| Abstract: | Visual attention span (VAS) predicts reading performance over and above phonological skills. Given the growing number of studies that include VAS, it is surprising that indications of the stability of VAS performance and its relation with reading over time have not yet been reported. The current study addressed these important issues. Participants were 180 third graders, 131 of whom were reassessed in Grade 4. Results indicated that VAS (whole report for letters) accounts for variance in reading over and above phoneme awareness and rapid automatized naming. VAS performance was highly stable over time, and VAS and reading were related both concurrently and longitudinally. However, controlling for autoregressive effects, the effects of Grade 3 VAS on Grade 4 reading, and vice versa, were not significant. These findings encourage including VAS in future studies but indicate that there is as of yet little evidence for VAS being causally related to reading performance. |
