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Motivation and Its Relationship With Reading

Achievement in an Urban Middle School
a a
Norman Unrau & Jonah Schlackman
a
Charter College of Education California State University, Los Angeles
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: Norman Unrau & Jonah Schlackman (2006) Motivation and Its Relationship With Reading Achievement in
an Urban Middle School, The Journal of Educational Research, 100:2, 81-101, DOI: 10.3200/JOER.100.2.81-101

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 Motivation and Its Relationship
With Reading Achievement
in an Urban Middle School
NORMAN UNRAU
JONAH SCHLACKMAN
Charter College of Education
California State University, Los Angeles
ABSTRACT The authors investigated the effects of
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on reading achievement
for urban middle school students. The authors initially
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developed a research-based theoretical model representing
interrelationships among students’ ethnicity, gender, grade
level, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and read-
ing achievement. When the authors tested the model, struc-
tural equation models (SEMs) produced effects that were
statistically significant. For example, a multiple-groups
SEM analysis indicated that intrinsic motivation had a
stronger positive relationship with reading achievement for
Asian students than for Hispanic students. Analysis by gen-
der, ethnicity, and grade level showed statistically signifi-
cant decreases over time for intrinsic and extrinsic motiva-
tion. Results suggest a significant decline in overall
motivation to read during the middle school years for stu-
dents in urban schools.
Key words: cross-cultural differences, intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation, reading ability or achievement
T hrough the perspective of self-determination the-
ory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002; Ryan & Deci,
2000), the authors explore motivation to read in
an urban middle school. Self-determination theory (SDT)
provides a research-based perspective of motivation, espe-
cially motivation related to school, and to literacy growth
in particular. SDT emphasizes the central importance of
each individual’s need for personal development and self-
regulation. Although researchers have conducted extensive
investigations of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in
school contexts (Deci & Ryan; Harter, 1981), few
researchers have examined the trajectory of intrinsic and
intrinsic motivation to read, especially across grades, gen-
der, and ethnicity (Lepper, Sethi, Dialdin, & Drake, 1997;
Wang & Guthrie, 2004).
Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation
Educators who developed SDT (Deci & Ryan, 1985;
Ryan & Deci, 2000) made distinctions between intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation on the basis of extensive inves-
81
tigations. Intrinsic motivation arises from an individual’s
personal interest in a topic or activity and is satisfied
through pursuit of that topic or activity. Intrinsic motiva-
tion, central to self-regulated learning and self-determi-
nation, embodies a student’s desire for mastery, sponta-
neous curiosity, and inquiry. Often an intrinsically
motivated person enters the flow of experience related to
an interest or activity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). For
example, an intrinsically motivated middle school reader
who was enthralled by the Harry Potter series (Rowling,
1998) would find internal satisfaction in reading a book
in the series—entering Harry’s world and participating in
his magical adventures. Conversely, extrinsic motivation
arises from participation in an activity, not for its own
sake, but for rewards or the release from some external
social demand. An extrinsically motivated middle school
reader who faces a quiz on a chapter in an assigned read-
ing and wants to receive a high grade while avoiding a
rebuke from a teacher or parent would read to perform
well on the test.
Deci, Koestner, and Ryan (2001) have argued from
extensive meta-analyses of relevant studies that rewards
associated with extrinsic motivation can undermine intrin-
sic motivation. However, consistent with SDT, especially
its emphasis on intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions of moti-
vation (Lepper & Henderlong, 2000), student academic
reading is probably driven by a blending of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation.
Although extrinsic motives or reward systems, such as
grades, may heighten students’ perceptions that the locus
of control for their actions is external, not all forms of
extrinsic motivation lead inevitably to the undermining
of intrinsic motivation. Some forms of extrinsic motiva-
tion may become internalized and “owned” by the stu-
dent. According to SDT, extrinsic motivation can take
Address correspondence to Norman Unrau, Division of Curriculum
and Instruction, Charter College of Education, California State Uni-
versity, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA
90266. (E-mail: nunrau@calstatela.edu)
Copyright © 2006 Heldref Publications
 82
four different forms, ranging from motivation in persons
who are less self-determined to motivation in those who
are potentially high in self-determination. The perceived
loci of causality include (a) external regulation (least
autonomous), (b) introjected regulation (motive and
associated behavior not fully embraced as one’s own), (c)
identified regulation (valuing of a goal or regulation and
associated behavior as personally important), and (d)
integrated regulation (most autonomous extrinsic moti-
vation that is fully assimilated into the self and one’s own
values but not inherently enjoyed). The last two forms of
extrinsic motivation, identified and integrated regula-
tion, are most likely to become adopted by young readers
as inherently meaningful or valuable. Many students
internalize getting good grades as a personally meaningful
and valuable pursuit.
In general, researchers have repeatedly found that stu-
dents’ motivation declines as they progress from elemen-
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tary school through high school (Eccles, Lord, &
Buchanan, 1996). In the early 1980s, Harter (1981) found
that students in Grades 3–9 reported gradual declines in
intrinsic motivation. Gottfried, Fleming, and Gottfried
(2001) also documented declining intrinsic motivation
from Grades 4 through the high school years. However,
they found that declines in some content areas were more
precipitous than others: (a) mathematics and science had
the largest declines, (b) reading had more modest deterio-
ration, and (c) social studies revealed no significant drop.
In a recent study of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
among students in Grades 3–8, Lepper, Corpus, and Iyen-
gar (2005) found that intrinsic motivation deteriorated
significantly. Incidentally, students’ grades and standard-
ized test scores correlated positively with measures of
intrinsic motivation. However, extrinsic motivation
changed little through the grades and correlated nega-
tively with academic performance: the higher students’
extrinsic motivation, the lower their academic perfor-
mance. In a 3-year longitudinal study of students pro-
gressing from middle to high school, Otis, Grouzet, and
Pelletier (2005) reported that students’ intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation decreased gradually as students
moved from Grade 8 to Grades 9 and 10.
Many educators have speculated about the reasons for
the weakening of school-related motivation, including
the notion that efforts to motivate students through var-
ious reward systems undermine their own interests and
natural curiosity (Kohn, 1993). Although the reasons for
a general decline in motivation are complex, we further
explore our interests in motivation for reading in partic-
ular. More information can be learned about the relation-
ship between intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation,
reading achievement, and other variables, such as grade
in school, gender, and ethnicity. The importance of gains
in knowledge in these areas is particularly critical in the
middle school years because these years serve as a step-
pingstone to high school and beyond.
The Journal of Educational Research
McKenna, Kear, and Ellsworth’s (1995) Model of
Reading Attitude
Drawing on the theoretical models and research of
Matthewson (1976), Liska (1984), and others, McKenna,
Kear, and Ellsworth (1995) postulated their own model of
changes in reading attitude, in which attitude is viewed as
affective and beliefs are viewed as causally related to atti-
tude. In accord with the model developed by McKenna and
his colleagues, the social structure and environment of
readers directly affect their beliefs and intention to read.
Social context and environment shape readers’ beliefs
about others’ expectations in response to readers’ motiva-
tion to conform to those expectation and their beliefs
about the outcomes of reading in light of their opinions
about the value of these outcomes. The beliefs about
expectations and outcomes, in turn, influence readers’ sub-
jective norms, especially those shaped by the expectations
of significant others and attitude toward reading. The sub-
jective norms are contingent on factors such as (a) cultur-
al identity of others, (b) degree of identification with that
culture, (c) specific expectations, (d) imposed purposes for
reading, and (e) conflicts among expectations. Meanwhile,
attitude toward reading is often contingent on factors such
as personal purpose for reading, intensity of purpose, and
importance of the reading. Intention to read often depends
on readers’ interest in the topic, physical environment, and
availability of support. The decision to read or continue
reading is subsequently determined not only by subjective
norms and attitude toward reading but also by the inten-
tion to read.
McKenna and colleagues (1995) suggested that predic-
tions about reading attitudes can be hypothesized with
their theoretical model, which relies on earlier theoretical
models, as well as on previous experimental research.
According to their theory, if a reader is frequently frustrat-
ed when reading, those frustrating experiences can con-
tribute to a belief that reading is a frustrating experience.
Consequently, that reader’s attitude toward reading would
become more negative. Conversely, a reader who finds
enjoyment in reading experiences would develop a belief
that reading is enjoyable and that reader’s attitude toward
reading would become more positive. For readers whose
beliefs and attitudes toward reading become more negative,
alternative modes of entertainment, such as video games,
would vie for the student’s reading time and contribute to
the gradual deterioration of not only reading time but also
reading skills and the growth of knowledge.
McKenna and colleagues (1995) investigated develop-
mental trends in recreational and academic reading atti-
tude in the elementary grades and in the relationship
between those attitudes and the variables of reading abili-
ty, gender, and ethnicity. The researchers found that recre-
ational and academic attitudes began at a relatively posi-
tive level in the first grade and ended in “relative
indifference” (p. 952) in the sixth grade. They also found
 November/December 2006 [Vol. 100 (No. 2)]
that the increasingly negative attitude toward recreational
reading was related to ability, with least able readers’ atti-
tudes declining most rapidly. That is, as children progressed
through the elementary grades, those with less ability
revealed a more rapidly declining interest in reading.
Unfortunately, an increasingly negative attitude toward
academic reading grew regardless of readers’ ability. The
researchers believed that the negative trend in reading atti-
tude could be attributed to the impact of weakening read-
ing ability in the upper grades. Girls had more positive atti-
tudes than did boys at every grade level for both forms of
reading; however, the differences between boys and girls
were unrelated to ability. McKenna and colleagues found
that in their study involving African American, White,
and Hispanic students, ethnicity contributed little to the
negative attitude trend in either form of reading. The
researchers believed that the absence of meaningful effects
of ethnicity on reading suggest that cultural norms for read-
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ing are similar in the three cultures included in that study.
They also suggested that the lack of an effect for ethnicity
was rooted in their sample, which may not have included
sufficient representation from inner-city schools with large
numbers of minority children.
Findings by McKenna and colleagues (1995) suggest that
researchers should further investigate trends in attitude
toward reading and their likely affect on reading ability
through the middle school years. Such research could
expand knowledge of attitudes toward reading as children
progress through middle school, especially attitudes among
urban middle school students whose weakening motivation
for literacy and performance may lay the groundwork for
dropping out during the early high school years. Perhaps
more important, McKenna and colleagues’ finding that
ethnicity has no meaningful effects on attitude toward
reading should be compared with findings from urban
schools with more students from diverse cultures. If
researchers would implement that research by studying
urban middle schools with large numbers of minority stu-
dents from different ethnic groups, educators could discov-
er whether there are meaningful differences across ethnici-
ties in reading attitude and performance. Educators could
also discover what becomes of gender differences in reading
motivation among minority children in urban areas as they
move through middle school.
Development of the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire
(MRQ)
Work on literacy engagement in the elementary schools,
including that done by McKenna and colleagues (1995)
and by the National Reading Research Center (NRRC;
Guthrie, McGough, & Wigfield, 1994; Wigfield &
Guthrie, 1995, 1997; Wigfield, Guthrie, & McGough,
1996) during the 1990s, serves as a base for further discov-
eries about middle school reading engagement. Research
on motivation at NRRC was grounded in an engagement
83
perspective integrating cognitive, motivational, and social
aspects of reading with achievement motivation theory,
which includes readers’ competence and their beliefs about
their own efficacy as readers, as well as intrinsic and extrin-
sic motivation and purposes for achievement. Using those
domains of research and theory as resources and building
on previous related investigations, Guthrie, Wigfield, and
associates (Guthrie et al., 1994; Wigfield & Guthrie, 1995,
1997; Wigfield et al., 1996) developed the Motivation for
Reading Questionnaire (MRQ), which consists of 11
dimensions of reading motivation. Using fourth- and fifth-
grade students, Wigfield and Guthrie (1997) refined the
MRQ to 55 items that measured 11 dimensions: (a) self-
efficacy, (b) challenge, (c) work avoidance, (d) curiosity,
(e) involvement, (f) importance, (g) recognition, (h)
grades, (i) competition, (j) social motives and (k) compli-
ance. In the fall and spring semesters, Wigfield and Guthrie
(1997) obtained reliability measures that indicated the
degree to which items in each scale were related. Whereas
some measurements of the internal consistency reliabilities
for a scale were at or above an acceptable .70, others were
less consistent, indicating that items within those scales
were less closely related.
Combining theoretical and empirical perspectives, Wig-
field and Guthrie (1997) created intrinsic and extrinsic
composites of reading motivation based on the MRQ
scales. Initially, the intrinsic composite included the effica-
cy, curiosity, and involvement scales, and the extrinsic
composite was made up of the recognition, grades, and
competition scales. The researchers subsequently found
that their intrinsic composite predicted the amount and
