Changing relations between phonological processing abilities and word-level reading as children develop from beginning to skilled readers: A 5-year longitudinal study.

TLDR

The study followed 216 children from kindergarten through fourth grade, annually measuring phonological processing, word‑level reading, and vocabulary in a longitudinal correlational design. Phonological awareness consistently predicted later word‑level reading across all time points, while serial naming and vocabulary only predicted reading early on and letter‑name knowledge predicted phonological awareness and serial naming but not reading.

Abstract

Relations between phonological processing abilities and word-level reading skills were examined in a longitudinal correlational study of 216 children. Phonological processing abilities, word-level reading skills, and vocabulary were assessed annually from kindergarten through 4th grade, as the children developed from beginning to skilled readers. Individual differences in phonological awareness were related to subsequent individual differences in word-level reading for every time period examined. Individual differences in serial naming and vocabulary were related to subsequent individual differences in word-level reading initially, but these relations faded with development. Individual differences in letter-name knowledge were related to subsequent individual differences in phonological awareness and serial naming, but there were no relations between individual differences in word-level reading and any subsequent phonological processing ability.