Individual Differences

Reading involves a complex and ordered set of processes and behaviors that leads to a mental representation that conveys the underlying meaning of a text. Individual differences exist to the extent that readers are proficient in these processes and the extent to which systems are in place to support their occurrence. However, these processes and behaviors are not independent of one another. For example, working memory resources for student readers who are not proficient at lower-level aspects of reading will be consumed by these processes, which will compromise their ability to engage in higher-level processes. As such, it is critical for researchers and educators to identify and diagnose these multiple components of reading in order to help struggling readers.

Being able to identify students at risk ...