This study analyzed the correlation between students' third grade reading ability and sixth grade reading ability. The data were collected from an urban school district, and the participants were students whose records contained information from their third grade school year and their sixth grade school year. The Utah English Language Arts Criterion-Referenced Tests (ELA-CRT) administered in third and sixth grade were used to determine reading ability. Additional demographic data, including race, gender, special education identification, free/reduced lunch, and English Language Learner (ELL), was assessed and controlled for in the data analysis and provided important information concerning the overall findings. Analysis revealed that third grade reading scores had a strong predictive value on sixth grade reading scores. Certain demographic variables carried statistically significant correlations with sixth grade reading performance including race, special education identification, free/reduced lunch, and ELL identification. However, when analyzed together and considering the statistical weight each other, only third grade reading performance, free/reduced lunch, and ELL identification held significant correlations.

The results for the Swedish children and adolelscents in International surveys of literacy has since 2009 indicated a decrease. The aim of this thesis is to examine if there is a correlation between the education achievement and the level of reading comprehension for students at the upper secondary school. Vocational programmes and programmes preparing for higher education are compared. The scores and marks of two different reading comprehension tests and the average score for 58 students from a public upper secondary school has been studied and compared. The results shows development for students with a weak reading comprehension on both programmes and comparative good study achievments. Students with the highest measured reading comprehension shows higher study achievements but with an overall lesser impact in the vocational programmes compared to the programmes preparing for higher studies. There is no significant level difference in grades between the vocational compared to the theoretical courses. The reading test indicates to a greater extent accordance with the study achievement compared with the national exam. The existing differences between the reading test and the national exam may be explained by the elements of open answers in the national exam. The study indicates that girls at the programmes preparing for higher education with weak reading comprehension develops more and achieve higher results compared to the boys in the same group.