Impact of Motivation to Read on Reading Gains for Struggling Readers With and Without Learning Disabilities

Abstract

This study was an investigation of the impact of motivation to read on reading gains of struggling readers with and without specific learning disabilities (LD) who were exposed to a structured, research-based daily reading program over an 18-week period. Participants included 13 students with LD and 25 students without disabilities from two middle schools and one high school in a U.S. Midwestern state. In this study, motivation to read was assessed by the Adolescent Motivation to Read Survey, and reading achievement was measured by the Scholastic Reading Inventory. The impact of motivation to read on reading gains was evaluated by conducting analyses with the bootstrap method of resampling. The results yielded significant reading gains for all students with and without LD but indicated a significant relationship only between pretest reading scores and improvements in motivation of students without disabilities. In addition, results showed a significant improvement in reading motivation only for students without disabilities.