breadth of reading better than did their extrinsic compos-
ite. In a follow-up investigation of the contributions that
motivational variables make to amount of reading, reading
achievement, and text comprehension, Guthrie, Wigfield,
Metsala, and Cox (1999) formed an intrinsic composite
consisting of the challenge, curiosity, and involvement
scales. They also formed an extrinsic composite that con-
sisted of the recognition and competition scales. They
found that their intrinsic and extrinsic composites con-
tributed substantially to predicting amount of reading
which, in turn, facilitated text comprehension.
Building on that base of prior research, Baker and Wig-
field (1999) found that with a substantially larger sample of
fifth- and sixth-grade students, the 11 dimensions of read-
ing in the MRQ reliably measured motivation for reading.
Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), Baker and Wig-
field demonstrated that the proposed 11 dimensions of
children’s reading motivation could be identified and mea-
sured reliably. Baker and Wigfield (1999) also explored
grade, gender, ethnicity, amount of reading, and reading
achievement. In an earlier study, Wigfield and Guthrie
(1997) found significant motivational differences between
students in Grades 4 and 5 that favored fourth-grade stu-
dents. In their subsequent study, Baker and Wigfield (1999)
found that fifth-grade students had significantly higher
 84
scores on the social and recognition scales of the MRQ
than did sixth-grade students. Results of the separate stud-
ies indicate deterioration of motivation to read as children
progressed through the late elementary grades. Statistically
significant gender differences also appeared in the stud-
ies—girls scored higher on all scales except the competi-
tion and work-avoidance scales.
Because of limited research and gaps in knowledge about
reading motivation across ethnic groups, Baker and Wig-
field (1999) also investigated ethnicity differences in read-
ing motivation. Their sample of about 300 students con-
sisted of approximately 50% White and 45% African
American students. African American children had higher
mean scores than did White children on all scales except
curiosity, social, and work avoidance. All of the scales were
positively related to children’s reports of reading activity
and to reading achievement, whereas the relation between
reading motivation and achievement was greater for girls
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and for White students than for boys and African Ameri-
can students.
The investigation that Baker and Wigfield (1999) com-
pleted demonstrated that reading motivation is multidimen-
sional. However, the question of what and how many dimen-
sions constitute reading motivation for which students in
what grades remains open to debate. Furthermore, Baker and
Wigfield called for future research using samples from differ-
ent populations. Examining relationships between the
MRQ, especially its intrinsic and extrinsic composites, and
variables such as grade in school, gender, and ethnicity
would clarify one’s understanding of motivational patterns as
children move through the middle school years.
Examining Ethnicity Differences in Reading Motivation
Researchers have gathered evidence (Chen, Stevenson,
Hayward, & Burgess, 1995; Graham, 1994; Stevenson,
Chen, & Uttal, 1990; Thernstrom & Thernstrom, 2003)
and argued (Obgu, 1981; Steinberg, 1996; Thernstrom &
Thernstrom) that cultural values and beliefs can shape stu-
dents’ motivation to undertake academic tasks. According
to Thernstrom and Thernstrom, culture matters and
explains differences in the academic performance of Asian,
Hispanic, African American, and Caucasian students.
Although few studies explore the effects of culture on stu-
dents’ motivation in reading, investigations of those rela-
tionships hold the promise of gaining deeper understand-
ings of the important interactions between ethnic
affiliations and reading behavior. McKenna and colleagues’
(1995) model acknowledges the potential of a culture to
influence attitude toward reading through subjective
norms, but they did not find statistically significant differ-
ences attributable to ethnicity. Our study helps to close the
literature gap regarding relationships between culture and
reading behavior. Specifically, we investigate (a) differ-
ences in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation among ethnic
The Journal of Educational Research
groups and (b) relationships between motivation and read-
ing achievement among ethnic groups.
Building on ways in which ethnicity and culture might
affect motivation, Wang and Guthrie (2004) extended
motivational research using the MRQ to discover the
degree to which intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motiva-
tion correlated with text comprehension between U.S. and
Chinese students. They wanted to determine whether stu-
dents’ motivation for reading comprehension tasks was dif-
ferent between the two cultures. Based on (a) research by
Wigfield and Guthrie (1997) and Baker and Wigfield
(1999), (b) subsequent exploration of motivational com-
posites (Guthrie et al., 1999), and (c) their own explo-
ration of these composites, Wang and Guthrie hypothe-
sized and confirmed a two-factor (intrinsic and extrinsic)
motivational model to predict text comprehension. Their
sample consisted of a U.S. group of fourth graders and a
Chinese group of fourth graders who lived in Taiwan and
were native Chinese speakers from middle-class families.
(For the Chinese students, the MRQ was translated into
Chinese.)
The intrinsic composite proposed by Wang & Guthrie
(2004) consisted of the curiosity, involvement, and chal-
lenge scales, whereas their extrinsic composite was based
on the recognition, grades, social, competition, and com-
pliance scales. Wang and Guthrie found that intrinsic
motivation positively related to and predicted text com-
prehension equally for U.S. and Chinese students. Extrin-
sic motivation, however, was negatively related to text
comprehension for both groups.
Because the participants in our study were predominant-
ly Hispanic and Asian students, we explored the relation-
ships among intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation,
grade level, gender, ethnicity, and reading achievement for
these two groups. To represent the relationships among
those variables, we proposed a theoretical model to describe
direct and indirect relationships among them (see Figure 1).
Similar to research by Wang and Guthrie (2004), we
hypothesized that an intrinsic motivational construct
underlies the curiosity, involvement, and challenge scales
and that an extrinsic motivational construct underlies the
recognition, grades, social, competition, and compliance
scales. In addition, our model further hypothesizes that stu-
dents’ grade, gender, and ethnicity are likely to affect not
only intrinsic and extrinsic motivation but also reading
achievement. We tested the adequacy of the theoretical
model with structural equation modeling (SEM), which is a
statistical approach that simultaneously estimates direct and
indirect relationships among the variables in the model.
Given the variations in previous theoretical models,
apparent gaps in the research, and the need to clarify and
extend the understanding of motivation to read, we exam-
ined the following research questions regarding the relation-
ships among reading motivation, reading achievement, gen-
der, grade in school, and ethnicity in an urban middle school:
 November/December 2006 [Vol. 100 (No. 2)]
Curiosity
Involvement
Challenge
Grade
Gender
Ethnicity
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Recognition
Grades
Social
Competition
Compliance
FIGURE 1. Theoretical model of motivation and reading achievement.
1. To what extent does intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
relate to the reading achievement of students in middle
school?
2. What are the relationships among gender, grade, intrin-
sic and extrinsic motivation to read, and reading
achievement?
3. To what extent do the variables and their relationships
in the structural models arising from Questions 1 and 2
differ across Hispanic and Asian middle school students?
4. Does intrinsic and extrinsic motivation change signifi-
cantly over time for middle school students across eth-
nicities, school grade, and gender?
Method
Participants
While serving as a university literacy coach to an urban
middle school of approximately 2,000 students in the Los
Angeles area, the first author worked with faculty and
administration to understand more deeply students’ litera-
cy and learning processes, including how these changed
from grade to grade. As a member of the school’s literacy
85
Intrinsic
Motivation
Reading
Achievement
Extrinsic
Motivation
committee formed to investigate and address literacy issues
in the school, the first author suggested administering the
MRQ and the Gates-MacGinitie test to students in Grades
6, 7, and 8. The purpose for administering the testing pro-
gram was to develop a deeper knowledge of students’ moti-
vation and its relationship to their reading performance.
Participants in the study were students in Grades 6, 7,
and 8 who attended the urban middle school. The school’s
population included about 75% Hispanic and 20% Asian
students. The remaining students were African American,
American Indian, and White students. About 75% of the
Hispanic students were first- or second-generation Mexi-
can American; the remaining students were from Central
American countries, especially El Salvador. More than
80% of the Asian students lived in Chinatown, which was
within the school’s service boundary, and were first- or sec-
ond-generation Chinese. The community in which the
school was located included many businesses displaying
signs in Spanish, such as grocery stores and auto repair
shops, which served the mostly Hispanic population. The
majority of the participants were from economically disad-
vantaged families; over 90% of students participated in the
free or reduced-price lunches program.
 86
About 3% of the school’s students were English language
learners (ELLs). However, students in English-as-a-second-
language (ESL) classes were not included in this study. His-
panic and Asian students were behind national averages in
reading achievement. Approximately 70% of the teachers
were fully credentialed, and the remaining teachers were
pursuing their state credentials through intern or other pro-
grams. The average class size in the school was approxi-
mately 28 students. Because of the relatively small numbers
of African American, American Indian, and White stu-
dents in the sample, we did not analyze these groups in sub-
sequent statistical analyses. Hence, we analyzed only data
from the Hispanic and Asian students.
Measures
Motivation for Reading Questionnaire. Wigfield and col-
leagues (1996) designed the 54-item questionnaire to assess
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11 aspects of reading motivation. Because students in middle
school do not have reading classes, and five items referred to
reading classes, we asked one of the designers of the MRQ
about modifying items referring to this class. He suggested
substituting “English class” for reading class (J. Guthrie, per-
sonal communication). Concerns about validity or reliabili-
ty did not arise at the time of the discussion. Where original
items referred to reading classes, the modified items refer to
English classes. Responses to the items on the MRQ ranged
from 1 to 4 (1 = very different from me, 2 = a little different from
me, 3 = a little like me, and 4 = a lot like me).
Baker and Wigfield (1999) reported the 54 items of the
MRQ and the motivational dimensions that each mea-
sures. Although the MRQ has 54 items, Baker and Wigfield
eliminated 4 items from two scales—two items from the
competition scale (Numbers 18 and 22) and two items from
the compliance scale (Numbers 4 and 6) on the basis of
their results of CFA. To permit fair comparisons between
the Baker and Wigfield study and our study, we also
dropped the 4 items (Items 18, 22, 4, and 6) from our com-
petition and compliance scales. Whereas Baker and Wig-
field used the MRQ with Grade 5 and 6 elementary school
students, our interest was, in part, to discover possible
changes in motivation among older children during the
middle school years.
Although researchers have used the MRQ in many
studies of reading motivation, Watkins and Coffey (2004)
raised questions about its structural or factorial validity.
According to them, the theoretical 11-factor structure set
forth by Baker and Wigfield (1999) did not adequately fit
CFA data from their two samples of elementary school
students. Subsequent exploratory factor analyses yielded
8 factors for each of their two samples. The confirmatory
fit index (CFI) reported by Watkins and Coffey ranged
from .85 to .88 for their various models. The CFI, which
is a measure of model fit in CFA, ranges from 0 to 1,
where a CFI = 1.00 indicates a perfect model fit in which
the estimated model parameters perfectly explain the
The Journal of Educational Research
observed variances and covariances among the data. In
practice, CFIs of .90 and higher indicate a relatively good
model fit.
To address the issue of dimensionality raised by Watkins
and Coffey (2004), we conducted a CFA based on (a) 11 fac-
tors of reading motivation specified by Baker and Wigfield
(1999) and (b) 8 factors of reading motivation based on the
results of an 8-factor exploratory factor analysis (EFA).
Because the main focus of our study was on students’ Time 2
MRQ (and Gates-McGinitie) scores, we tested the dimen-
sionality with scores from only the second administration of
the MRQ. For those scores, an 11-factor model resulted in a
slightly higher model fit (CFI = .90) than an 8-factor model
(CFI = .88). We proceeded with the 11-factor structure for
the MRQ because our 11-factor model followed the same
pattern of loadings proposed by Baker and Wigfield, and we
wanted to compare our findings with their results. However,
the CFI resulting from our 8-factor model (CFI = .88) was
similar to the CFIs for 8 factors found by Watkins and Cof-
fey. Because there is no empirically grounded consensus
among researchers regarding the number of factors underly-
ing the MRQ, we suggest that researchers investigate its
structural validity and dimensionality.
Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test. We used the Level 5/6 ver-
sion of the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test (3rd ed.;
MacGinitie & MacGinitie, 1989) as a measure of reading
achievement. Students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 completed
either Form K or L in the fall of the second year of the study.
The alternate form reliability coefficient for Forms K and L
is reported as .90 by the creators of the test. The Vocabulary
subtest contains 45 multiple-choice items of children’s read-
ing vocabulary. The Comprehension subtest contains 14
narrative and expository passages and 48 multiple-choice
questions based on the passages. The test is widely used and
has been reported to have good stability and internal-con-
sistency reliability (Lipson & Wixson, 1997).
Procedure
We collected data for this study across 2 academic years.
The MRQ was administered in the fall of Year 1 and again
in the fall of Year 2, which established two grade cohorts.
We labeled students in Grade 6 in Year 1 and in Grade 7
in Year 2 as the “6–7” cohort; students in Grade 7 in Year
1 and in Grade 8 in Year 2 were the “7–8” cohort. The
assistant principal monitored the distribution and collec-
tion of the MRQ questionnaires, which were completed
during the students’ English classes. Also administered
during the fall of Year 2 was the Gates-MacGinitie test of
reading achievement. All students in Grades 6, 7, and 8
took the Gates-MacGinitie test except (a) those in Levels
1–4 ESL classes and (b) those in Special Education class-
es who were not mainstreamed into regular English class-
es. Students took either Form K or L of the Gates-
MacGinitie Reading Test (3rd ed.). Personnel in the Title
I office of the middle school scored the responses to the
 November/December 2006 [Vol. 100 (No. 2)] 87

