Phonemic Processing and the Poor Reader from a Developmental Lag Viewpoint

Abstract

THIS EXPERIMENT investigated whether there was a developmental lag in skills associated with phonemic processing in poor readers of normal nonverbal intelligence. Fifty-seven poor readers, 44 younger readers of the same reading level, and 35 normal readers of the same age as the poor readers were given tests involving phonemic processing and memory. Both control groups were matched on nonverbal intelligence to the poor readers. In virtually all the tests involving phonemic processing, the poor readers were significantly worse than the chronological-age controls. However, there was no difference between the poor readers and the reading-age controls. This finding indicates a developmental lag at least within phonemic processes for the poor readers which is determining their potential level of reading performance. The experiment also examined the relationship between reading style (whole word vs. phonics) and phonemic processing. There was little evidence for such a relationship nor were there differences in reading styles between the three groups.