Development of word reading fluency and spelling in a consistent orthography: An 8-year follow-up.

In a longitudinal study, development of word reading fluency and spelling were followed for almost 8 years. In a group of 115 students (65 girls, 50 boys) acquiring the phonologically transparent German orthography, prediction measures (letter knowledge, phonological short-term memory, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and nonverbal IQ) were assessed at the beginning of Grade 1; reading fluency and spelling were tested at the end of Grade 1 as well as in Grades 4 and 8. Reading accuracy was close to ceiling in all reading assessments, such that reading fluency was not heavily influenced by differences in reading accuracy. High stability was observed for word reading fluency development. Of the dysfluent readers in Grade 1, 70% were still poor readers in Grade 8. For spelling, children who at the end of Grade 1 still had problems translating spoken words into phonologically plausible letter sequences developed problems with orthographic spelling later on. The strongest specific predictors were rapid automatized naming for reading fluency and phonological awareness for spelling. Word recognition speed was a relevant and highly stable indicator of reading skills and the only indicator that discriminated reading skill levels in consistent orthographies. Its long-term development was more strongly influenced by early naming speed than by phonological awareness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental lag versus deficit models of reading disability: A longitudinal, individual growth curves analysis.

Individual growth curves were used to test whether the development of children with reading disabilities is best characterized by models of developmental lag or developmental deficit. Developmental changes in reading ability were modeled by using 9 yearly longitudinal assessments of a sample of 403 children classified into three groups representing (a) deficient reading achievement relative to IQ expectations (RD-D), (b) deficient reading achievement consistent with IQ expectations (LA), and (c) no reading deficiency (NRI). Using a model of quadratic growth to a plateau, the age and level at which reading scores plateaued were estimated for each child. Reading-disabled children differed on average from nondisabled children in the level but not in the age at which reading skills plateaued. The RD-D and LA groups did not differ in reading plateau or age at plateau. The subgroup of RD-D children scoring below the 25th percentile in reading differed from LA children only in reading plateau. Results suggest that the developmental course of reading skills in children with reading disability is best characterized by deficit as opposed to lag models. In addition, no support for the validity of classifications of reading disability based on IQ discrepancies was apparent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation of phonological and orthographic processing to early reading: Comparing two approaches to regression-based, reading-level-match designs.

K. E. Stanovich and L. Siegel (see record 81-030191) introduced regression-based logic to the reading-level-match design by statistically matching children with reading disabilities, with and without discrepancies in IQ, to normal-reading children on the basis of grade-adjusted decoding scores. The authors replicated this approach but contrasted it with statistical matches using w scores, which are Rasch-scaled decoding scores based on a common metric regardless of age or grade. No differences were found in cognitive skills between children whose reading performance was discrepant and not discrepant with IQ, regardless of whether age-adjusted decoding scores or w scores were used. Matching on w scores did not result in the phonological and orthographic tradeoffs seen when standardized scores were used. The orthographic-decoding relationship was nonlinear, with little functional relation between the skills at low levels of decoding. These results question the conclusion that orthographic skills are compensatory for reading-disabled children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and schooling effects on emergent literacy and early reading skills.

This study examined the effects of age and schooling on emergent literacy and early reading skills of 337 children from low-income backgrounds. Children were followed longitudinally from the end of Head Start to the end of 1st grade. A subset of the sample (n?=?183) was followed through the end of 2nd grade. The oldest children in preschool and kindergarten had significantly stronger emergent literacy skills than classmates who were younger by 10 months. These differences did not translate to differences in reading skill at the end of 1st or 2nd grade. Children who began school a year earlier than same-age peers outperformed these peers on measures of both emergent literacy skills and early reading skills. The impact of a year of schooling on emergent literacy skills was 1.7 times greater than the impact of other processes associated with age. The impact of a year of schooling on early reading was 4.3 times stronger than the effect of age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal study of cognitive abilities and educational attainment in Williams syndrome

The paper reports on changes in IQ scores and in reading, spelling and arithmetic skills over time in 23 young adults with Williams syndrome. They were first assessed in their early to mid-teens and followed up 8 to 9 years later, at an average age of 21 years 9 months. Cognitive assessments indicated increases in Full Scale, Verbal and Performance IQ scores. These increases allow us to conclude that in the case of Williams syndrome (unlike some other conditions) there does not appear to be a decline in the rate of cognitive development over time. Comparisons of Reading, Spelling and Arithmetic scores attained at first and second testing periods revealed only modest increases in reading accuracy and spelling scores, a slight decline in reading comprehension scores, and little change in arithmetic test scores. Differences in the tests used at the two assessment periods do not allow for definitive conclusions to be drawn, but the findings suggest that individuals with Williams syndrome make little progress in their educational skills beyond their early teenage years.     