Gates-MacGinitie test with materials provided by the Analysis

publisher of the test.
MRQ scale scores. The first step in the analysis of the
MRQ items involved averaging subsets of the MRQ ques-
tionnaire items, which we did for each subset of items rep-
resenting the 11 constructs that Baker and Wigfield (1999)
suggested comprise the MRQ. Hence, the MRQ items were
reduced to 11 dimensions measuring (a) efficacy, (b) chal-
lenge, (c) work avoidance, (d) curiosity, (e) involvement,
(f) importance, (g) recognition, (h) grades, (i) competi-
tion, (j) social, and (k) compliance. We reported the
means, standard deviations, and measures of internal con-
sistency reliability for each of the MRQ scale scores. Cor-
relations among the scale scores are also presented. We
show the descriptive statistics in this study (e.g., means,
standard deviations, and correlations) (a) for the entire
sample, (b) aggregated by gender, and (c) aggregated by
ethnicity (Hispanic and Asian). Furthermore, we com-
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We conducted the analysis with two subsets of the origi-
nal data. The first set of SEM analyses examined the rela-
tionship between intrinsic and extrinsic scale scores and
the Gates-MacGinitie test. We included only students who
had complete data on the MRQ scales, the Gates-
MacGinitie test, and information on gender, ethnicity
(Hispanic or Asian), and grade in Year 2 of the study. That
resulted in a sample size of 1,032 students (768 Hispanic
students and 264 Asian students). The variable grade in
the SEM analyses represents the students’ grades in Year 2.
Therefore, the effect of grade in the analyses should be
interpreted as a between-grade effect.
In the second set of analyses, we used a sample that
included students who had complete data on MRQ scores
at Time 1 and Time 2, as well as information on gender,
ethnicity (Hispanic or Asian), and grade cohort. That

bined some of the MRQ scale scores to represent students’
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Similar to Wang and Guthrie’s (2004) study, we aver-
aged the MRQ scales of curiosity, involvement, and chal-
lenge to “operationalize” students’ intrinsic motivation.
To measure students’ extrinsic motivation, we averaged
the MRQ scales of recognition, grades, social, compli-
ance, and competition. The items comprising the MRQ
scales used by Wang and Guthrie differed from the work
of Baker and Wigfield (1999); Wang and Guthrie includ-
ed extra items on some of their scales. However, we fol-
lowed the same procedures and items used by Baker and
Wigfield to construct each scale; we did not use the extra
items that Wang and Guthrie included in their curiosity
and involvement scales. We believe that this difference is
minor and should not greatly affect the measurement of
the latent construct that the set of items is expected to
measure.
resulted in a sample size of 470 students. We used differ-
ences in mean scores and dependent samples t tests to test
the statistical significance of the change in motivation over
time. Those analyses helped us investigate the possible
deterioration of motivation over time and whether there
were differences in such deterioration across gender, eth-
nicity (Hispanic or Asian), and grade cohort (6–7 cohort
or 7–8 cohort).
Results
Table 1 shows correlations among the MRQ scales, the
Gates-MacGinitie test, and gender. The correlation of
gender with any of the MRQ scales and the Gates-
MacGinitie test is a biserial correlation. All other correla-
tions are Pearson product-moment correlations. For His-
panic students, reading achievement correlated negatively
with curiosity (r = –.11, p < .01), grades (r = –.08, p < .05),

TABLE 1. Intercorrelations Among Primary Variables for Hispanic and Asian Students

