The development of reading speed in Italians with dyslexia: a longitudinal study

The development of reading speed in Italian children with dyslexia was estimated using individualized growth curves for a group of 38 children with dyslexia tested longitudinally from the second to the eighth grade and compared with typical readers. Their reading speed development followed a linear trend of .3 syllables per second per grade, approximately half the increment observed in typical children reading a passage and similar to typical children's reading of nonword lists. These findings give support to the deficit hypothesis versus the lag hypothesis and to reading speed as the core deficit in dyslexia with transparent orthographies.     

Inter‐agency approaches to the development of a school‐based student health service

Young people living in rural areas lack opportunities for accessing health advice and care without reference to a parent, carer, or other adult. In this article Jane Harrison and Jane Bullock provide the rationale for the development in 1997 of Bodyzone, a school‐based health service to address this problem. Presented here as a case study, Bodyzone, twenty of which have been started in Oxfordshire, demonstrates the value of such a service to young people and teachers. The multi‐agency sessions are held once a week either on school premises or in youth or sports centres nearby. The service is accessed by self‐referral and the sessions are drop‐in. The provision of this service enables young people to begin to take responsibility for their health and to meet health professionals on their own territory, rather than that of the agency.     

Phonemic awareness and reading skill in hyperlexic children: A longitudinal study

Children with hyperlexia who learn to readspontaneously before the age of five are impaired inreading and listening comprehension but have wordrecognition skills well above their measured cognitiveand linguistic abilities. In a previous study, theauthor administered a battery of cognitive, academicachievement, and phonemic awareness tests to threechildren classified as hyperlexic. The findingsshowed that the levels of phonemic awareness of thesechildren were low and not commensurate with their wordreading skill. In the present study, the authorreevaluated the three children approximately 7–8 yearslater with the same battery of cognitive, academicachievement, and phonemic awareness tests as well asseveral additional measures of phonemic awareness. The results showed that all three childrens' levels ofphonemic awareness were still low and not commensuratewith their word reading skill. Other findings showedthat two of the children, both of whom had remained inspecial education classes since the previous study,continued to be voracious readers. The other child,who had always been in regular education classes, hadnot read very much for several years. Findings alsoshowed that the word recognition skills of two of thechildren, including the child who had always attendedregular education, had decreased by one to twostandard deviations.     

A longitudinal study of the development of oral reading fluency in young children at risk for reading failure

The purpose of this study was to examine the development of oral reading fluency in a sample of first-grade children. Using growth curve analysis, models of growth were identified for a combined sample of at-risk (AR) and not-at-risk (NAR) children, and predictors of growth were identified for the longitudinal AR sample in first and second grade. Large and serious differences in reading fluency growth between the AR and NAR samples were apparent early, replicating other reports. Theories of sight-word learning and reading fluency were supported, in that letter-sound fluency was a uniquely significant predictor of first-grade reading fluency. The effects of phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming were mediated by the other variables in the model. Growth in first-grade oral reading fluency accounted for the most unique variance in second-grade growth and end-of-year performance. The results suggest that word reading fluency should be regarded as developing concomitantly with early word recognition rather than as a later-developing skill.     

Examining the relationship between treatment outcomes for academic achievement and social skills in school‐age children with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between treatment‐induced changes in academic achievement and social skills in elementary school‐age children with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder. A sample of 123 children in grades 1 through 4 with symptoms of inattention, impulsivity and/or hyperactivity, and significant achievement problems in math or reading were identified for participation. Participants were exposed to academic interventions mediated by their teachers, parents, peers, computers, or the student themselves. Data were collected on academic competence using the Woodcock‐Johnson III Test of Achievement and the Academic Competence Evaluation Scales; social skills were assessed using the Social Skills Rating System. Correlations between changes in academic competence and social skills from preintervention to approximately 10 months later were calculated. Results showed that as teacher ratings of reading improved, there were corresponding improvements in social skills. For students in peer‐mediated math interventions, increases in math fluency were correlated with improvements in self‐control. Results are discussed in the context of possible reasons for these findings and implications for practice and future research. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Darren: a case study in school–college liaison

Some recent attention has been directed towards the role that post‐16 colleges can play in providing young people at risk of exclusion from school with opportunities to experience ‘alternative’ curricula and ways of learning. In this article the case of ‘Darren’ is considered, a boy for whom education in a mainstream secondary school setting appeared to have grown increasingly disjointed and irrelevant. This ‘case’ is used to highlight some of the challenges involved in school–college liaison in supporting young people who experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD).     

