Reading has become an area of concern among the American culture in the past decade. The amount of time the American public spends reading is declining quickly, and its most frequent drop has been among its youngest readers, elementary school students (National Endowment for the Arts, 2004). McKool’s (2007) research has found that there is a “strong relationship between the amount of out-of-school reading a student engages in and his or her success in school” (p. 111). It has also been found that students’ academic levels do not remain the same with no growth, but their academic levels actually drop if they do not read in their free time (Hughes-Hassell & Lutz, 2006).

The current literature focuses on younger students, especially those in elementary school. The purpose of this study was to investigate potential differences of what influences middle grades students’ reading interests, leisure reading habits, and reading and academic achievement. This study found that gender, race or ethnicity, parents’ educational levels, academic success (grades), and citizenship did not influence middle school students reading interests. Gender, race or ethnicity, parents’ educational levels, academic success or grades, and citizenship did influence middle school students’ leisure reading habits. Gender, race or ethnicity, and parents’ educational levels did influence middle school students’ academic and reading success. Academic success or grades and citizenship did not have an influence on middle school students’ academic and reading success.