Scale 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

1. Reading achievement .06 .06 .04 .23** .12* .06 –.07 –.05 .10 .05
2. Gender –.08* .02 .04 .14* .03 .12* .04 .18** –.12 .10
3. Grade in school .17** –.05 –.05 –.12* –.11 –.19** –.13* –.17** –.06 –.17**
4. Curiosity –.11** .02 –.19** .61** .71** .57** .45** .56** .33** .44**
5. Involvement .01 .09** –.22** .67** .65** .60** .41** .56** .42** .45**
6. Challenge –.03 .06 –.24** .71** .68** .52** .46** .50** .45** .50**
7. Recognition –.01 .08* –.26** .62** .60** .63** .55** .58** .48** .49**
8. Grades –.08* .07 –.08* .52** .48** .48** .55** .49** .32** .56**
9. Social –.16** .20** –.26** .63** .64** .65** .66** .53** .30** .45**
10. Competition –.02 –.17** –.17** .47** .44** .47** .54** .41** .42** .39**
11. Compliance –.01 .06 –.22** .56** .55** .60** .62** .60** .55** .48**

Note. Correlations for Hispanic students are in the lower left section. The upper right section shows correlations for Asian students.
*p < .05. **p < .01.
 88 The Journal of Educational Research

and social (r = –.16, p < .01). For Asian students, reading
achievement was positively correlated with involvement
(r = .23, p < .01) and challenge (r = .12, p < .05), with no
significant negative correlations. For Hispanic students,
gender (which should be interpreted as a female indicator)
was positively correlated with involvement (r = .09, p <
.01), recognition (r = .08, p < .05), and social (r = .20, p
< .01), but negatively correlated with competition (r =
–.17, p < .01). For Asian students, gender was also posi-
tively correlated with involvement (r = .14, p < .05),
recognition (r = .12, p < .01), and social (r = .18, p < .01),
but with no significant negative correlations. While grade
in school for Hispanic students was negatively correlated
with all scales that included intrinsic and extrinsic moti-
vation, school grade for Asian students was negatively
correlated with five scales: involvement (r = –.12, p <
.01), recognition (r = –.19, p < .01), grades (r = –.13, p <
.01), social (r = –.17, p < .01), and compliance (r = –.17,
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emphasize the differences that we found in reading motiva-
tion between Hispanic and Asian students. Hence, we
decided to use SEM to further explore the differences, as
well as the relationship, with reading achievement.
Factor Structure of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
To test whether two distinct dimensions could explain
the eight MRQ scales, we conducted CFAs separately for
the Hispanic and Asian groups. For the Hispanic group, a
two-factor model produced a CFI of .98, which indicated a
very good model fit. For the Asian group, a two-factor
model also fit very well, producing a CFI of .95. Hence, the
results of CFAs suggested that two factors sufficiently
explained the variances and covariances among the eight
MRQ scales comprising intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
for Hispanic and Asian groups.

p < .01). Thus, students in higher grades tended to score
lower on most MRQ scales.
Table 2 compares descriptive statistics and provides t test
and effect sizes for variables between Hispanic and Asian
students. Results specifying that the difference in reading
achievement between Hispanic and Asian students was sta-
tistically significant (t[1,030] = –6.14, p < .001) indicate
that Hispanic students had lower reading achievement than
did Asian students. That difference was approximately one
half of a standard deviation (d = –.51), indicating a medium
effect size. Mean differences for several scales on the MRQ
were also statistically significant. For example, recognition
(t[1,030] = 1.96, p < .05) and social (t[1,030] = 2.36, p < .05)
were statistically higher for Hispanic students, whereas
curiosity (t[1,030] = –2.76, p < .05), challenge (t[1,030] =
–2.33, p < .05), and compliance (t[1,030] = –2.86, p < .05)
were statistically higher for Asian students. Those findings
Motivational Predictors of Reading Achievement for Hispanic
and Asian Groups
One of the questions that we investigated was how
intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation relates with
reading achievement for Hispanic and Asian students. To
answer the question, we estimated a series of structural
models.
We initially estimated a model that used the entire sam-
ple (N = 1,032) to test the theoretical model in Figure 1.
(The results of the model are shown in Figure 2.) The first
model includes ethnicity (Hispanic and Asian) as a predic-
tor, which should be interpreted as the contrast between
Asian and Hispanic students. In other words, it is a binary
indicator for being Asian (Asian = 1, Hispanic = 0).
The next two SEM models separately tested the theoret-
ical model in Figure 1 for Hispanic and Asian students. Fig-

TABLE 2. Descriptive Statistics and t Tests for All Variables in Hispanic and Asian Groups

Hispanic students Asian students

(n = 768) (n = 264)
Variable M SD M SD t d

Reading achievement 4.20 1.66 5.13 2.25 –6.14*** –.51

Curiosity 2.88 .70 3.01 .60 –2.76** –.19
Involvement 2.75 .73 2.80 .65 –1.01 –.07
Challenge 2.74 .74 2.85 .62 –2.33* –.15
Recognition 2.70 .77 2.59 .75 1.96* .14
Grades 3.27 .67 3.29 .58 –.50 –.03
Social 2.20 .74 2.09 .65 2.36* .15
Competition 2.66 .81 2.70 .79 –.55 –.05
Compliance 3.01 .74 3.15 .65 –2.86** –.19
Intrinsic motivation 2.79 .64 2.88 .55 –2.12* –.15
Extrinsic motivation 2.77 .59 2.76 .51 .16 .02

Note. d = Cohen’s d.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
 November/December 2006 [Vol. 100 (No. 2)] 89

E1
.56 Curiosity

E2 Involvement
.60
.83*
E3 Challenge .80*
.54
.84*
Intrinsic
–.22* Motivation
Grade
.11*
D1 .12
–.26* .91* .97
E9
.06 .98
Gender
(Female = 1, –.05
Male = 0) Reading
.11*
Achievement

.07*
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Ethnicity .13* D2
(Asian = 1,
–.02 .96 –.16
Hispanic = 0)

Extrinsic
Motivation

.81*
E4 Recognition
.58 .68*

E5 .78*
.74 Grades
.58*
E6
.63 Social
.73*
E7 Competition
.81
E8 Compliance
.68

FIGURE 2. Estimation of theoretical model for motivation and reading achievement for all
students; *p < .05.

ure 3 estimates the relationships displayed in Figure 1 for
Hispanic students (n = 768), and Figure 4 shows the esti-
mates of the relationships displayed in Figure 1 for Asian
students (n = 264). We dropped ethnicity for both of the
submodels because it is a constant in each group.
Finally, we estimated a multiple-group SEM (see Figure
5), treating the Hispanic and Asian groups as “multiple
groups.” That is, we tested the models in Figures 3 and 4
simultaneously for Hispanic and Asian groups. That analy-
sis allowed us to test not only the equality of parameters
across ethnicity but also whether there were any significant
interactions between ethnicity and the other variables in
Figure 1. (For additional information on multiple-group
SEM, see Bentler [1995]).
Following is a summary of the SEM models that we esti-
mated to determine the relationships displayed in the the-
oretical model in Figure 1:
1. Estimation of the theoretical model using all students
(Figure 2);
2. Estimation of the theoretical model using only Hispanic
students (Figure 3);
3. Estimation of the theoretical model using only Asian
students (Figure 4); and
4. Estimation of the theoretical model using a multiple-
group SEM in which Hispanic and Asian groups are
treated as multiple groups (Figure 5).
The Structural Model for All Students
Figure 2 shows the results of the SEM estimating the the-
oretical model displayed in Figure 1 for all students. That
model produced a CFI of .94, and χ2(46) = 342.50, p <
.001, a relatively good model fit for all students. In terms of
the model parameters, grade in school had a negative direct
effect on intrinsic motivation (standardized path coeffi-
 90 The Journal of Educational Research

E1
.56 Curiosity

E2 Involvement
.59
.83*
E3 Challenge .81*
.53
.85*
Intrinsic
–.26* Motivation
Grade
.15*
D1 .10
–.30* .97
E9
.98
.05*
.04 .92*
Reading
Achievement
Gender –.07
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.08*
D2
.95 –.12
.13*
Extrinsic
Motivation
–.17* .82*
E4
.57 Recognition
.72*

E5 .78*
.72 Grades
.62*
E6
.59 Social
.75*
E7 Competition
.77
E8 Compliance
.66

FIGURE 3. Estimation of theoretical model for motivation and reading achievement for
Hispanic students; *p < .05.

cient = –.22) and on extrinsic motivation (standardized
path coefficient = –.26). That finding suggests that,
between grades, a higher grade in middle school predicted
lower intrinsic motivation and lower extrinsic motivation.
That is, older students had lower motivation to read over-
all than did younger students. The model also indicated
that grade in school had a positive direct effect on reading
achievement (standardized path coefficient = .11), indicat-
ing that, as expected, students in higher grades scored
slightly higher on the reading achievement test.
The predictor variable gender (female indicator) had no
affect on intrinsic motivation. However, it had a small, pos-
itive direct effect on extrinsic motivation (standardized
path coefficient = .11); girls were significantly more affect-
ed by extrinsic motivation than were boys. Gender had a
small effect on reading achievement (standardized path
coefficient = –.05, p > .05), indicating that boys scored
slightly, but not significantly, higher than did girls.
The model also indicated that ethnicity (which should
be interpreted as an Asian indicator) had a small but sta-
tistically significant positive direct effect on intrinsic moti-
vation (standardized path coefficient = .07) but not on
extrinsic motivation. Ethnicity also predicted reading
achievement (standardized path coefficient = .13), indicat-
ing that Asian students performed at a statistically signifi-
cant higher level than did Hispanic students on the Gates-
MacGinitie test.
Structural Model for Hispanic Group
Figure 3 shows the results of SEM estimating the theo-
retical model displayed in Figure 1 for the Hispanic stu-
 November/December 2006 [Vol. 100 (No. 2)] 91

