Understanding African American Vernacular English and Reading Achievement: Implications for the Science of Reading

The purpose of this article is to discuss issues of language, specifically African American Vernacular English (AAVE), as it relates to the reading performance of African American children. Previous research on the science of reading provides a research-based framework that is a starting point for evidence-based research that can be used to improve the reading outcomes of African American children. School psychology literature is limited in its inclusion of issues posed by deficit perspectives of AAVE with Black children and reading achievement. Given that practicing school psychologists spend significant portions of their time conducting assessments related to identifying and remediating reading problems, an increased awareness on how AAVE can impact African American children's reading performance is necessary. Implications for research and practice will be discussed, such as inclusion of instruments to differentiate between reading difficulties and dialect differences (i.e., Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation). Impact and Implications Black children comprise 14.98% of the school-aged population in the United States and are reported to have some of the lowest reading achievement scores in the nation. Consequently, it is important that school professionals understand language dialects, such as African American Vernacular English (AAVE). This article provides a detailed discussion of AAVE that can be used to improve reading assessment practices with Black youth.