Phonological skills are important in learning to read Chinese.

A4-year longitudinal study was conducted to examine the relationship between Chinese children's phonological skills and their success in reading. Initially, 100 Hong Kong Chinese children were tested on visual and phonological skills at the age of 3, before they could read. The findings showed that prereading phonological skills significantly predicted the children's reading performance in Chinese 2 and 3 years later, even after controlling for the effects of age, IQ, and mother's education. The main reason for this relationship is that phonological knowledge helps children to use the phonetic component in Chinese characters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Precursors of reading skill from infancy to first grade in Finnish: Continuity and change in a highly inflected language.

The course of language acquisition from infancy to public primary school was followed in a sample of 56 Finnish children to examine precursors to reading at first grade. Structural equation modeling of continuity suggested effects from growth in early vocabulary to mastery of inflectional forms at preschool age. The early language directly influenced early phonological awareness (PA) and only indirectly influenced later development in PA and word reading. The course of development in PA progressed from detecting larger multiphonemic units toward recognizing and producing phonemes in words, which, in turn, were positively associated with differences in producing new words by deleting and blending phonemes at kindergarten age. Including word reading before school entry levelled out the influence of the concurrent phonemic awareness factor on reading at first grade. Hence, in a highly inflected language with a transparent orthography, the pathway to reading consisted of skills learned in succession, the last phase being characterized by simultaneous development involving phonemic awareness and emerging reading skill. The finding led to the conclusion that, in addition to universal routes, language- and culture-specific routes to literacy must be acknowledged when searching for the precursors to reading at school age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Growth in reading skills of children from diverse linguistic backgrounds: Findings from a 5-year longitudinal study.

This article reports on the results of a longitudinal investigation of the reading development of a sample of 824 children (406 girls, 418 boys). The sample included 689 native English-speaking (L1) children and 135 English-language learners (ELLs) representing 33 different native languages. In kindergarten and 4th grade, children's word reading, spelling, phonological processing, syntactic awareness, and working memory skills were assessed with standardized and experimental measures. In addition, word reading was assessed from kindergarten through 4th grade, and reading comprehension in 4th grade. Comparisons of reading skills between the ELLs and the L1 speakers demonstrated that despite slightly lower performance of the ELLs on several kindergarten tasks, differences at 4th grade were negligible. Fourth-grade word reading was predicted by the same kindergarten tasks for both language groups, and prediction of reading comprehension differed by only 1 task. Finally, the trajectory of word reading was nonlinear for both groups, although predictors of this trajectory differed between groups. The findings suggest that early identification models established through research with L1 speakers are appropriate for identifying ELLs at risk for reading difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlates of the perception of occupational prestige.

Administered the North-Hatt Occupational Prestige Scale and the Vocational Development Inventory Attitude Scale to 149 male and 164 female 9th-12th graders. Background data (e.g., IQ, socioeconomic status, and reading ability) were also obtained. Correlates of the perception of occupational prestige were vocational maturity, educational level associated with father's occupation, educational level required for the occupation chosen by the student, IQ, verbal and nonverbal abilities, and reading and mathematics achievement. No sex differences were found, nor was perception of prestige associated with grade or age. It is suggested, therefore, that the perception-of-occupational-prestige hierarchy is established earlier in childhood, at least by 9th grade or 13 yrs of age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stimulation seeking and intelligence: A prospective longitudinal study.

The prediction that high stimulation seeking 3-yr-olds would have higher IQs by 11 yrs old was tested in 1,795 children on whom behavioral measures of stimulation seeking were taken at 3 yrs, together with cognitive ability at 11 yrs. High 3-yr-old stimulation seekers scored 12 points higher on total IQ at age 11 compared with low stimulation seekers and also had superior scholastic and reading ability. Results replicated across independent samples and were found for all gender and ethnic groups. Effect sizes for the relationship between age 3 stimulation seeking and age 11 IQ ranged from 0.52 to 0.87. Findings appear to be the first to show a prospective link between stimulation seeking and intelligence. It is hypothesized that young stimulation seekers create for themselves an enriched environment that stimulates cognitive development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictive significance of early giftedness: The case of precocious reading.