E1
.59 Curiosity

E2 Involvement
.61
.81*
E3 Challenge .78*
.55
.84*
Intrinsic
–.12 Motivation
Grade
.02
D1 .55*
–.22* .99
E9
.96
.10*
.05 .87*
Reading
Achievement
Gender .11
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.16*
D2
.96 –.47*

Extrinsic
Motivation
–.21* .80*
E4
.61 Recognition
.68*

E5 .73*
.74 Grades
.56*
E6
.69 Social
.67*
E7 Competition
.82
E8 Compliance
.74

FIGURE 4. Estimation of theoretical model for motivation and reading achievement for Asian
students; *p < .05.

dents. For that group, SEM produced a CFI of .97, and
χ2(34, N = 768) = 147.71, p < .001, indicating that the
structural model was a relatively good fit for the Hispanic
group. Again, grade in school had a negative direct effect
on intrinsic motivation (standardized path coefficient =
–.26) and extrinsic motivation (standardized path coeffi-
cient = –.30), indicating that, between grades, a higher
grade in middle school predicted lower intrinsic motiva-
tion and extrinsic motivation. The model also indicated
that school grade has a positive direct effect on reading
achievement (standardized path coefficient = .15), demon-
strating that students in higher grades scored slightly high-
er on the reading achievement test. Grade in school also
had a direct effect on the individual scale of grades con-
tributing to the extrinsic composite (standardized path
coefficient = .14). That direct effect suggests that the
importance of grades increases for students in higher acad-
emic grades even after adjusting for the effects of intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation.
Gender had several direct effects in the Hispanic model.
It had a small, positive direct effect on extrinsic motivation
(standardized path coefficient = .08) but no effect on intrin-
sic motivation. Furthermore, gender had positive direct
effects on the involvement dimension of motivation (stan-
dardized path coefficient = .05) and the social dimension
(standardized path coefficient = .14) but had a negative
direct effect on competition (standardized path coefficient
= –.17). Hispanic girls were less competitive and more
social than were Hispanic boys, even after adjusting for the
effects of extrinsic motivation. Hispanic girls were also
slightly more involved than were Hispanic boys after adjust-
ing for the effect of intrinsic motivation. Thus, it appears
that Hispanic girls were more likely to have positive effects
on involvement in reading and sensitivity to social motiva-
 92 The Journal of Educational Research

E1
.57/.53 Curiosity

E2 Involvement
.66/.57
.81*/.85*
E3 Challenge .80*/.81*
.55/.49
.84*/.87*
Intrinsic
–.22*/–.23* Motivation
Grade
.13*/.10*
D1 .19/.30*
–.28*/–.29* .97/.97
E9
.98/.98
.07*/.07*
.04/.04
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.90*/.90*
Reading
Achievement
Gender –.06/.06

.10*/.10*
D2
.96/.95 –.21/–.16
.13*/0 0/.14*
Extrinsic
Motivation
–.18*/–.17* .82*/.80*
E4
.58/.60 Recognition
.70*/.74*

E5 .77*/.78*
.74/.68 Grades
.61*/.62*
E6
.61/.63 Social
.74*/.75*
E7 Competition
.78/.80
E8 Compliance
.68/.67

FIGURE 5. Multiple-group (Hispanic/Asian) estimation of theoretical model for motivation

and reading achievement; *p < .05.

tion to read. To summarize, for Hispanic students, neither
intrinsic motivation nor extrinsic motivation had a statisti-
cally significant direct effect on reading achievement.
Structural Model for Asian Group
Figure 4 shows the results of SEM estimating the theoreti-
cal model displayed in Figure 1 for Asian students. A two-fac-
tor measurement model was again imposed on the structural
model of reading achievement for the Asian group. Similar
to the combined and Hispanic models, the structural model
produced a CFI of .94, with χ2(36, N = 264) = 101.58, p <
.001, indicating a relatively good fit for the Asian group.
The structural model of the Asian data showed that grade
in school had a negative direct effect on extrinsic motivation
(standardized path coefficient = –.22) but had no effect on
intrinsic motivation, indicating that a higher grade in mid-
dle school predicted lower extrinsic motivation but not
intrinsic motivation. For Asian students, a higher grade in
school did not contribute to lower intrinsic motivation, as
was the case for Hispanic students. Similar to the Hispanic
group, grade in middle school also had a direct effect on the
motivational dimension of academic grades (standardized
path coefficient = .14). However, unlike the Hispanic group,
grade in school did not predict reading achievement for
Asian students after adjusting for the effects of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation (standardized path coefficient = .02).
Similar to the Hispanic group, gender in this model had
several significant direct effects. For example, gender had a
positive direct effect on the involvement dimension of
 November/December 2006 [Vol. 100 (No. 2)]
motivation (standardized path coefficient = .10) and a neg-
ative direct effect on competition (standardized path coef-
ficient = –.21). Like Hispanic girls, Asian girls were less
competitive toward reading, although Asian girls were
more involved with it after adjusting for the effects of
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In addition, gender had
a moderate, positive direct effect on extrinsic motivation
(standardized path coefficient = .16) but did not predict
significant intrinsic motivation.
For Asian students, intrinsic motivation had a consider-
able positive direct effect on reading achievement (stan-
dardized path coefficient = .55), whereas extrinsic motiva-
tion had a considerable negative direct effect on reading
achievement.
Multiple-Group Structural Model: Hispanic and
Asian Groups
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To assess the statistical equality of the observed parame-
ter estimates produced by the structural models for the His-
panic group (Figure 3) and Asian group (Figure 4), we esti-
mated a multiple-group SEM. That helped us explore
further our third research question: To what extent do the
variables and their relationships in the structural models
differ between Hispanic and Asian middle school students?
For the initial step in a multiple-group SEM analysis, one
estimates the completely unconstrained model. That analy-
sis allows all parameters for each group to be estimated sepa-
rately. Our completely unconstrained multiple-group SEM
resulted in a CFI of .96, and χ2(70, N = 1,032) = 249.29, p <
.001. For the next step in a multiple-group SEM analysis, one
estimates the constrained model, which constrains all com-
mon parameters between groups. Our constrained model also
resulted in a CFI of .96, with χ2(89, N = 1,032) = 280.33, p
< .001. Lagrange multipliers from the results of the con-
strained model indicated that only two constrained parame-
ters could be freed and result in a significant decrease in the
model chi-square—the slope predicting reading achieve-
ment from gender and the slope predicting reading achieve-
ment from intrinsic motivation. Those results indicated (a)
a significant interaction effect of gender and ethnicity on
reading achievement and (b) a significant interaction effect
of intrinsic motivation and ethnicity on reading achieve-
ment. After freeing the two parameters, the resulting model
produced a CFI of .96, and χ2(87, N = 1,032) = 273.12, p <
.001. The chi-square difference test from the constrained
model produced χ2(2, N = 1,032) = 6.44, p = .04, which was
significant at the .05 level. Figure 5 shows the results of the
final multiple-group SEM. All other parameters were con-
strained between groups in the constrained and final models,
except for those parameters that were set to zero in the Asian
group but were estimated in the Hispanic group.
Figure 5 shows similar effects, as well as differences, for
Hispanic and Asian students. For example, the variable
grade had a similar negative effect on intrinsic motivation
and extrinsic motivation scales for Hispanic and Asian stu-
93
dents. Furthermore, gender had a similar small effect on
intrinsic motivation (standardized path coefficient = .04, p >
.05) for both groups and on extrinsic motivation (standard-
ized path coefficient = .10, p < .05) for both groups. That
suggested that no statistically significant interactions
occurred for (a) grade and ethnicity and (b) gender and eth-
nicity, in terms of the relationship with reading motivation.
There were some differences in parameter estimates
between the Hispanic and Asian groups. For example, the
effect of gender on reading achievement (after adjusting for
the indirect effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation)
was negative for Hispanic students (standardized path coef-
ficient = –.06, p > .05). That indicated that Hispanic boys
scored slightly higher than did Hispanic girls on reading
achievement. The difference, however, was not statistical-
ly significant at the .05 level. Conversely, Asian girls scored
slightly higher than did Asian boys (standardized path coef-
ficient = .06, p > .05), but this difference also was not sta-
tistically significant at the .05 level. Thus, for both groups,
the gender gap in reading seemed to be small and not sta-
tistically significant from zero after adjusting for the effects
of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
One of the most significant differences in parameter
estimates observed in Figure 5 was the differential effect of
intrinsic motivation on reading achievement between
Hispanic and Asian students. The effect of intrinsic moti-
vation on reading achievement for Hispanic students was
considerably smaller (standardized path coefficient = .19,
p > .05) than that for Asian students (standardized path
coefficient = .30, p < .05). The effect of intrinsic motiva-
tion on reading achievement was not statistically different
from zero for the Hispanic group. This suggested that
intrinsic motivation had a greater positive impact on read-
ing achievement for Asian students than for Hispanic stu-
dents. The effect of extrinsic motivation on reading moti-
vation was also slightly different for Hispanic students
(standardized path coefficient = –.21, p > .05) than for
Asian students (standardized path coefficient = –.16, p >
.05). Both of those effects, however, were not statistically
significant at the .05 level.
Changes in Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Over Time
Structural equation models estimated in Figures 2
through 5 identified similarities and differences in terms of
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the relationship
with reading motivation for Hispanic and Asian groups.
However, changes in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
over time were also an important aspect of our investiga-
tion. McKenna and colleagues (1995) found that attitude
toward recreational and academic reading deteriorated
through Grades 1 through 6. Because we gathered MRQ
data over the fall of 2 years, analysis of that data could
determine whether intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for
reading changed as students moved from Grade 6 to 7 and
from Grade 7 to 8. We examined possible intrinsic and
 94 The Journal of Educational Research

