School-based family socialization and reading achievement in the inner city

Abstract

Reading comprehension test scores of 826 black, inner-city children in 41 classes, grades one through six, were regressed on scores on comparable tests taken one year earlier, on several other control variables, and on the amount of exposure to a program intended to help parents create conditions in the home to stimulate academic achievement. Two variables (prior reading-comprehension scores and program intensity), accounted for nearly all the reliable variance in the posttest scores in analyses carried out with individuals and class medians as the units. Students and classroom groups intensively exposed to the program gained .5 to .6 grade equivalents more than those less intensively exposed during the year.