Reading abilities in middle school students: Assessment of research and perspectives

As reported by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA; 2009), 19.6% of French teenagers exhibit difficulties in reading. In order to better help these struggling readers, it is essential to identify with precision the fundamental processes involved in reading in which they are deficient. This critical review of the literature seeks to synthesize the available data on the reading of the average junior high school student, making use of the general theoretical framework of Gough and Tunmer (1986). It contains two parts: one on the predictors of reading comprehension, and one on the predictors of the capacity to identify written words.