Gender differences in reading? Gendered patterns in silent reading speed growth from intensive longitudinal digital trace data
Author(s): Emil Smith, David Reimer (presenter)
Thursday 15 | 11:40-12:00
Room: TP53
Session: Social stratification in a digital world
A female advantage in reading achievement has routinely been reported in multiple international large-scale assessments (Mullis et al. 2023). However, a closer look at empirical investigations of gender differences in reading reveals a more complex pattern. Thus, the female advantage in reading achievement shown in large-scale assessments may mask important nuances in subdomains of reading skills. Furthermore, there are inconsistent findings on when gender differences in reading skills emerge and whether the female advantage diminishes as students progress through the education system (Manu et al. 2023; McTigue et al. 2021; Solheim and Lundetræ 2018).
The present study focuses on the development of reading fluency, across a full school year for Danish 1st to 9th graders. Reading fluency was operationalized as weekly measures of silent reading speed, obtained from uniquely granular intensive longitudinal digital trace data- providing a highly detailed view of developments in reading fluency. Furthermore, the longitudinal data allows for leveraging differences in reading speed growth between periods of schooling and breaks - providing insight into the question of how formal instruction affects gender gaps in reading (Downey, Kuhfeld, and van Hek 2022; McTigue et al. 2021).
Data was analyzed by fitting growth models by grade levels with gender-specific slopes to estimate gender gaps and differences in growth rates by gender. Furthermore, to study the role of schools, piecewise linear growth models were fit to test for gender differences in growth rates according to when school is in session or out (during holidays and Covid-19 school closings).
Preliminary findings suggest that a male advantage in reading speed was present from 1st grade, narrowed by 6th grade, and finally reversed to a female advantage in 8th and 9th grade. There were no clear seasonal patterns in gender gaps in reading speed, suggesting that schools favor neither boys nor girls.