Results of a longitudinal study of 59 10–22 year olds who had been precocious readers when first tested at 5–6 years of age suggest that extraordinary early achievement in reading predicts above-average, but not necessarily extraordinary, ability in reading and related skill areas during the middle elementary school years, as measured by performance on Level 18 of the California Achievement Test (CAT). Median CAT subtest scores were between 1 and 2 SDs above age-appropriate grade norms. Verbal Ability at 5–6 years of age predicted individual differences in precocious readers' later reading comprehension accuracy as well or better than initial reading skills did. General Reading Ability, reading Speed, and letter naming speed at 5–6 years were associated with speed to complete the reading comprehension subtest of the CAT. This study illustrates theoretical and methodological issues that must be addressed in other investigations of early development of giftedness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speech and language development of children born at < or = 32 weeks' gestation: a 5-year prospective follow-up study

Speech and language comprehension and production were assessed at the age of 5 years in a cohort of children born preterm at < or = 32 weeks' gestational age (N=55) in comparison with children born at term and of similar age, sex, and social backgrounds. Data both including and excluding major neurological disabilities are presented. Mean performance for the entire group of preterm children was significantly lower than for the controls on most of the measures including the composite IQ scores. When the nine children who had major neurological disabilities were excluded from the preterm group, statistically significant differences were found on four of the total 12 speech and language measures. Intellectually normal preterm children without major neurological disability were slower than the controls on rapid word retrieval. In addition, difficulties in comprehending relative concepts were typical for the preterm children. The results suggest 'subtle dysnomia', which is indicative of later reading problems. On global verbal measures and on the basic speech and language aspects the study groups did not differ. Specific language impairment, defined as a discrepancy of > 1SD between Performance IQ and Verbal IQ scores, showed a tendency to be more common in the control group. Within both the study groups, the boys showed a tendency for a greater discrepancy between their Performance and Verbal IQ scores.     

WISC—R verbal and performance IQ discrepancy in an unselected cohort: Clinical significance and longitudinal stability.

This study examined children from a unselected birth cohort who had Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R) verbal and performance IQ discrepancies that placed them beyond the 90th percentile. It was hypothesized that, relative to their cohort peers, these children would be characterized by greater frequency of perinatal difficulties, early childhood neurological abnormalities, health problems of neurological significance, and concussion. Additionally, it was hypothesized that such children would exhibit more behavior problems, lower academic achievement, and poorer motor skills. Generally, the null hypotheses were not rejected by the results. Longitudinal investigation of the stability of the verbal and performace IQ discrepancy revealed that about 23% of discrepant cases were discrepant at two or more ages. Depressed verbal IQ relative to performance IQ was found to be more common than the reverse pattern. Children with performance IQ greater than verbal IQ scored significantly lower than children for whom this pattern was reversed on measures of academic achievement. Results show that cautious interpretation is needed of verbal and performance IQ discrepancy in the general (nonneurological) assessment setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of reading comprehension for struggling readers: The case of Spanish-speaking language minority learners.

This longitudinal study examined the process of English reading comprehension at age 11 years for 173 low-achieving Spanish-speaking children. The influence of growth rates, from early childhood (age 4.5 years) to pre-adolescence (age 11 years), in vocabulary and word reading skills on this complex process were evaluated with structural equation modeling. Standardized measures of word reading accuracy and productive vocabulary were administered annually, in English and Spanish, and English reading comprehension measures were administered at age 11 years. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that English skills accounted for all unique variance in English reading comprehension outcomes. Further, expected developmental shifts in the influence of word reading and vocabulary skills over time were not shown, likely on account of students' below-grade-level reading comprehension achievement. This work underscores the need for theoretical models of comprehension to account for students' skill profiles and abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acquisition of literacy: A longitudinal study of children in first and second grade.

Tested a model of early literacy acquisition regarding the interrelation of word recognition, spelling, reading comprehension, and writing skills, using longitudinal data collected from 80 children who passed from 1st through 2nd grades. Incoming characteristics (i.e., ethnicity, IQ, oral language) and the rate at which each S progressed through his or her reading books were examined in relation to growth in phonemic awareness, spelling/sound knowledge, and lexical knowledge. The impact of these factors on development in word recognition and spelling was explored, along with the relation of word recognition and listening comprehension to reading comprehension, and the relation of spelling and ideation to story writing. It was hypothesized that poor reading achievement in minority students would be partially attributable to poorer phonemic awareness of school English due to dialect, 2nd language, and cultural differences. Results support the hypothesis, suggesting the strong importance of phonemic awareness in literacy acquisition. The relation between word recognition and spelling was strong due to reliance on similar sources of knowledge. The relation between reading comprehension and writing appeared less strong, suggesting that the generation of ideas involved in story production is not isomorphic to the processes involved in reading comprehension. (61 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Cross-Linguistic Comparison of Children Learning to Read in English and Dutch.

