Can reading accuracy and comprehension be separated in the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability?

Background: The Neale Analysis of Reading Ability (NARA) (Neale, 1997) is widely used in education and research. It provides measures of reading accuracy (decoding) and comprehension, which are frequently interpreted separately. Aims: Three studies were conducted to investigate the degree to which the NARA measures could be separated. Samples: British 7‐ and 8‐year‐olds participated in Study 1 (N=114) and Study 2 (N=212). In Study 3, 16 skilled and less‐skilled comprehenders were identified from the Study 2 sample. Methods: Study 1: By investigating their contribution to silent reading comprehension, the independence of NARA decoding and comprehension scores was determined. Study 2: Decoding groups matched for listening comprehension were compared on the NARA comprehension measure, and population performance was compared across listening comprehension and NARA reading comprehension. Study 3: Comprehension groups were compared on ability to answer open‐ended and forcedchoice questions. Results: Firstly, NARA comprehension performance depended on decoding, to the extent that children with high listening comprehension ability but low decoding ability attained low NARA comprehension scores. Secondly, 32% of children who attained low NARA comprehension scores exhibited high listening comprehension. Thirdly, comprehension groups differed when assessed with open‐ended questions but not when assessed with forced‐choice questions. Conclusions: The NARA can underestimate the comprehension ability of children with weak decoding skills and children who have some difficulty with open‐ended questions. The decoding and comprehension measures of the NARA cannot be separated. These findings have important implications for the interpretation of the measures provided by the NARA, in education and research.     

Computer‐assisted reading intervention with a phonics approach for children using cochlear implants or hearing aids

The present study examined computer‐assisted reading intervention with a phonics approach for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children in Sweden using cochlear implants or hearing aids, or a combination of both. The study included 48 children, 5, 6 and 7 years of age. Sixteen children with normal hearing (NH) served as a reference group. The first purpose of the study was to compare NH and DHH children's reading ability at pre and post‐intervention. The second purpose was to investigate effects of the intervention. Cognitive and demographic factors were analyzed in relation to reading improvement. Results showed no statistically significant difference for reading ability at the group level, although NH children showed overall higher reading scores at both test points. Age comparisons revealed a statistically significant higher reading ability in the NH 7‐year‐olds compared to the DHH 7‐year‐olds. The intervention proved successful for word decoding accuracy, passage comprehension and as a reduction of nonword decoding errors in both NH and DHH children. Reading improvement was associated with complex working memory and phonological processing skills in NH children. Correspondent associations were observed with visual working memory and letter knowledge in the DHH children. Age was the only demographic factor that was significantly correlated with reading improvement. The results suggest that DHH children's beginning reading may be influenced by visual strategies that might explain the reading delay in the older children.     

The comprehension skills of children learning English as an additional language

Background Data from national test results suggests that children who are learning English as an additional language (EAL) experience relatively lower levels of educational attainment in comparison to their monolingual, English‐speaking peers. Aims The relative underachievement of children who are learning EAL demands that the literacy needs of this group are identified. To this end, this study aimed to explore the reading‐ and comprehension‐related skills of a group of EAL learners. Sample Data are reported from 92 Year 3 pupils, of whom 46 children are learning EAL. Method Children completed standardized measures of reading accuracy and comprehension, listening comprehension, and receptive and expressive vocabulary. Results Results indicate that many EAL learners experience difficulties in understanding written and spoken text. These comprehension difficulties are not related to decoding problems but are related to significantly lower levels of vocabulary knowledge experienced by this group. Conclusions Many EAL learners experience significantly lower levels of English vocabulary knowledge which has a significant impact on their ability to understand written and spoken text. Greater emphasis on language development is therefore needed in the school curriculum to attempt to address the limited language skills of children learning EAL.     

The development of comprehension and reading‐related skills in children learning English as an additional language and their monolingual,English‐speaking peers

Background. A significant number of pupils in UK schools learn English as an additional language (EAL). Relative differences between the educational attainment of this group and monolingual, English‐speaking pupils call for an exploration of the literacy needs of EAL learners. Aims. This study explores the developmental progression of reading and listening comprehension skills and a range of reading‐related skills in EAL learners, whose first language is of South Asian origin, and their monolingual peers. Sample. Participants were 39 children learning EAL and 39 monolingual, English‐speaking children who were all in school Year 3 at the start of the study. Method. Children completed standardized measures of comprehension, vocabulary, reading accuracy, and reading fluency in school Year 3 and again in Year 4. Results. The results suggest that, although children learning EAL often demonstrate fast and accurate reading accuracy skills, lower levels of vocabulary knowledge place significant constraints on EAL learners' comprehension of spoken and written texts. Conclusions. Reciprocal relationships between vocabulary and comprehension may lead to increasing gaps in reading comprehension between monolingual and EAL pupils over time. It is proposed that support for the development of vocabulary skills in children learning EAL is needed in early years' classrooms.     