The role of environment in the development of reading skills: a longitudinal study of preschool and school-age measures

The purpose of this study was to extend previous studies on the influence of environmental measures on intelligence scores by examining how proximal and distal measures of children's environments in the preschool period and in the primary-grade period are related to their performance on reading achievement tests. Reading performance was explored using two approaches. The first approach involved the identification of children within a longitudinal sample who had poor reading skills at 8 years of age. The second approach used the full range of reading scores to explore whether factors influencing poor reading were different from those influencing good reading. Participants were 113 children, including 35 children with poor reading skills, who were part of a longitudinal study of cognitive development. Socioeconomic status (SES), Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scores at 3 and 10 years of age, and school-administered and individually administered reading achievement scores were obtained. Both SES and HOME scores were found to be related to reading abilities, but preschool environment measures were more strongly and consistently related to and predictive of reading scores. Differences in the patterns of correlations and the results of the predictive models were found between the full sample and the poor readers. Variables other than proximal and distal measures of the environment are involved in the development of reading skills.     

A longitudinal study of two groups of children with early reading problems

The word lists of the Standard Reading Inventory were administered to five successive classes of beginning third graders in a single school. Those students scoring at the two lowest levels, preprimer and primer, all of whom had received consistent individualized reading instruction, were interviewed and tested individually when they were in junior or senior high school. The preprimer group continued to show serious disability at follow-up, with a mean retardation of 4.5 years in reading and 5.9 years in spelling, and continued to require help from learning-disabilities teachers. The primer group, only 1–2 years retarded in reading and spelling, were coping academically with little special help.     

Computer‐based cognitive assessment and the development of reading

This paper reports on a longitudinal study using the computer‐based cognitive assessment system CoPS, and considers the applicability of this system in the early identification of cognitive strengths and limitations that affect the development of reading. CoPS comprises eight tests of basic cognitive abilities, including phonological awareness, auditory discrimination, and short‐term visual and auditory‐verbal memory. A total of 421 children participated in the study. Assessment with the CoPS tests was carried out at age 5 years, and follow‐up assessments using conventional tests of reading and general ability were carried out at 6 and 8 years of age. Correlations between the CoPS tests administered at age 5 and reading ability at age 8 were in the region of 0.6 for auditory‐verbal memory and phonological awareness, and in the region of 0.3 for the CoPS measure of auditory discrimination as well as most of the other memory measures. Stepwise linear regression analyses showed that the CoPS tests of auditory‐verbal memory and phonological awareness administered at age 5 together accounted for 50% of the variance in reading ability at age 8, compared with only 29% of the variance being attributable to intelligence. It was concluded that short‐term memory is an important predictor variable for reading, in addition to the more generally acknowledged variable of phonological processing. Discriminant function analysis showed that CoPS tests provide a highly satisfactory prediction of poor reading skills, with very low or zero rates for false positives and false negatives. By contrast, a word recognition test given at age 6 was not found to predict reading at age 8 to the same degree of accuracy, resulting in an unsatisfactory false positive rate of 21%. Measures of verbal and nonverbal ability at age 6 produced unacceptably high false positive rates between 50% and 70%. These findings are discussed in relation to the prediction of children at risk of reading failure. The potential of computer‐based cognitive profiling for facilitating differentiated teaching in early reading is also considered.     

The gap between Spanish speakers' word reading and word knowledge: a longitudinal study

This longitudinal study modeled growth rates, from ages 4.5 to 11, in English and Spanish oral language and word reading skills among 173 Spanish-speaking children from low-income households. Individual growth modeling was employed using scores from standardized measures of word reading, expressive vocabulary, and verbal short-term language memory. The trajectories demonstrate that students' rates of growth and overall ability in word reading were on par with national norms. In contrast, students' oral language skills started out below national norms and their rates of growth, although surpassing the national rates, were not sufficient to reach age-appropriate levels. The results underscore the need for increased and sustained attention to promoting this population's language development.     