extrinsic motivational changes in the sample of students for

whom we had data at the two points in time and for possi- TABLE 4. Change in Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
for Hispanic and Asian Groups Over Time
ble changes across ethnicities, school grade (6 to 7 and 7 to
8), and gender.
First, we explored possible changes in intrinsic and extrin- Time 1 Time 2
sic motivation from the fall of Year 1 (Time 1) to the fall of M SD M SD t
Year 2 (Time 2) for the combined sample of Hispanic and
Asian middle school students (N = 470). Table 3 shows that Hispanic students (n = 349)
from Time 1 to Time 2 mean scores on intrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation
declined from 2.91 to 2.72, a decrease that was significant at 2.89 .61 2.69 .64 –4.58***
the .001 level, t(469) = –5.13. Meanwhile, mean scores on
the extrinsic composite fell from 2.77 to 2.65, a drop that was Extrinsic motivation
also significant at the .001 level, t(469) = –3.26. Thus, the 2.77 .55 2.66 .58 –2.75**
decline in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation was statistically
significant as the students progressed from Time 1 to Time 2, Asian students (n = 121)
regardless of grade in school or gender.
Intrinsic motivation
Second, we disaggregated the sample into Hispanic and
2.96 .59 2.79 .57 –2.32*
Asian groups to determine whether both groups experi-
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enced significant changes in intrinsic and extrinsic moti-

vation over time (see Table 4). For Hispanic students (n =
349), the mean score on the intrinsic composite from the
fall of Year 1 (Time 1) to the fall of Year 2 (Time 2) dropped
from 2.89 to 2.69, a decline that was significant at the .001
level, t(348) = –4.58. The mean score for the extrinsic
composite also dropped from 2.77 to 2.66 for Hispanic stu-
dents, a decline significant at the .01 level, t(348) = –2.75.
For Asian students (n = 121), the mean score on the intrin-
sic composite from Time 1 to Time 2 declined from 2.96 to
2.79, a drop significant at the .01 level, t(120) = –2.32.
However, the drop in extrinsic motivation from Time 1 to
Time 2 for the Asian group from 2.75 to 2.62, while numer-
ically larger than the drop in extrinsic motivation from
Time 1 to Time 2 for the Hispanic group, was not statisti-
cally significant at the .05 level, t(120) = –1.73. Overall,
the data indicated that intrinsic motivation in both ethnic
groups declined significantly over time, as cohorts pro-
gressed from Grade 6 to 7 and Grade 7 to 8.
Third, we examined changes in the intrinsic and extrinsic
composites among a cohort of students (n = 265) moving
from Grade 6 at Time 1 to Grade 7 at Time 2 and a cohort (n
Extrinsic motivation
2.75 .54 2.62 .56 –1.73
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
= 205) moving from Grade 7 at Time 1 to Grade 8 at Time 2
(see Table 5). For students moving from Grade 6 to Grade 7,
mean scores on intrinsic motivation dropped from 3.01 at
Time 1 to 2.76 at Time 2, a decline significant at the .001
level, t(264) = –4.77. Meanwhile, means on extrinsic moti-
vation for this cohort fell from 2.82 to 2.70, a decline signif-
icant at the .01 level, t(264) = –2.47. For students moving
from Grade 7 to Grade 8, mean scores on intrinsic motiva-
tion dropped from 2.77 at Time 1 to 2.66 at Time 2, resulting
in a difference statistically significant at the .05 level, t(204)
= –2.24. Extrinsic motivation also declined for this cohort
from 2.69 to 2.59, a drop that was also significant at the .05
level, t(204) = –2.13. The results leave little doubt about the
continuing decline in motivation for reading as these stu-
dents progressed from Grade 6 to 7 and from Grade 7 to 8.

TABLE 3. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Change Over Time for Whole Sample (N = 470)

Time 1 Time 2
M SD α M SD α t

Intrinsic motivation
2.91 .60 .85 2.72 .62 .86 –5.13*

Extrinsic motivation
2.77 .55 .82 2.65 .57 .83 –3.26*

*p < .001.
 November/December 2006 [Vol. 100 (No. 2)] 95

TABLE 5. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Across TABLE 6. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation at Time 1
Grades at Time 1 and 2 for All Students and 2 for Boys and Girls

Motivation Students t Motivation Students t

Grade Six to Grade Seven Cohort Boys

Intrinsic Grade Six Grade Seven Intrinsic Grade Six Grade Seven
at Time 1 at Time 2 at Time 1 at Time 2
(n = 265) (n = 265) (n = 236) (n = 236)
M 3.01 2.76 –4.77*** M 2.88 2.65 –4.52***
SD .62 .63 SD .61 .60
Extrinsic Grade Six Grade Seven Extrinsic Grade Six Grade Seven
at Time 1 at Time 2 at Time 1 at Time 2
(n = 265) (n = 265) (n = 265) (n = 265)
M 2.82 2.70 –2.47*** M 2.74 2.62 –2.37*
SD .54 .61 SD .55 .56

Grade Seven to Grade Eight Cohort Girls

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Intrinsic Grade Seven Grade Eight Intrinsic Grade Seven Grade Eight
at Time 1 at Time 2 at Time 1 at Time 2
(n = 205) (n = 205) (n = 234) (n = 234)
M 2.77 2.66 –2.24* M 2.93 2.78 –2.78**
SD .55 .61 SD .50 .64
Extrinsic Grade Seven Grade Eight Extrinsic Grade Seven Grade Eight
at Time 1 at Time 2 at Time 1 at Time 2
(n = 205) (n = 205) (n = 234) (n = 234)
M 2.69 2.59 –2.13* M 2.80 2.69 –2.23*
SD .54 .52 SD .54 .59