识字量和词汇知识在儿童阅读发展中的相对重要性

本研究基于简单阅读观理论,以两个样本共计666名大班至四年级的汉语儿童为研究对象,探索了识字量和词汇知识在儿童阅读能力发展中的作用及相对重要性的变化。结果显示,在阅读学习早期,识字量对阅读理解的重要性高于词汇知识。随着年级的升高,识字量的重要性降低,而词汇知识的重要性增加。这一发现证实简单阅读观理论也适用于解释汉语阅读能力的发展,并对今后的语文教学具有重要的启示意义。     

Neurological origins of poor reading comprehension despite fast word decoding?

Barnes, Faulkner, and Dennis (2001) found that hydrocephalic children (mean age = 11.5 years) of average or above-average verbal intelligence exhibit poor reading comprehension despite their fast and accurate decoding skills on individual words. This finding attracts the attention of reading researchers because it appears to be against the following standard principle of reading comprehension failure (Gough & Hillinger, 1980), thereby provoking basic issues centering around it (e.g., Stanovich, 1991): Reading Comprehension = Word Decoding x Listening Comprehension. This formula indicates that when listening comprehension is kept well within the normal range, reading comprehension is highly correlated with word decoding (e.g., Perfetti, 1985). In contrast, with poor listening comprehension children would be poor readers however good they may be at reading words (e.g., Cain, Oakhill, & Bryant, 2000). Although Barnes et al. clearly demonstrated that children with hydrocephalus decoded individual words better than they comprehended text, it is not readily apparent whether their findings are inconsistent with the standard principle. The purpose of the present article is twofold. The first is to examine whether Barnes et al.'s findings constitute a counterexample of the above principle. (Note that Barnes et al. did not address this question.) The second and more important purpose is to discuss the possible origins of the decoding-better-than-sentence/text-comprehension pattern. We also present some pedagogical implications for poor readers such as hydrocephalic children.     

The relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in Spanish‐speaking children

In the last decades, a series of studies has explored the role of morphological awareness on reading comprehension. Path analysis studies performed in English have shown that morphological awareness benefits reading comprehension both directly and indirectly, through word decoding. This issue has seldom been explored in Spanish. The aim of this study was to replicate in Spanish the results previously found in English. We used path analysis to assess three alternative models of the relationship between morphological awareness, word decoding and reading comprehension in 4th grade Spanish‐speaking children. Contrary to English, we found that morphological awareness benefits reading comprehension only directly. We conclude that in Spanish, in which accurate and fluent pronunciation of written words can be achieved through grapheme‐to‐phoneme conversion rules, morphological awareness does not help the correct pronunciation of words. Thus, morphological awareness is not relevant for word decoding in Spanish but is related to reading comprehension since this type of morphological knowledge provides access to the semantic and syntactic information of new words.     

Listening comprehension in preschoolers: The role of memory

The current study analyzed the relationship between text comprehension and memory skills in preschoolers. We were interested in verifying the hypothesis that memory is a specific contributor to listening comprehension in preschool children after controlling for verbal abilities. We were also interested in analyzing the developmental path of the relationship between memory skills and listening comprehension in the age range considered. Forty‐four, 4‐year‐olds (mean age = 4 years and 6 months, SD =4 months) and 40, 5‐year‐olds (mean age = 5 years and 4 months, SD =5 months) participated in the study. The children were administered measures to evaluate listening comprehension ability (story comprehension), short‐term and working memory skills (forward and backward word span), verbal intelligence and receptive vocabulary. Results showed that both short‐term and working memory predicted unique and independent variance in listening comprehension after controlling for verbal abilities, with working memory explaining additional variance over and above short‐term memory. The predictive power of memory skills was stable in the age range considered. Results also confirm a strong relation between verbal abilities and listening comprehension in 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children.     

Assessment of working memory components at 6years of age as predictors of reading achievements a year later

The ability of working memory skills (measured by tasks assessing all four working memory components), IQ, language, phonological awareness, literacy, rapid naming, and speed of processing at 6 years of age, before reading was taught, to predict reading abilities (decoding, reading comprehension, and reading time) a year later was examined in 97 children. Among all working memory components, phonological complex memory contributed most to predicting all three reading abilities. A capacity measure of phonological complex memory, based on passing a minimum threshold in those tasks, contributed to the explained variance of decoding and reading comprehension. Findings suggest that a minimal ability of phonological complex memory is necessary for children to attain a normal reading level. Adding assessment of phonological complex memory, before formal teaching of reading begins, to more common measures might better estimate children’s likelihood of future academic success.     

