Developmental Relations Between Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension: A Latent Change Score Modeling Study

TLDR

The study followed 316 first‑ to fourth‑grade students to examine how vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension influence each other over time. Latent change score modeling was used to fit competing models to repeated measures of vocabulary and reading comprehension, testing for leading and lagging effects. Results showed vocabulary grew over time, reading comprehension increased both steadily and proportionally to its prior level, and prior vocabulary levels predicted subsequent reading comprehension growth, whereas the reverse was not observed.

Abstract

The present study followed a sample of first‐grade ( N = 316, M age = 7.05 at first test) through fourth‐grade students to evaluate dynamic developmental relations between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Using latent change score modeling, competing models were fit to the repeated measurements of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension to test for the presence of leading and lagging influences. Univariate models indicated growth in vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension was determined by two parts: constant yearly change and change proportional to the previous level of the variable. Bivariate models indicated previous levels of vocabulary knowledge acted as leading indicators of reading comprehension growth, but the reverse relation was not found. Implications for theories of developmental relations between vocabulary and reading comprehension are discussed.