Dynamic Relationships between Text Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension across Three Stages of Reading Development in Chinese Children: A Longitudinal Cross-lagged Study

Abstract

BackgroundThe impact of text reading fluency on reading comprehension has been extensively studied. However, a consensus on the direction of their relationship is lacking, which may be compounded by the nature of this relationship that continues to evolve during the course of reading development. AimsThis study aimed to examine the relationship between text reading fluency and reading comprehension, focusing on whether the pattern of this relationship varies across different reading development stages. SampleA total of 416 elementary school students in China were selected as participants. MethodsAssessments were conducted twice at a 6-month interval for children studying in grades 2, 4, and 6. The cross-lagged panel model was constructed to explore the dynamic relationship between text reading fluency and reading comprehension. Non-verbal intelligence, decoding, vocabulary knowledge, word-reading fluency, and the auto-regressive effects of text reading fluency and reading comprehension were strictly controlled. ResultsThe results showed that for children in grade 2, the longitudinal effects between text reading fluency and reading comprehension were not significant. In 4th-grade children, text reading fluency in the first semester was found to be a significant positive predictor of reading comprehension in the next semester, whereas for children in grade 6, reading comprehension in the first semester significantly predicted text reading fluency in the next semester. ConclusionsThe results suggested that the nature of the relationship between text reading fluency and reading comprehension is dynamic and complex, varying as a function of grade or the reading development stage.