ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the evidence for viewing dialect usage as a negative predictor and code-switching as a positive predictor of reading achievement for many African American students. It summarizes the mounting evidence based on cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations that an inverse relationship characterizes African American English (AAE) feature production and reading achievement scores. Students designated as code-switchers and non-switchers in the first through fifth grades were examined further for AAE feature production linkages to reading achievement. A recent longitudinal study within my research program used the style shifting coefficient (SSC) as a marker for code-switching ability, with higher values representing more switching away from AAE features towards Standard American English (SAE). In an alternative viewpoint, causality has been assigned to the role of code-switching and its foundation in metalinguistic awareness in which weaker code-switching skills can present a barrier for students learning SAE for literacy purposes.