Automaticity, retrieval processes, and reading: a longitudinal study in average and impaired readers

In this longitudinal investigation, the development of word-retrieval speed and its relationship to reading was studied in 72 average and 11 severely impaired readers in the kindergarten to grade 2 period (5-8 years). Subjects received a battery of 3 reading measures and 4 continuous naming tests with varied stimulus requirements. Results indicated that the relationship of retrieval speed to reading is a function of development and the correspondence between higher- and lower-level processes in the specific retrieval and reading measures. As automaticity in retrieval developed in average readers, naming-speed/reading relationships moved from strong, general predictions to highly differentiated ones. The strongest correlations were between naming speed for graphological stimuli and lower-level reading tasks. Impaired readers performed slower than average readers on all naming measures across all years, particularly on graphological symbols. 3 dyslexic subgroups emerged: the largest was globally impaired across all naming rate and reading tasks; 2 smaller subgroups had early specific, retrieval-rate deficits and dissociated reading deficits.     

A longitudinal study of mathematical competencies in children with specific mathematics difficulties versus children with comorbid mathematics and reading difficulties

Mathematical competencies of 180 children were examined at 4 points between 2nd and 3rd grades (age range between 7 and 9 years). Children were initially classified into one of 4 groups: math difficulties but normal reading (MD only), math and reading difficulties (MD-RD), reading difficulties but normal math (RD only), and normal achievement in math and reading (NA). The groups did not differ significantly in rate of development. However, at the end of 3rd grade the MD only group performed better than the MD-RD group in problem solving but not in calculation. The NA and RD only groups performed better than the MD-RD group in most areas. Deficiencies in fact mastery and calculation fluency, in particular, are defining features of MD, with or without RD.     

Background factors and preschool test scores as predictors of reading: a nine-year longitudinal study

Approximately 400 children were first tested at 4, and background factors were ascertained at that time. Further testing included a kindergarten reading readiness test and reading tests at grades 3 and 8. The best preschool predictors of reading were naming tests for boys, and general verbal ability for girls. At the kindergarten level a quantitative test surpassed tests of phonemic awareness and language in predicting reading, for both boys and girls. Family history of learning disability and preschool test behavior contributed to prediction of reading. Effects of birth order were strongest at the preschool level, and handedness had its only effects at that level. Relationships of some factors to reading differed by gender. Socioeconomic status had significant effects only for boys, and a speech delay only for girls. Conclusions were that some background factors may contribute to the preschool prediction of reading, and particularly to the prospective identification of poor readers.     

Procrastination,conscientiousness, anxiety,and goals: Exploring the measurement and correlates of procrastination among school‐aged children

We explore the reliability and validity of a self‐report measure of procrastination and conscientiousness designed for use with third‐ to fifth‐grade students. The responses of 120 students are compared with teacher and parent ratings of the student. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were also used to examine the structure of the scale. Procrastination and conscientiousness are highly correlated (inversely); evidence suggests that procrastination and conscientiousness are aspects of the same construct. Procrastination and conscientiousness are correlated with the Physiological Anxiety subscale of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, and with the Task (Mastery) and Avoidance (Task Aversiveness) subscales of Skaalvik's (1997) Goal Orientation Scales. Both theoretical implications and implications for interventions are discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Age-related changes in reading attitudes of young children: a cross-cultural study

The Preschool Reading Attitudes Scale (PRAS) was administered to 2201 young children, from three to five years of age, in early childhood programs from several regions of the United States. The scale is categorized into four areas related to children's reading environment. School Reading Activities, Non-school Reading Activities, Library Reading Activities and General Reading Activities. A validation sample revealed highly significant differences at all age levels between students receiving positive and negative teacher ratings of reading attitudes. The basic design involved three factors, age, sex, and ethnicity, and an analysis of variance was applied to total scores and subscores. The results showed significant outcomes for age and ethnicity, in addition to an age X ethnicity interaction. The results suggest that there are significant attitudinal differences between three-year-olds as opposed to four- and five-year-olds as well as age dependent differences among the ethnic groups.     

