Components of Reading Ability: Multivariate Evidence for a Convergent Skills Model of Reading Development

TLDR

The study tests hypothesized relationships among reading subskills and cognitive abilities within a Convergent Skills Model of Reading Development, assessing how each construct’s contribution to reading comprehension changes across development. Researchers administered a comprehensive battery of reading and cognitive tests to elementary and middle school children, used the results to define latent reading skills, and applied confirmatory factor analysis with LISREL and AMOS to evaluate the structural model. The analysis provided qualified support for the Convergent Skills Model, aligning with the core premises of Gough and Tunmer (1986). References cited include works on decoding, reading disability, remedial education, and the Audread model.

Abstract

Elementary and middle school children were given a large battery of tests evaluating reading subskills and reading-related cognitive abilities. These measures were used to define latent representing skills and abilities believed to be important components of reading comprehension. Hypothesized relationships among these constructs were specified within the context of a structural model we call the "Convergent Skills Model of Reading Development," and developmental differences in the relative contribution made by each construct to reading comprehension performance were assessed through confirmatory factor analysis using the LISREL and AMOS programs. Results provide qualified support for the model and were interpreted as consistent with the major premises of both Gough and Tunmer's (1986) Gough, P. B. and Tunmer, W. E. 1986. Decoding, reading, and reading disability.. Remedial and Special Education, 7: 6–10. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] "Simple View" and Sticht's (1979) Sticht, T. G. 1979. "Applications of the Audread model to reading evaluation and instruction". In Theory and practice of early reading, Edited by: Resnick, L. B. and Weaver, P. A. Vol. 1, 209–226. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. [Google Scholar] "Audread" models of reading.