Understanding gender inequality in children's reading behavior: New insights from digital behavioral data

This study examined gender differences in reading behavior of 2652 Danish 5th-grade students (age 10-12 years, girls 51%, 14% immigrant background) observed for 218 days in 2019/2020, using data from a popular reading app. Reading behavior was operationalized as time spent reading. Analyses of timing of reading behavior and models of day-to-day reading time were employed to investigate the gender gap in reading behavior. Results show that girls read more than boys. This differential can be attributed to girls reading more outside school hours, during weekends and holidays than boys while there are no gender differences in reading activity during school hours. Results suggest that girls with positive academic attitudes were more inclined to read than boys with similar attitudes.

Norms of vocabulary, reading, and spelling tests in French university students

The purpose of the present paper is to provide the norms of widely used tests of vocabulary, reading, and spelling skills for a French population of young adults. Data were collected from 18- to 26-year-old university students during individual sessions. We assessed 771 participants with the Mill Hill part B vocabulary test, 410 with the LexTale-Fr test, 1231 with the Alouette-R test, and 361 with the Pollueur word/pseudoword dictation and text dictation. Stepwise regression analyses showed the need to stratify the reference population according to the level of education and gender for some tests. The Alouette-R and Mill Hill scores increased with educational level. Moreover, for the tests whose performance differed according to gender, women generally performed better than men. The present normative data concerning vocabulary, reading, and spelling skills should provide useful tools for researchers and practitioners alike to rate young individuals within their reference population.

Associations between reading achievement and independent reading in early elementary school: a genetically informative cross-lagged study

This study used a cross-lagged twin design to examine reading achievement and independent reading from 10 to 11 years (n = 436 twin pairs). Reading achievement at age 10 significantly predicted independent reading at age 11. The alternative path, from independent reading at age 10 to reading achievement at age 11, was not significant. Individual differences in reading achievement and independent reading at both ages were primarily due to genetic influences. Furthermore, individual differences in independent reading at age 11 partly reflected genetic influences on reading achievement at age 10. These findings suggest that genetic influences that contribute to individual differences in children's reading abilities also influence the extent to which children actively seek out and create opportunities to read.