. OLS regression analyses indicated that all variables except working memory accounted for unique variance in reading comprehension. However, quantile regression showed that the extent of the relationships varied in some cases across readers of different ability levels. Results suggest that quantile regression may be a useful approach for the study of reading in both typical and atypical readers and aid greater specification of componential models of reading comprehension across the ability range.