Variance In Reading Skills Research Articles

Grammatical understanding predicts reading comprehension in secondary-level students: insights from a Finnish national survey

A lot of research into the relationship between explicit grammatical understanding and literacy development in L1 contexts has focused on writing. A lot less is known, however, about the interconnectedness of explicit grammatical understanding and reading. This study investigated the relationship between grammatical understanding and reading comprehension in Finnish 9th grade students. Using national assessment data (N = 6,044) and multilevel quantitative analyses, the study found that explicit grammatical understanding accounted for a significant portion of the variance in reading skills, even after controlling for various background factors such as school, family socioeconomic status, homework and book reading habits, attitudes towards studying L1, and writing ability. The findings suggest, without implying causality, that understanding language structure and making explicit metalinguistic observations are closely connected to reading comprehension. The study encourages further research on the benefits of explicit grammar teaching for reading comprehension using different study designs. Additionally, it highlights the need to investigate how grammar instruction can be linked to reading, as well as explore the effectiveness of such instruction in different educational and linguistic contexts.

Individual Differences in Leveraging Regularity in Emergent L2 Readers in Rural Côte d’Ivoire

ABSTRACT Purpose Statistical learning (SL) approaches to reading maintain that proficient reading requires assimilation of the rich statistical regularities in the writing system. Reading skills in developing first- and second-language readers in English have been shown to be predicted by individual differences in sensitivity to regularities in mappings from orthography to phonology (O-P) and semantics (O-S), with good readers relying more on O-P consistency, and less on O-S associations. However, SL and its relation to reading has been primarily studied in English readers in high-income Western countries. Method We examine individual differences in sensitivity to regularities in emergent French readers in rural agricultural communities in Côte d’Ivoire (N = 134). Results We show that, in contrast to previous studies, in this cohort better readers are leveraging semantic associations more strongly, while individual differences in sensitivity to orthographic consistency did not predict reading skill. Relatively little variance in reading skill was explained by sensitivity to regularities, and we discuss these findings in terms of literacy acquisition in low-literacy and low-exposure contexts. This showcases the importance of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural research to back up universal theories of literacy, and suggests that current SL accounts of reading must be updated to account for this variance in reading skills.

Bridging sensory and language theories of dyslexia: Toward a multifactorial model.

Competing theories of dyslexia posit that reading difficulties arise from impaired visual, auditory, phonological, or statistical learning mechanisms. Importantly, many theories posit that dyslexia reflects a cascade of impairments emanating from a single “core deficit”. Here we report two studies evaluating core deficit and multifactorial models. In Study 1, we use publicly available data from the Healthy Brain Network to test the accuracy of phonological processing measures for predicting dyslexia diagnosis and find that over 30% of cases are misclassified (sensitivity = 66.7%; specificity = 68.2%). In Study 2, we collect a battery of psychophysical measures of visual motion processing and standardized measures of phonological processing in 106 school‐aged children to investigate whether dyslexia is best conceptualized under a core‐deficit model, or as a disorder with heterogenous origins. Specifically, by capitalizing on the drift diffusion model to analyze performance on a visual motion discrimination experiment, we show that deficits in visual motion processing, perceptual decision‐making, and phonological processing manifest largely independently. Based on statistical models of how variance in reading skill is parceled across measures of visual processing, phonological processing, and decision‐making, our results challenge the notion that a unifying deficit characterizes dyslexia. Instead, these findings indicate a model where reading skill is explained by several distinct, additive predictors, or risk factors, of reading (dis)ability.

Reading literacy and metacognition in a Spanish Adult Education centre

In recent years, Spain’s adult population has been characterised by high unemployment rates, particularly among peopled aged over 18 who do not have the Compulsory Secondary Education certificate. Their training in key competences, such as reading comprehension, would provide them with fundamental learning, empowerment, and better employment opportunities. This empirical study examines the relationship between the use of metacognitive skills while reading and improved reading comprehension – previously shown in other studies – evaluating both constructs and attempting to establish whether there is a relationship between them in a sample of 143 adult secondary education students. Research outcomes in reading competence were lower than expected, with significant differences between stages and average use of metacognitive strategies, influenced by gender and age. A significant, linear, and low to moderate degree relationship was found between two of the metacognitive strategies evaluated and so a predictive model was constructed in which age, level, and use of strategies for problemsolving and reading-support are predictive variables explaining 23.4% of the variance in reading skills. We also suggest some changes regarding teacher practice, prioritising active and self-regulating reading.

