Reading Comprehension, School Performance, and Intellectual Styles in Public High School

The present study aimed to analyze reading comprehension and its relationship with academic performance and intellectual styles, as well as possible differences due to the school year. Participants were 288 students enrolled in a public high school (Mage = 16.1 years, SD = 0.99). For the data collection, the Cloze Test, the Inventory of Intellectual Styles, and the overall means of Portuguese, Mathematics, Sociology, and Philosophy were used. The results showed that there were gaps in the formation of the young high school students regarding reading comprehension and that they preferred styles with characteristics such as creativity and greater cognitive complexity. A significant correlation was found between reading comprehension and intellectual styles and the grades of the disciplines assessed. The grade in Portuguese was a predictor of the performance in Mathematics. The findings reaffirm the relevance of reading comprehension for high school education and show that knowledge about students’ intellectual styles can help teachers in their educational practices.