A longitudinal,replicated analysis of low achievement in reading at age 7

The question explored is whether initial success and failure in reading at age 7 can be explained statistically by use of variables gathered at earlier ages. Data gathered prospectively from birth to age 6 in the home are grouped in four predictor models. Reading performance is analyzed by multiple linear regression and schematized by the TSAR technique. The design includes replication of all models and analyses.     

A longitudinal study of kindergarten children at risk for reading disabilities: the poor really are getting poorer

Over the past decade, educators and researchers concerned about children with reading disabilities have called for widespread adoption of early identification tools and early effective programming. This call may be the result of, in part, what Stanovich calls "Matthew effects in reading." That is, when stakeholders delay identification and support for young children struggling to read, the variance of individual differences in reading will inevitably increase, creating a widening of the gap between strong and struggling readers. In this longitudinal study, reading achievement data from 382 children were collected as they progressed from kindergarten through Grade 3. In kindergarten, children were screened with a battery of phonological awareness measures. Percentile rank scores were collected, and children were identified as having poor, average, or strong phonological awareness. As children moved through Grades 1, 2, and 3, reading-based data were collected in the spring of each year. Results indicated that, in general, as children progressed from kindergarten to Grade 3, those in lower ranks of reading achievement were likely to remain in the lower ranks, and furthermore, at each progressing data collection point struggling readers fell further behind their grade-level reading peers. In other words, as each year passed the variance between strong and struggling readers increased significantly. The authors hypothesized that this finding is consistent with the "Matthew effect"-the rich were getting richer while the poor were getting poorer.     

Component processes of early reading, spelling, and narrative writing skills in Turkish: a longitudinal study

The study examined: (a) the role of phonological, grammatical, and rapid automatized naming (RAN) skills in reading and spelling development; and (b) the component processes of early narrative writing skills. Fifty-seven Turkish-speaking children were followed from Grade 1 to Grade 2. RAN was the most powerful longitudinal predictor of reading speed and its effect was evident even when previous reading skills were taken into account. Broadly, the phonological and grammatical skills made reliable contributions to spelling performance but their effects were completely mediated by previous spelling skills. Different aspects of the narrative writing skills were related to different processing skills. While handwriting speed predicted writing fluency, spelling accuracy predicted spelling error rate. Vocabulary and working memory were the only reliable longitudinal predictors of the quality of composition content. The overall model, however, failed to explain any reliable variance in the structural quality of the compositions.     

Effects of the peer group on the development of social functioning and academic achievement: a longitudinal study in Chinese children

This longitudinal study examined, in a sample of Chinese children (initial mean ages = 9.5 and 12.7 years, N = 505), how the peer group contributed to social functioning and academic achievement and their associations. Data on informal peer groups, social functioning, and academic achievement were collected from multiple sources. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that group academic performance made direct contributions to children's social development. Group academic performance also moderated the individual-level relations between academic performance and later social functioning. Whereas high-achieving groups strengthened the positive relations between academic achievement and social competence, low-achieving groups facilitated the negative relations between academic achievement and social problems. The results indicate the significance of the peer group for social functioning from a developmental perspective.     

Indexing response to intervention: a longitudinal study of reading risk from kindergarten through third grade

In this study, response to intervention and stability of reading performance of 41 kindergarten children identified as at risk of reading difficulty were evaluated from kindergarten through third grade. All students were assessed in the fall of each academic year to evaluate need for intervention, and students who fell below the 30th percentile on criterion measures received small-group supplemental intervention. Measures included a combination of commercial normative referenced measures and specific skill and construct measures to assess growth or change in reading risk status relative to 30th percentile benchmarks. Results indicated that consistent with the findings of prior research involving students with comparable entry-level performance, the majority of children identified as at risk in the beginning of kindergarten responded early and positively to intervention. On average, absolute performance levels at the end of kindergarten positioned students for trajectories of later reading performance that exceeded the 50th percentile on the majority of measures. Moreover, changes in risk status that occurred early were generally sustained over time. Only oral reading fluency performance failed to exceed the 30th percentile for the majority of students.