Visual-motor integration and reading Chinese in children with/without dyslexia

Visual-motor integration is an ability to coordinate the visual information and limb movement, which has direct relevance to Chinese handwriting ability. Interestingly handwriting practice can also improve Chinese reading. However, the relationship between visual-motor integration and reading ability in Chinese is unclear. The present study investigated the role of visual-motor integration skills in reading Chinese among children with and without developmental dyslexia. In the study Chinese children with developmental dyslexia (DD-Group), chronological-age-matched children (CA-Group), and reading-level-matched children (RL-Group) were asked to participate in reading and reading related tasks as well as word-copying and picture-copying (visual-motor integration) tasks. The results revealed that the DD-Group performed significantly worse than the CA-Group on the word copying task, and that the DD-Group performed similarly to the RL-Group on the reading and reading related tasks and the word-copying task. However, the DD-Group performed significantly worse than the CA- and RL-Groups on the visual-motor integration task. Further, when age and intelligence were controlled visual-motor integration and word-copying skills could explain 14 and 16% of the variance in reading skills respectively. When reading-related cognitive skills were controlled, visual-motor integration skills could still explain 8% of variance in reading skills, but word-copying skills did not. The results of the current study indicated for the first time that visual-motor integration skills play an essential role in reading Chinese independent of word copying ability.

Predicting responsiveness to intervention in dyslexia using dynamic assessment

In the current study we examined the value of a dynamic test for predicting responsiveness to reading intervention for children diagnosed with dyslexia. The test consisted of a 20-minute training aimed at learning eight basic letter–speech sound correspondences within an artificial orthography, followed by a short assessment of both mastery of these correspondences and word reading ability in this unfamiliar script. Fifty-five (7- to 11-year-old) children diagnosed with dyslexia engaged in specialized intervention during approximately 10months and their reading and spelling abilities were assessed before and after. Our results indicated that the dynamic test predicted variance in reading skills at posttest, over and above traditional static measures, such as phonological awareness and rapid naming. These findings indicate that responsiveness to learning new letter–speech sound correspondences has a prognostic value for the success of specialized reading intervention.

Executive Functions Differentially Contribute to Fourth Graders’ Mathematics, Reading, and Spelling Skills

Executive functions (EFs; working memory [WM], inhibition, and shifting) are widely known to play a critical role in school achievement. Among these EFs, WM appears to be implicated in numeracy and literacy. The contribution of inhibition and shifting to school achievement is less clear. Given the existing divergences in the literature and the importance of the interindividual differences in these domains, it seems important to assess EFs and scholastic skills in the same elementary school children. However, studies providing such an assessment are scarce. We explored whether EFs differentially contribute to mathematics, reading, and spelling skills in fourth-grade children (N = 71). The results revealed that (a) WM and inhibition accounted for unique variance in mathematics skills, (b) WM and shifting accounted for unique variance in reading skills, and (c) only shifting accounted for unique variance in spelling skills. The implications of these findings for children and teachers are discussed.

Executive function skills are associated with reading and parent-rated child function in children born prematurely

BackgroundPreterm children are at risk for executive function (EF) problems, which have been linked to behavior and learning problems in full term children. In this study, we examine the relationship between EF and functional outcomes in preterm children. AimTo evaluate (1) EF skills of 9- to 16-year-old children born across the spectrum of gestational age (GA), (2) relationship of degree of prematurity to EF skills, and (3) contributions of EF skills to two functional outcomes — reading scores and parent-rated child function. MethodPreterm children <36weeks gestation (n=72) were compared to full term children (n=42) of similar age, gender and SES, on measures of EF, reading, and parent-ratings of child function. Multiple regression models evaluated contributions to EF skills and functional outcomes. ResultsCompared to full term controls, preterm children had poorer EF performance on a complex planning and organization task and did not increase planning time as task difficulty increased. Their spatial memory capacity was not different. GA contributed to EF skills, but was mediated by IQ. EF contributed to the variance in reading skills but did not add to the variance in reading when IQ was considered. EF skills significantly contributed to the variance in parent-rated child function, but IQ did not. ConclusionEF skills contribute to measures of functional outcome in this high-risk population. The use of EF skills as an early marker for learning and functional problems and as a target for intervention in children born preterm warrants future study.

Rapid serial naming and reading ability: the role of lexical access

Rapid serial naming tasks are frequently used to explain variance in reading skill. However, the construct being measured by rapid naming is yet undetermined. The Phonological Processing theory suggests that rapid naming relates to reading because of similar demands of access to long-term stored phonological representations of visual stimuli. Some researchers have argued that isolated or discrete-trial naming is a more precise measure of lexical access than serial naming, thus it is likely that any shared variance between these two formats can be attributed to similar lexical access demands. The present study examined whether there remained any variance in reading ability that could be uniquely explained by the rapid naming task while controlling for isolated naming. Structural equation modeling was used to examine these relations within the context of the phonological processing model. Results indicated that serial naming uniquely predicted reading, and the relation was stronger with isolated naming controlled for, suggesting that isolated naming functioned as a suppressor variable in the relation of serial naming with reading.

