Socioeconomic status and response to a reading intervention: A quantile regression approach

In response to inadequate response to instruction in reading, interventions are often implemented to address deficiencies in component skills associated with reading performance. However, there are factors that influence how children respond to these interventions. Specifically, socioeconomic status (SES) is a well-known correlate of academic achievement, and we hypothesized that family-SES would be associated with response to reading intervention. We explored the estimated associations between SES (free and reduced lunch status) and the distribution of response to intervention (residualized gain scores on the decoding and expressive vocabulary subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement) using the quantile regression approach in a diverse sample of elementary students (N = 1,651). Results indicated that higher family-SES was more strongly associated with greater responsiveness to intervention for both the decoding and expressive vocabulary skills measured. We conclude with a call to more thoroughly consider predictors of individual differences in response to intervention.