# Reading Comprehension in Monolingual and Bilingual Children

> **NIH NIH R01** · ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE CAMPUS · 2020 · $543,622

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Poor reading comprehension is a longstanding problem in the U.S. that has not improved over the past
two decades. Poor reading comprehension causes children to struggle academically, to drop out of school, to
earn less over their lifetime, and puts them at high risk for poor health outcomes (National Academy of
Sciences, 2004). Our long-term goal is to develop methods for preventing and treating reading comprehension
problems by understanding the changing structure of reading across development and the cognitive,
psychological, and ecological mechanisms that contribute to reading comprehension outcomes. We will
continue our longitudinal study of reading comprehension, conducted by the Language and Reading Research
Consortium (LARRC), with two groups of children - those who entered preschool speaking primarily English
and those who entered preschool as Spanish-English dual-language learners. We will also recruit new groups
of 6th and 10th grade monolingual English and Spanish-English bilingual students for cross-sectional studies.
We will address the following specific aims: (1) Determine which language, cognitive, and pre-reading skills in
preschool and kindergarten, or growth in these skills from preschool to kindergarten, most accurately predicts
reading comprehension in grade 6; (2) Determine whether there are children with late emerging reading
comprehension problems in grade 6 and if so, whether they can be identified using language, cognitive, and
pre-reading measures from PK or K; (3) Determine the factor structure for reading comprehension in grades 6
and 10 to assess whether a single-factor model of reading comprehension is sufficient or whether additional
factors are required to take into account text type (i.e., narrative versus expository) and measurement type
(i.e., processing versus product), and whether there are differences between grades; (4) Determine whether a
new model of reading that includes multiple indicators for cognitive, psychological, and ecological factors better
predicts reading comprehension in grades 6 and 10 than models with fewer factors and indicators examined in
prior literature.; and (5) Determine whether findings for Aims 1-4 differ for children who entered preschool
speaking English and children who entered preschool as Spanish-English dual-language learners.
 This project is innovative in the length of time we follow students (preschool through grade 6), the
breadth and depth of cognitive, psychological, and ecological skills assessed, and the study of both English
and Spanish-English bilingual students using both longitudinal and cross-sectional samples. Results will
positively impact our ability to identify children at risk for poor reading comprehension, even before they learn
to read, and will provide a sound basis for the development and testing of reading comprehension
assessments, curricula, and interventions for older students and DLLs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9986852
- **Project number:** 5R01HD093003-04
- **Recipient organization:** ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE CAMPUS
- **Principal Investigator:** Shelley I, PHD, CCC-SLP Gray
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $543,622
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-15 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9986852

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9986852, Reading Comprehension in Monolingual and Bilingual Children (5R01HD093003-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9986852. Licensed CC0.

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