| Differences in performance of 72 Chilean students with reading disabilities from public and private schools on decoding, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension tasks were investigated. Analysis of variance results indicated students in public schools performed below students in private schools on all tasks.;Data analyses showed different profiles in students' performance depending upon their social background. Most students from disadvantaged backgrounds (i.e., public schools in Chile) exhibited low performance on decoding, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension measures, while most students from adequate social backgrounds (i.e., private schools in Chile) performed well on decoding but below average on reading comprehension and listening comprehension measures.;Relationships among reading (i.e., decoding and comprehension) and listening comprehension skills, and social background of students with reading disabilities (i.e., school type in Chile) were also investigated. Three correlational analyses were performed. The first analysis indicated strong relationships among school type, decoding, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension skills. The other two correlational analyses showed significant relationships between decoding and reading comprehension skills for students in public schools and significant relationships between listening comprehension and reading comprehension skills for students in private schools.;Results suggest that the influence of social background on reading disabilities as well as the relationship among decoding, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension skills need to be addressed in assessment and treatment practices. |