语音记忆和中央执行功能在不同年级儿童解码和语言理解中的作用

选取256名三~六年级儿童, 采用相关分析、结构方程模型等方法考察了语音记忆和中央执行功能在不同年级儿童的解码和语言理解中的作用。结果显示, 在低年级阶段, 语音记忆和刷新对解码存在显著预测作用, 转换和刷新对语言理解存在显著预测作用; 在高年级阶段, 只有刷新对解码保持着稳定的预测作用。这表明, 语音记忆和中央执行功能对儿童的解码和语言理解存在不同的影响, 并且这种影响会随着年级的增长发生变化。     

Assessment of Working Memory Capacity in Preschool Children Using the Missing Scan Task

The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and validity of a modified version of Buschke's missing scan methodology, the Missing Scan Task (MST), to assess working memory capacity (WMC) and cognitive control processes in preschool children 3–6 years in age. Forty typically developing monolingual English‐speaking children between 36 and 84 months in age participated in the study. The children were tested on measures of WMC (MST), verbal and nonverbal memory (NEPSY Narrative Memory and Memory for Designs subtests), and language skills (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, fourth edition). Children showed increased working memory capacity scores with age, as measured by the MST, with significant differences between 3‐ and 5‐year‐olds and 3‐ and 6‐year‐olds. Significant correlations were also found between the MST and language and verbal and nonverbal memory scores. MST scores still remained significantly correlated with the other measures of memory even after age and global language were accounted for in a regression analysis, demonstrating that the MST captures unique variance related specifically to WMC and cognitive control processes used to retrieve and scan information in short‐term memory (STM). The results of this study demonstrate that the MST is a feasible and valid methodology for assessing WMC in preschool children as young 3 years of age. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reading Development in Typically Developing Children and Children With Prenatal or Perinatal Brain Lesions: Differential School Year and Summer Growth

Summer slide, uneven growth of academic skills during the calendar year, captures the fact that the learning gains children make during the school year do not continue at the same pace over the summer, when children are typically not in school. We compared growth of reading skills during the school year and during the summer months in children with prenatal or perinatal brain lesions (PL) and typically developing (TD) children from varying socioeconomic-status (SES) backgrounds as a new way to probe the role of structured environmental support in functional plasticity for reading skills in children with PL. Results showed that children with PL performed worse than TD children on both reading decoding and reading comprehension. Group differences were primarily driven by children with larger lesions and children with right-hemisphere lesions (RH). For reading comprehension, children with RH showed greater growth during the school year but more slide during the summer months than both TD children and children with left-hemisphere lesions, implicating a particularly strong role of structured input in supporting reading comprehension in this group. TD children from lower-SES backgrounds fell behind their TD peers from higher-SES backgrounds on decoding and reading comprehension but did not show differential patterns of school year and summer growth. Overall, results highlight the importance of considering the role of a host of factors interacting at multiple levels of analyses, including biological and environmental, in influencing developmental trajectories of TD children and atypically developing children.     

An Examination of the Simple View of Reading Among Beginning Readers in Malay

This study examines the simple view of reading from the perspective of a language other than English, the Malay language. The aims of the study were to determine (a) the contributions of decoding and listening comprehension to reading comprehension in Malay; (b) which model, the multiplicative model or the additive model, of the simple view of reading contributes more toward the variance in reading comprehension; and (c) whether adding the speed of processing factor to the multiplicative model improves its power to predict reading comprehension among beginning readers in Malay. A sample of 117 beginning first-year readers attending Malaysian schools were assessed on a battery of reading and reading-related skills measures after 6 months of initial instruction in reading. Results indicated that reading comprehension was largely explained by the decoding component, with listening comprehension adding only a small amount to the variance accounted for. The additive model consisting of the summation of decoding and listening comprehension was found to be a better predictor of reading comprehension in Malay. Results also showed that speed of processing did not account for unique variance in reading comprehension. We propose that listening comprehension did not contribute substantially to the variance because it is artefactually reduced as a result of the level of text typically read by beginning readers.     

The development of early literacy in Steiner‐ and standard‐educated children

Background. There is evidence that children who are taught to read later in childhood (age 6–7) make faster progress in early literacy than those who are taught at a younger age (4–5 years), as is current practice in the UK. Aims. Steiner‐educated children begin learning how to read at age 7, and have better reading‐related skills at the onset of instruction. Therefore, it is hypothesized that older Steiner‐educated children will make faster progress in early literacy than younger standard‐educated controls. Samples. A total of 30 Steiner‐educated children (age 7–9) were compared to a matched group of 31 standard‐educated controls (age 4–6). Method. Children were tested for reading, spelling, phonological awareness, and letter knowledge at three time points during their first year of formal reading instruction and again at the end of the second year. Results. There were no significant differences between groups in word reading at the end of the first and second year or reading comprehension at the end of the second year; however, the standard group outperformed the Steiner group on spelling at the end of both years. The Steiner group maintained an overall lead in phonological skills while letter knowledge was similar in both groups. Conclusions. The younger children showed similar, and in some cases, better progress in literacy than the older children; this was attributed to more consistent and high‐quality synthetic phonics instruction as is administered in standard schools. Consequently, concerns that 4‐ to 5‐year‐olds are ‘too young’ to begin formal reading instruction may be unfounded.     