The authors report on a cross-linguistic investigation of the reading skills of 6- to 11-year-old children of English (an opaque orthography) and of Dutch (a transparent orthography). Dutch children were relatively more accurate and faster than English children of the same age at reading words and nonwords and also faster to complete phoneme deletion tasks, but the language differences were smaller than expected and modified by age. The predictors of individual differences in reading were similar in the 2 languages; phoneme awareness (as measured by accuracy and response time measures) was a significant predictor of reading, whereas rapid naming of colors, animals, and objects was not. The authors conclude that phoneme awareness is a predictor of individual differences in reading skill in transparent as well as opaque orthographies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intellectual impairment in children exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls in utero

BACKGROUND: In utero exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls, a ubiquitous environmental contaminant, has been linked to adverse effects on neurologic and intellectual function in infants and young children. We assessed whether these effects persist through school age and examined their importance in the acquisition of reading and arithmetic skills. METHODS: We tested 212 children, recruited as newborns to overrepresent infants born to women who had eaten Lake Michigan fish contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls. A battery of IQ and achievement tests was administered when the children were 11 years of age. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls in maternal serum and milk at delivery were slightly higher than in the general population. A composite measure of prenatal exposure was derived from concentrations in umbilical-cord serum and maternal serum and milk. RESULTS: Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls was associated with lower full-scale and verbal IQ scores after control for potential confounding variables such as socioeconomic status (P = 0.02). The strongest effects related to memory and attention. The most highly exposed children were three times as likely to have low average IQ scores (P <0.001) and twice as likely to be at least two years behind in reading comprehension (P = 0.03). Although larger quantities of polychlorinated biphenyls are transferred by breast-feeding than in utero, there were deficits only in associated with transplacental exposure, suggesting that the developing fetal brain is particularly sensitive to these compounds. CONCLUSIONS: In utero exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls in concentrations slightly higher than those in the general population can have a long-term impact on intellectual function.     

Predicting reading and mathematics achievement in fourth-grade children from kindergarten readiness scores.

This study examined age and gender differences in verbal skills and visuomotor skills at kindergarten, in achievement in reading and mathematics at Grade 4, and in the link between skills at kindergarten and later achievement (n?=?281). Older children had higher verbal skills and visuomotor skills than younger children, and girls had higher visuomotor skills and reading achievement than boys. With controls for age, verbal skills uniquely predicted later reading achievement, whereas both verbal skills and visuomotor skills uniquely predicted later mathematics achievement. Readiness in the specific areas of auditory memory and verbal associations predicted later reading achievement, whereas readiness in the specific areas of auditory memory, number skills, and visual discrimination predicted later mathematics achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Reading and the Disturbed Adolescent: An Individualized Reality-Based Approach."

On the basis of data collected through 28 months from 49 emotionally disturbed female adolescents, at Stearns Pavilion, Douglas Hospital, the following definition of Reading Retardation was established: Reading Age is arbitrarily defined as a significant discrepancy (a lag of 2 years) between reading age and chronological age, and reading age and age at last grade completed in the regular school system. Some significant findings were: 1. Our population of emotionally disturbed adolescents have intact reading skills. It is the ability to put these skills to use in life situations that is lacking. 2. Three groups of reading level were determined. There exists a retarded reading group with both a lack of skills and an inability to put acquired skills into effect, a more skilled reading group with an inability to put these skills into effect, and a small reading group with intact skills which can be put into effect. 3. A tutorial therapy programme which takes into consideration each individual's motivation, past attitudes, interests and experience, seems best suited to remediate these problems. The emotionally disturbed female adolescent is capable of learning. We must demonstrate over and over again that long established inappropriate learning patterns are invalid and unnecessary. This implies that we must not accept intelligence, motivation, skills and abilities as static entities. In this way, we can plan realistically for future growth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early identification of learning problems: A meta-analysis.

Conducted a meta-analysis of 58 studies (1960–1984) on the early prediction of learning problems that reported correlations between measures administered in kindergarten or 1st-grade and reading achievement later in elementary school. Results indicate a good deal of overlap in the distributions of the various predictor–criterion correlations. The best single predictors of achievement during the elementary school years were attention-distractibility, internalizing behavior problems, and language variables. Measures less directly related to reading skills, such as sensory tasks and soft neurological indicators, were generally weaker predictors of achievement. Bibliographical data on the studies used are appended. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)