*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Finally, we explored intrinsic and extrinsic motivation by
gender from Time 1 to Time 2 to determine whether boys
and girls registered significant changes (see Table 6). For the
male cohort (n = 236), the means for intrinsic motivation
from Time 1 to Time 2 decreased from 2.88 to 2.65, t(235)
= –4.52, p < .001; for extrinsic motivation, the means
declined from 2.74 to 2.62, t(235) = –2.37, p < .05. For the
female cohort (n = 234), the means for intrinsic motivation
from Time 1 to Time 2 decreased from 2.93 to 2.78, t(233)
= –2.78, p < .01; for extrinsic motivation, they dropped from
2.80 to 2.69, t(233) = –2.23, p < .05. All of the declining
scores in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were statistical-
ly significant at the .05 level. In summary, those results sug-
gest that boys and girls had statistically significant declines
in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation over time.
Discussion
The purposes for this study were (a) to test a theoretical
model that included intrinsic and extrinsic motivation,
reading achievement, grade in middle school, gender, and
ethnicity and (b) to clarify previous empirical and theoret-
ical work on motivation for reading. The theoretical model
that we tested arose from the results of prior research on
motivation, especially motivation for reading. The sources
for the model came, in part, from research exploring the
viability of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Deci, Ryan,
and associates (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002; Ryan & Deci,
2000) found that intrinsic motivation had a central role in
enacting an individual’s progress toward self-regulated
learning and self-determination. According to SDT, intrin-
sically motivated individuals have their locus of control
internalized and pursue learning because it is personally
meaningful and fulfilling. However, researchers exploring
SDT have found that, with few exceptions, as students
move through the grades in school, their intrinsic motiva-
tion diminishes.
In 1995, McKenna and colleagues (a) developed a model
of motivation for reading, (b) suggested that predictions
about reading attitudes could be inferred from their model,
and (c) found in an empirical study that young students’
motivation for reading declined as they moved through the
elementary school grades. They also found that (a) least
able readers’ attitudes declined most sharply, (b) girls had
more positive attitudes than did boys, and (c) ethnicity had
no significant effects on reading attitudes. One component
of the McKenna and colleagues model that may have
explanatory value in relation to our findings is that of sub-
 96
jective norms, which are contingent on variables like cul-
tural identity, identification with that culture, and a range
of expectations, including those that others impose.
Although previously explained research and theory
include most of the key variables in our theoretical model,
researchers who developed and applied the MRQ also con-
tributed significantly. Those contributions can be found
specifically in the MRQ scales that compose intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation in our theoretical model. Further-
more, researchers have used the MRQ to explore grade in
school, gender, ethnicity, intrinsic and extrinsic motiva-
tion, and reading achievement. We reported findings relat-
ed to those variables in our introduction.
Many critical gaps in our knowledge about motivation
for reading exist; we addressed some of them. How do
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation relate to the reading
achievement of urban minority middle school students?
What relationships exist among gender, grade, intrinsic
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and extrinsic motivation to read, and reading achieve-
ment? How do grade in school, gender, motivation, and
reading achievement differ across Hispanic and Asian eth-
nicities in an urban middle school? Over time, how does
middle school students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
change across ethnicities, school grade, and gender?
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation, Grade, Gender, and
Reading Achievement
We found that the relation between intrinsic motiva-
tion, extrinsic motivation, and reading achievement was
stronger for Asian students than for Hispanic students.
After controlling for other variables in the theoretical
model for Asian students, intrinsic motivation was posi-
tively related to reading achievement at a statistically sig-
nificant level, whereas extrinsic motivation was negatively
related. However, in the theoretical model for Hispanic
students, neither intrinsic motivation nor extrinsic motiva-
tion had a direct effect on reading achievement that was
statistically significant. Furthermore, after conducting a
multiple-group SEM to examine the relations between the
two groups, we found that for the Asian group, only intrin-
sic motivation had a statistically significant positive effect
on reading achievement. The effect of extrinsic motivation
for the Hispanic and Asian groups was negative but did not
reach a level of statistical significance for either ethnicity.
The results of the SEM for all students were similar to the
estimates for the multiple-group SEM. Mean reading
achievement for Asian students was approximately one half
a standard deviation (a full year) greater than for Hispanic
students, as measured by the Gates-MacGinitie test (see
Table 2). Moreover, intrinsic motivation for Asian students
was also higher at a .05 level of statistical significance.
There was, however, no significant difference in extrinsic
motivation between the Hispanic and Asian groups.
The results of the multiple-group SEM show that grade
in school for Hispanic and Asian students had a significant
The Journal of Educational Research
negative direct effect on intrinsic motivation and extrinsic
motivation, indicating that at one point in time being in a
higher middle school grade contributed to lower intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation. As expected, however, grade in
school at one point in time had a positive direct effect on
reading achievement.
One of our controlling interests was what becomes of stu-
dents’ attitudes toward reading during their progress through
middle school. McKenna and colleagues (1995) found that
positive attitudes toward reading recreational and academic
texts decrease from Grades 1–6. We found a similar pattern of
decreasing motivation for reading as students in our sample
moved through their middle school years. For all the partici-
pants, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation declined significant-
ly as students moved from Grade 6 at Time 1 to Grade 7 at
Time 2, and as they moved from Grade 7 at Time 1 to Grade
8 at Time 2. Whereas intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of
the Hispanic group diminished significantly from Time 1 to
Time 2, only intrinsic motivation of the Asian group declined
significantly from Time 1 to Time 2. For Asian students,
extrinsic motivation did not decline to a level that reached
significance. Gender did not significantly affect that pattern
of deterioration; male and female cohorts declined signifi-
cantly for both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Following multiple-group modeling, we found that gen-
der had similar direct effects across both ethnicities. For
Hispanic and Asian girls, we found a positive direct effect
on extrinsic motivation, and on involvement—a compo-
nent of intrinsic motivation. For girls of both ethnicities,
we found a negative direct effect on competition, a compo-
nent of the extrinsic composite. Being a Hispanic girl had
a positive direct effect on the social scale, a dimension of
extrinsic motivation. Gender had no direct effects on the
intrinsic motivation composite or on reading achievement.
Overall, girls rated themselves higher than did boys in
extrinsic motivation, suggesting that dimensions of the
extrinsic composite, such as recognition, grades, social, and
compliance, contribute to the motivation of girls to a
greater degree than to that of boys, who appear to be sig-
nificantly more motivated by competition than are girls.
Effects of Intrinsic Motivation on Reading Achievement
As in Wang and Guthrie’s (2004) study of motivation
and culture, intrinsic motivation in this study included
three components: curiosity, involvement, and preference
for challenge. The authors found that intrinsic motivation
positively related to and predicted text comprehension
equally for their Chinese and American groups. We found
that intrinsic motivation positively related to and predict-
ed reading achievement for Asian students but not His-
panic students. The foundation of intrinsic motivation,
according to Deci and Ryan’s (1985) Cognitive Evaluation
Theory, contains innate psychological needs for compe-
tence and self-determination. We suspect that more Asian
students than Hispanic students were able to pursue and
 November/December 2006 [Vol. 100 (No. 2)]
fulfill those needs to expand competence and self-determi-
nation. Students engaged in texts that arouse their curiosi-
ty, heighten their involvement, and present them with
challenges are likely to build competence and self-determi-
nation by using their knowledge, skills, and strategies to
gain a deeper understanding of books and topics.
The extrinsic composite included recognition, grades,
social, competition, and compliance. We anticipated that
extrinsically motivated students read to (a) obtain good
grades or to improve their grades; (b) gain recognition from
parents, teachers, or schoolmates; (c) experience forms of
social connection with family or friends involving reading;
(d) show that they read better, receive more correct
answers, or finish reading faster than friends and peers; and
(e) comply with a teacher’s reading assignments in a time-
ly manner. The extrinsic composite had a significant direct
negative affect on reading achievement for the Asian group
in our study, whereas the effect for the Hispanic group was
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not significant at the .05 level. Thus, we do not claim that
extrinsic motivation is generally counterproductive to
reading achievement for all students.
Culture and Reading Achievement
The Asian group in our study demonstrated a direct
effect of intrinsic motivation on reading achievement (see
Figures 2 and 5) that echoed the finding by Wang and
Guthrie (2004) that intrinsic motivation supported text
comprehension. However, the intrinsic and extrinsic com-
posites of the Hispanic group did not have a significant
direct effect, positive or negative, on reading achievement.
Nor did the estimated model for the Hispanic group (see
Figure 3) demonstrate any effects of either intrinsic or
extrinsic motivation. Those differences that may have cul-
tural roots warrant further exploration.
The Asian students may have internalized values and
beliefs related to schooling that parallel those of students in
Wang and Guthrie’s (2004) Chinese and U.S. samples.
Wang and Guthrie inferred that those values and beliefs
were likely to facilitate engagement of the Chinese and
U.S. students in their study with the affective and cogni-
tive challenges of reading and understanding texts. We sus-
pect that the Asian urban middle school students in our
sample were influenced by similar internalized cultural val-
ues and beliefs about schooling. In their review of research
on Asian cultural influences, Wang and Guthrie noted that
middle-income Chinese students emphasize academic suc-
cess more so than do middle-income American students
with whom they compared the Chinese students’ motiva-
tion to read.
Wang and Guthrie (2004) cited research supporting the
Chinese emphasis on education and academic success as a
means of promoting one’s self and achieving social status.
Those internalized cultural values and beliefs may con-
tribute to the “subjective norms” influencing reading moti-
vation in the reading-attitude model developed by McKen-
97
na and colleagues (1995). If that were the case in this study,
we would have expected to find that the Asian students
were more exposed to cultural influences, such as having
opportunities to explore and to discover topics of interest,
which nurtured the evolution of intrinsic motivation, the
development of individual competence, and self-determi-
nation. The Asian students may also have valued external
regulations or internalized regulations, such as high expec-
tations for grades to gratify their parents, so that they
embraced the regulations and expectations as arising from
their core values (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
Other factors may contribute to the apparent absence of
effects of intrinsic motivation in the Hispanic group and
the apparent differences in the impact of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation. The differences in motivation
between the Asian and Hispanic student samples could be
affected by the different orientations that various cultural
groups have toward school.
Research conducted and theory developed by education-
ally oriented cultural anthropologists may offer some
insight into the differences in motivation between the
Asian and Hispanic students in our study. For example, the
explanation that Ogbu (1983) advocated became embod-
ied in his cultural-ecological theory of minority school per-
formance. Ogbu’s cultural-ecological theory has two parts:
(a) the manner in which minorities are treated and reward-
ed in education settings and (b) the way that minorities
perceive and respond to their treatment in school settings.
He also pointed out that the manner in which a group
became a minority affected that minority’s responses.
Ogbu (1983, 1991) classified minorities into voluntary
and involuntary groups; voluntary minorities are those who
immigrated to America willingly, usually to improve their
opportunities and those of their children. Examples of vol-
untary minorities include Korean, Japanese, and Mexican
immigrants. In contrast, involuntary minorities have unwill-
ingly become part of American society. Having been
enslaved, colonized, or conquered, involuntary minorities
usually view being in America as a condition forced on
them. Examples of involuntary minorities include African
Americans, Native Americans, and early Mexican Ameri-
cans who were conquered.
Ogbu (1983, 1991; Ogbu & Simons, 1998) proposed that
voluntary and involuntary minorities develop and internal-
ize cultural models of American society that enable group
members to interpret their world and respond to it. Volun-
tary minorities perceive American society, its culture, and
its schools in ways that align far more closely with a vision
of self-determination than do the perceptions of involun-
tary minorities. Voluntary minorities, such as the Asian
sample in our study, frame their situation in America as one
that promotes self-realization through the pursuit of oppor-
tunity in a new land. The belief of voluntary minorities
that hard work and education will enable them to achieve
their vision of a self-determined future provides them with
a significant degree of self-regulation and internal locus of
 98
control. Voluntary minorities tend to be optimistic that
American institutions, like schools, will facilitate their pur-
suit of new lives of promise. Moreover, they believe that
the new culture and language they are learning will aug-
ment their identity rather than subvert the culture and lan-
guage of their heritage. The internalized “cultural model”
of American society that voluntary minorities construct
tends to place them at the center of their locus of control.
The compatibility between their view of America and their
