ERIC Number: EJ1371539
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Mar
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-5984
EISSN: EISSN-1554-8279
Revisiting the Fourth-Grade Slump among Black Children: Taking a Closer Look at Oral Language and Reading
Nicole Patton Terry; Brandy Gatlin-Nash; Mi-Young Webb; S. Rebecca Summy; Rhonda Raines
Elementary School Journal, v123 n3 p414-436 Mar 2023
Nearly 30 years ago, Chall, Jacobs, and Baldwin introduced the fourth-grade slump to describe the unexpected deceleration of reading skills between first and fourth grades among children growing up in poverty and low-income households. Advances in our understanding of reading development and how race, racism, or other forms of discrimination are implicated in student achievement encourage another look at the slump among Black children. We reexamined the slump in a cross-sectional, heterogeneous sample (n = 757) of typically developing, Black children (ages 6-11 years old), most of whom were growing up in low-income households. As in the original study, we observed a downward trend in word reading and reading comprehension skills between first and fourth grades. However, unlike the original study, children demonstrated relatively weaker performance on oral language measures at each grade level. Implications for studying oral language and reading in Black children are discussed.
Descriptors: Elementary School Students, Blacks, African American Students, Grade 1, Grade 4, Reading Skills, Grade 2, Grade 3, Word Recognition, Reading Comprehension, Achievement Gains, Oral Language, Low Income Students
University of Chicago Press. Journals Division, P.O. Box 37005, Chicago, IL 60637. Tel: 877-705-1878; Tel: 773-753-3347; Fax: 877-705-1879; Fax: 773-753-0811; e-mail: subscriptions@press.uchicago.edu; Web site: http://www.press.uchicago.edu
Related Records: ED628327
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 1; Primary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Grade 2; Grade 3
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A