Monica Gordon Pershey

A Comparison of African American Students’ Self-Perceptions of School Competence With Their Performance on State-Mandated Achievement Tests and Normed Tests of Oral and Written Language and Reading

This study measured self-perceptions of school competence among 263 4th- and 6th-grade African American students who attended an academically challenged school district. Self-perceptions of school competence are defined as self-perceptions of ability, confidence, and school satisfaction. Results indicated that 4th-grade students had lesser perceptions of themselves as able and confident, but their school satisfaction was notable. Sixth-grade students perceived themselves as able, but they reported less confidence and school satisfaction. Students’ self-perceptions were correlated with their performance on state-mandated achievement tests and normed language and reading tests. Better self-perceptions of ability and confidence correlated with better test scores; lesser self-perceptions correlated with lower test scores. Therefore, self-perceptions bore a consistent relation to academic capabilities. These findings suggest that students who do not perceive themselves as able, who lack confidence, or who have diminished school satisfaction may be at risk for school disengagement.

Christine: a case study of literacy acquisition by an adult with developmental disabilities.

Christine, an adult with developmental disabilities, had no history of education. A nonreader, she began to receive literacy tutoring at age 35. In 7 years she was educated through an eclectic approach that primarily entailed echo reading of brief passages, such as sentences and stories. She moved from holistic recognition of print to an ability to respond to instruction about analysis of some features of print, thereby gaining insights into decoding and spelling. This approach contrasts with literacy instruction that teaches adults with developmental disabilities to memorize small units of decontextualized print (letter-sound correspondences or survival words) before reading full text. Implications for facilitating literacy in adults with developmental disabilities by using contextually supported reading instruction are explored.