self-determined futures provides a social situation in which
intrinsic motivation, including the intrinsic motivation of
their children, can grow and propel them toward their goals
and aspirations.
Conversely, for involuntary minorities, the path to
adopting America’s culture and language is likely to be
filled with far more conflict, ambivalence, and hesitation
(Ogbu, 1991; Ogbu & Simons, 1998). Many features in
their cultural model of America result in placing their locus
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of control outside themselves. Involuntary minorities, per-
haps like the families of some of the Hispanics in our study,
may frame their situation in America as one that is far less
promising in social and economic terms. Hard work and
education may not enable them to achieve their vision of a
self-determined future. Involuntary minorities tend to be
more pessimistic about American institutions and their
ability to facilitate the realization of new lives. They may
set their economic sights lower than voluntary minorities,
see “job ceilings,” and meet job expectations working in
construction or department stores (Matute-Bianchi, 1991).
For some immigrants, American institutions, like the
immigration services, may inhibit their dreams. Moreover,
the new culture and language they are expected to absorb
may threaten their heritage and identity. Most, if not all, of
those forces are outside themselves. Intrinsic motivation
would be difficult to foster in institutions, like schools, that
endanger the realization of current and future identities.
Thus, in-school literacies, including the acquisition of Eng-
lish, may not always be perceived as funds of knowledge
that will enable them, without conflict, to pursue their
vision of a self-determined future.
Although the cultural-ecological explanation of minor-
ity school success and failure has explanatory appeal,
research indicates that school contexts exercise a powerful
influence on minority student performance (Conchas,
2001, 2006; Conchas & Clark, 2002; Kozol, 1991). The
voluntary/involuntary or immigrant/nonimmigrant cate-
gories may simplify a motivational picture of minority
schooling that is, when examined closely, far more com-
plex than these categories imply. Sociocultural processes
within schools, rather than cultural-ecological processes,
may contribute to a more accurate explanation of differ-
ences in minority student performance. Whereas some
school cultures and within-school academies or small
learning communities (SLC) may not optimally promote
inclusion and provide support for minority students, others
are highly successful in developing and sustaining social
The Journal of Educational Research
support systems for minority youth, including Asian and
Hispanic students. For example, low-achieving Latino stu-
dents are often invisible in some school cultures and learn-
ing communities, but in others they receive ample support
through programs like AVID (Advancement Via Individ-
ual Determination). The sociocultural processes within
AVID, SLCs, or other academy-like school structures can
promote positive perspectives of social mobility and
enhance students’ engagement with literacy and learning.
Implications for Research
Although Ogbu and his associates (Ogbu, 1981, 1983,
1991; Ogbu & Simons, 1998) have provided explanations
that contribute to our understanding of differences in
response to American schools by voluntary and involun-
tary minorities, gaps in our understanding of cultures and
schooling remain and warrant further exploration. Where-
as the importance of intrinsic motivation to schooling
appears to be well established, the role that cultures play in
the genesis of that motivation is far less clear. This study
and many others have shown that significant relations exist
between intrinsic motivation and school achievement in
multiple forms, including that of reading achievement. Of
significant value would be knowledge about the origination
and growth of intrinsic motivation in individuals. How
does intrinsic motivation for reading evolve in children,
and how can it be maintained or promoted? What roles do
parents and the culture with which they identify play in
fostering intrinsic motivation? What roles do mothers,
fathers, siblings, and the extended family play? Do families
transmit cultural expectations that establish an internal
locus of control which, when carried into school settings,
enables students to become involved in learning, to acti-
vate curiosity, and to seek challenges? Do patterns of cul-
tural transmission and influence vary across cultures or
even among subgroups within cultures? How do the trans-
fer of these cultural values, beliefs, and expectations differ
across gender?
The contributions of learning experiences in school set-
tings to the motivational orientation of middle school stu-
dents also warrants future investigation. Although the
effects on reading motivation of a wide range of within-
school learning experiences were not a major focus of this
study, many factors that teachers can influence contribute
to students’ engagement in reading (Ruddell & Unrau,
1997; Unrau, 2004). The factors include teacher engage-
ment, achievement-related instruction, classroom commu-
nity, assessment and reward systems, and autonomy sup-
port. Ruddell (2004) conducted theoretical- and
research-based studies that provide a portrait of influential
teachers who heightened their students’ motivation to read
by arousing their students’ curiosity and by providing them
with opportunities to engage in the challenges of problem
solving. However, much research needs to be performed on
the impact of influential, engaged teachers. What goals,
 November/December 2006 [Vol. 100 (No. 2)]
beliefs, and practices of influential teachers heighten stu-
dents’ motivation for reading, especially during episodes of
meaning negotiation in classroom communities?
Students who have acquired reading strategies and back-
ground knowledge that enable them to make connections
with books and to read grade-level texts proficiently are far
more likely to enjoy a stronger sense of self-efficacy and
lower amounts of frustration when engaging in school read-
ing assignments (Duke & Pearson, 2002). However, our
knowledge of the impact on motivation for reading a range
of literacy-promoting programs, including those with direct
instruction, extensive technology, or a master-apprentice
framework, implemented at the elementary and middle
school levels is limited. During an era in which more script-
ed, phonics-based programs are being used not only in the
lower grades but also in intervention programs for struggling
readers in the higher grades, educators and researchers
would benefit from knowing what influence these programs
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have on students’ long-term motivation for reading.
Educators know that third- and fifth-grade students’ use
of strategies, reading comprehension, intrinsic motivation,
and reading self-efficacy increase when their students’
learning experience includes Concept Oriented Reading
Instruction (CORI; Guthrie et al., 1998; Wigfield, Guthrie,
Tonks, & Perencevich, 2004). CORI is an approach that
combines several sequenced features to enhance students’
intrinsic motivation: (a) hands-on science activities to
spark interest, (b) question generation following those
activities, (c) connection of students’ interests and ques-
tions to relevant books, and (d) meaningful choices for
independent learning to promote autonomy. Would
instruction modeled on CORI principles and implemented
throughout content courses during students’ elementary
and middle school years heighten intrinsic motivation,
reading engagement, strategy use, and learning from texts?
Other approaches that enhance intrinsic motivation and
merit further investigation involve autonomy support
(Assor, Kaplan, & Roth, 2002). Also, Reeve, Jang, Carrell,
Jeon, & Barch (2004) trained high school teachers across
content areas to nurture student interest, provide rationales
for assignments, and use noncontrolling language. Teachers
who were trained displayed more autonomy support when
working with students than did those who were not
trained. Furthermore, the more teachers used autonomy
support during instruction, the more their students were
engaged (Reeve & Jang, 2006). Could literacy programs at
the elementary and middle school levels that emphasize
autonomy support and a wide range of choices in learning
opportunities promote intrinsic motivation and enable stu-
dents to engage more deeply in literacy later in their
schooling?
The percentage of first-generation 16- to 24-year-old
Hispanics who were high school dropouts in 2000 was
about three times as high as that for non-Hispanics; for sec-
ond-generation 16- to 24-year-olds, it was about twice as
high (Kaufman, Alt, & Chapman, 2001). Many of those
99
students begin the process of dropping out while in middle
school, as they become increasingly disengaged from school
and schooling. Ogbu (1983, 1991) described some of the
many reasons for disengagement. However, the loss of edu-
cational opportunities to those students cannot be calcu-
lated. What motivational profiles related to literacy are
behind their decisions to quit school? Knowing that moti-
vation for school declines precipitously for many Hispanic
students during their middle school years, what can be
done to improve their prospects and preparation for high
school? Work on adolescent literacy (Alvermann, 2001)
has focused on adolescent self-efficacy and engagement, as
well as on culturally responsive instruction. In addition,
several federally funded programs, including AVID and
GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for
Undergraduate Programs), address the academic needs and
motivation of minority students in urban settings. Those
initiatives would benefit from our learning more about
motivational development, its roots, and threats to its
vitality in populations of students who tend to be more at
risk of dropping out of school.
To proponents of self-determination theory, the drive
toward more rigorous high-stakes testing programs are like-
ly to inflict enormous harm on students’ motivation, includ-
ing the intrinsic motivation of those students who are curi-
ous, involved, and ready for authentic learning challenges
(Ryan & La Guardia, 1999). Many literacy educators are
also concerned about the potential effects of those programs
on literacy motivation. Students at risk may be put at
greater risk of disengagement from school and from literacy
development because of high-stakes testing programs. That
finding is particularly ironic because many state content and
performance standard programs were adopted to address
gaps in the performance of students from diverse ethnicities.
Self-determination theorists and researchers argue that
reward- and punishment-oriented approaches that pressure
students cannot succeed. Educators, researchers, and policy
makers need to know more about the effects of statewide
high-stakes assessment programs on the reading motivation
of voluntary and involuntary minority students to more
wisely assess those programs. Do cultural factors exist with-
in immigrant and nonimmigrant groups that affect respons-
es, positive and negative, to the programs? If so, what are
those factors and how do they operate?
Limitations of the Research
Although we did not include ESL students in this study,
some students not classified as ESL may still have had trou-
ble comprehending questions because of limited reading
skills. That limitation could apply to the Hispanic and
Asian students in this study.
Another limitation in terms of external validity of
results is that our data were not the result of random sam-
pling, and, thus, the results should not be generalized to all
schools. However, it is reasonable to suggest that the results
 100
could generalize to other urban schools with high percent-
ages of low-SES, Hispanic and Asian students. Further-
more, schools may include different ethnic or cultural sub-
groups that could present various patterns of motivation.
When Matute-Bianchi (1991) examined the subgroups
that made up the Hispanic population at a particular high
school, she discovered a range of subgroups, from recent
immigrants to “Cholos,” whose profiles varied and whose
engagement with school differed. Other studies have
shown links between students’ sense of Hispanic subgroup
identity, such as that of Chicano students, their broader
identity as individuals, and their degree of academic
engagement (Pizarro, 2005). Nevertheless, the results
reported from our study of Asian and Hispanic students
paint a picture of differences in motivation and their alter-
ation in an urban middle school.
A further limitation of our results is that we did not
directly address the range of learning experiences that
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could have influenced participants’ motivation for reading
prior to entering middle school. Several of those learning
experiences could have affected student performance and
engagement with reading. For example, the degree to
which the teacher was enthusiastic about teaching, the
teacher’s pedagogy or motivational orientation, and the
overall culture of the elementary school could have affect-
ed student achievement and motivation for reading.
In addition, the relationships estimated by the SEM
models do not suggest causal links. Because of the complex
nature of the variables and the relationships involved with
student reading motivation and student reading achieve-
ment, the relationships estimated by the SEM models do
not necessarily imply causality, particularly because social
economic status, English-language-learning status, and
other social factors were not variables in our study. There-
fore, the relationships estimated and tested by the SEM
models should be used only for comparison purposes.
Summary
Our results suggest that intrinsic motivation is a salient
factor affecting the reading achievement of Asian middle
school students. Intrinsic motivation had a smaller effect,
however, on the reading achievement of Hispanic middle
school students. Moreover, intrinsic motivation seemed to
have a positive effect on reading achievement for Hispanic
and Asian middle school students, whereas extrinsic moti-
vation seemed to have a negative impact on reading
achievement. Furthermore, there were few gender differ-
ences in terms of the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic moti-
vation on reading achievement; however, after adjusting
for the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, female
students (Hispanic and Asian) seemed to be more social
and less competitive than their male counterparts. That
finding suggests that there were gender differences in social
motives beyond those explained by intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation. Finally, there was a statistically significant
The Journal of Educational Research
decline in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation over time for
Hispanic and Asian middle school students.
This investigation highlights the importance of discover-
ing more about the impact of motivation, especially that of
intrinsic motivation, on the engagement of middle school
students and the relationship of that motivation to their
growth in literacy and learning. The apparent worsening of
students’ attitudes toward reading from Grades 1–8 further
suggests that educators face relentless challenges to students’
reading engagement. Discovering the factors contributing to
students’ reading motivation, especially for students in the
middle school years, and the means to deepen engagement
in reading and learning could promote the transformation of
many classrooms and the lives of many students.
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