This study examined associations between vocabulary knowledge, reading fluency, cognitive flexibility, and metacognitive monitoring accuracy in reading comprehension among fifth-grade students. Participants (N = 104) completed measures of cognitive–linguistic abilities and reading comprehension, with global metacomprehension judgments after reading and item-level confidence ratings. Metacognitive monitoring accuracy was assessed using calibration of global metacomprehension judgments and item-level confidence ratings. Calibration bias (confidence minus performance) indexed miscalibration direction, and its absolute value indexed calibration accuracy. Resolution reflected discrimination between correct and incorrect item-level responses. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used exploratorily to examine theoretically motivated direct and indirect pathways via reading comprehension. Vocabulary knowledge showed the strongest associations with calibration accuracy and resolution, fully mediated by comprehension. Reading fluency showed a dual pattern: it contributed positively to resolution through comprehension, while also showing direct associations with lower calibration accuracy, indicating greater miscalibration and overconfident judgment tendencies among more fluent readers. Cognitive flexibility was not significantly related to any monitoring index. By jointly examining distinct indices of monitoring accuracy and separating comprehension-mediated from direct pathways, the study clarifies how cognitive–linguistic abilities may support or bias metacognitive monitoring in developing readers. Linguistic abilities, particularly vocabulary and fluency were central to students’ comprehension monitoring accuracy.

Metacognitive monitoring, the ability to accurately assess one’s cognitive performance, plays a critical role in self-regulated learning and academic success. Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often exhibit positive illusory bias (PIB), overestimating their performance relative to objective criteria across domains, which may hinder effective learning strategies and reduce engagement with academic support services. This study examined ADHD symptomatology, task performance, and metacognitive monitoring accuracy in college students with ADHD (N = 70) and matched controls (N = 70) across verbal (reading comprehension) and non-verbal (Raven’s Progressive Matrices) tasks. Group comparisons revealed significantly lower task accuracy, higher ADHD symptom scores, and greater PIB in the ADHD group. Bias magnitude differed across modalities, with more pronounced overconfidence in the non-verbal task. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that ADHD symptom dimensions accounted for significant variance in bias across both tasks. Inattentive symptoms were most strongly associated with bias magnitude, whereas hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms showed weaker but reliable associations Overall, the findings highlight consistent associations between ADHD symptom dimensions and metacognitive miscalibration across task modalities, emphasizing the relevance of addressing self-monitoring biased vulnerabilities in college students with ADHD. Academic support approaches may consider integrating programs that strengthen sustained attention, self-regulation, and metacognitive accuracy among students with ADHD pursuing higher education.

Previous research has linked inattentive symptom expression to reading difficulties, primarily in clinically referred samples or using indirect academic indicators. The present study examines attentional variability in a nonreferred community-based school sample with no clinical diagnoses or referrals, using standardized reading measures. The study further tested whether attentional variability moderates associations between cognitive linguistic skills and reading comprehension. 267 fifth grade students (mean age = 10.8 years) completed standardized measures of word reading efficiency, vocabulary knowledge, working memory, and reading comprehension. Based on parent and teacher ratings, approximately one-third of the sample showed elevated levels of inattentive symptom expression. Regression analyses indicated that vocabulary knowledge and word reading efficiency accounted for the largest proportion of explained variance in reading comprehension, whereas working memory showed weaker associations. Moderation analyses revealed that attentional symptom expression selectively moderated the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension, such that the positive association between vocabulary and comprehension was attenuated among students with elevated attentional symptom expression. No moderation effects were observed for word reading efficiency or working memory. These findings suggest that attentional variability is differentially related to specific cognitive linguistic components involved in reading comprehension.