Does degree of asymmetry relate to performance? An investigation of word recognition and reading in consistent and mixed handers

Is it advantageous to be strongly lateralized? The current study investigated this question by examining the relationship between visual field asymmetries for lexical tasks and reading performance in a sample of 200 young adults. Larger visual field asymmetries were associated with better reading performance, but this relationship was obtained primarily in those with strong and consistent hand preferences. Among mixed handers, variation in visual field asymmetry accounted for little or no variance in reading skill. In addition, correlations between visual field asymmetry and reading performance were observed for word recognition tasks, but not for tasks requiring controlled semantic retrieval. The results are consistent with the idea that consistent and mixed handers may represent differing neurobehavioral populations. Because greater lateralization was associated with better reading skill only for consistent handers, reduced behavioral asymmetry cannot be assumed to be a risk factor for reading dysfunction in the population as a whole.

Early phonological skills as a predictor of reading acquisition: a follow-up study from kindergarten to the middle of grade 2.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the power of early measures of phonological skills (phonemic awareness, rapid naming, short-term memory) in predicting later reading skills at various points of time. About 70 children were followed from the end of kindergarten to the middle of grade 2. Correlation analyses were performed as well as a linear growth curve analyses. In the traditional regression analysis, phonemic awareness in kindergarten explained about 27% of the variance in word reading six months later and about 9.5% of the variance at the end of grade 1. Even when prior level of reading skill was included in the predictive equation, a significant amount of variance was still explained by phonemic awareness. The other predictor variables did not explain any variance in word reading, and phonemic awareness did not predict any variance in reading skills in grade 2. When using sentence reading as the dependent variable, phonemic awareness explained about 16% of unique variance after six months, and about 13% of the variance in the middle of grade 2. Similarly, when employing growth curve analysis, phonemic awareness was the only phonological factor that accounted for significant variance in the word reading slope, explaining about 25% of its variance, whereas naming and short-term memory did not explain any unique variance. The lack of predictive power of phonemic awareness on the sentence b-slope is assumed to be caused by unreliable sentence scores in kindergarten.

Phonemic awareness, naming, visual symbol processing, and reading

This study examined differences between adequate and poor readers in phonemic awareness, rapid continuous and confrontation naming, and visual symbol processing. It also investigated which of these skills make independent contributions to word recognition, pseudoword reading, and reading comprehension. Subjects were 170 school referrals of average intelligence, aged 6 to 10 years. The strongest differentiators of adequate and poor readers, with IQ and reading experience controlled, were phonemic awareness, naming speed for letters and pictured objects, and visual symbol processing. Letter naming speed made the largest independent contribution to word recognition, phonemic awareness to pseudoword reading, and object naming speed to reading comprehension. Confrontation picture naming accounted for minimal variance in reading skills, when IQ was controlled. It was concluded that tasks of naming speed, phonemic awareness, and visual symbol processing are valuable components of a diagnostic battery when testing children with possible reading disability.

Naming speed deficits in reading disability: Multiple measures of a singular process

Speed of word identification is important in the theories of reading proposed by La Berge and Samuels (1974) and Perfetti (1985), and is substantially correlated with reading skill. However, there is controversy about whether disabled readers have a speed deficit that is restricted to the identification of printed words, or if instead, they have a more general speed deficit in retrieving names of even single digits. To investigate this issue, poor and average readers ( N = 43) in grade 2 were assessed on several indices of speed of digit and letter naming, using both continuous-list and discrete-trial methodologies. MANCOVA indicated clear effects of reader group on discrete-trial latencies, as well as an interaction between reader group and the speed with which to-be-named items were presented. A series of hierarchical regression analyses explored the amount of shared variance between various measures of digit naming speed and five indices of reading skill. Latency for word identification shares considerable variance with latency for digit naming, and, in general, accounts for the shared variance of naming speed and several other measures of reading skill. Naming specd contributed variance in reading skill independently of measures of phonological awareness.

Meta-analysis of the relationship between visual perceptual skills and reading achievement.

A review of research examines the relationship between visual perceptual skills and reading achievement using meta-analysis to integrate statistically the results from 161 studies. A total of 1,571 correlation coefficients were collected and aggregated across eight visual perceptual skills, six reading abilities, three grade levels, and three subject groups. Additionally, a correlation matrix was constructed and used for a factor analysis, cannonical correlation analysis, and step-wise multiple regression analysis descriptive of the relationship among and between visual perceptual skills, intelligence, and reading achievement variables. The findings suggested that visual perception is an important correlate of reading achievement, but the proportion of explained variance in reading skills was contingent on the combination of visual and reading variables considered. It was concluded that visual perceptual skills should be included in the complex of factors predictive of reading achievement.