The Development of Narrative Comprehension and Its Relation to Other Early Reading Skills

The first goal of this study was to examine young children's developing narrative comprehension abilities using theory-based, authentic measures of comprehension processes. The second goal was to examine the relations among young children's comprehension abilities and other early reading skills. Children ages 4 and 6 listened to or watched two authentic narratives. We measured their comprehension of these narratives as well as vocabulary and skills associated with word decoding. The results revealed that even the younger children were sensitive to the underlying structure of the narratives and that this sensitivity increased with age. Measures of narrative comprehension were not consistently correlated with skills associated with word decoding, such as phonological awareness. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical models of comprehension and of reading development. Practical implications of the findings are also explored.     

The Effects of Two Different Reading Acceleration Training Programs on Improving Reading Skills of Second Graders

It has been well established that poor reading skills in the first grades of primary school can lead to poor reading skills in all coming years. A reading acceleration program (RAP) known to improve reading skills in adults and children with and without reading difficulties (RD) was tested for its effect on children in second grade with standard reading skills. The influence of the RAP on improving all reading skills—decoding, fluency, and reading comprehension—was examined. Seventy-nine children in second grade were divided into two study groups and one control group. Each study group received a training program that emphasizes reading skills: decoding, fluency, and comprehension were trained at the levels of words and sentences in Version A and at the levels of words and paragraphs in Version B. Both programs significantly improved reading skills compared with the control group that was not trained: Group A improved word fluency whereas Group B improved accuracy measures (word, pseudo-word, and text). Both training groups showed significantly greater improvement over time than the control group on reading comprehension. We conclude that a RAP training that combines words, sentences, and paragraphs is the most effective for improving reading skills.     

Tape‐assisted reciprocal teaching: Cognitive bootstrapping for poor decoders

Background: Students who have limited skills in decoding and comprehension and who lack motivation to read present difficulties for practitioners. Difficulties may be compounded when these students lack access to age‐appropriate and interesting text and have lost the notion of reading as a process of obtaining meaning from print. Aims: This research examined the effects of a modified reciprocal teaching intervention for readers with poor decoding skills and poor comprehension. Tapeassisted reciprocal teaching was used to help students with poor decoding skills develop cognitive and metacognitive strategies and improve their comprehension of high interest expository texts. Methods: Two single‐subject research design studies involving four groups of students were conducted. Study I involved one experimental group and Study II was a multiple baseline design involving three experimental groups. Sample: Each experimental group comprised a heterogeneous mix of six students, three with poor decoding skills and three with adequate decoding skills, all of whom showed poor comprehension. Results: As a result of the tape‐assisted reciprocal teaching, the poor decoders demonstrated improved application of cognitive and metacognitive strategies and improved comprehension. These improvements were shown on both researcherdeveloped and standardised tests as well as on maintenance and transfer measures. The students with adequate decoding skills also showed improvements in comprehension. Conclusions: The success of the intervention for poor decoders suggests that tape assisted reciprocal teaching may be seen as a form of ‘cognitive bootstrapping’ to enable poor readers to escape the cycle of reading failure and engage more meaningfully in the process of reading.     

Assessment matters: Issues in the measurement of reading comprehension

Background. The Neale Analysis of Reading Ability (NARA; Neale, 1997 ) is a widely used assessment of reading comprehension and word reading accuracy. Spooner, Baddeley, and Gathercole (2004) questioned the suitability of the NARA for identifying children with specific reading comprehension deficits. Aims and methods. An evaluation of the NARA measurement of word reading and reading comprehension level was undertaken in relation to models of reading ability. Appropriate control measures were considered. The strengths and weaknesses of different forms of reading comprehension were also evaluated. Results. Previous research into reading comprehension difficulties using the NARA has adopted satisfactory control measures in relation to word reading ability. There are limitations associated with all the considered forms of reading comprehension assessment. Conclusions. If administered and interpreted appropriately, the NARA is an effective instrument for researchers and practitioners who need to assess both word reading accuracy and reading comprehension and to identify children with a dissociation between these two aspects of reading.     

The role of simultaneous and successive processing in EFL reading

This study examines the relationship between simultaneous and successive processing (the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous and Successive processing [PASS] theory processes) and reading skills in English as a foreign language (EFL). A group of 81 children were administered two batteries of tests. One was used to measure EFL reading skills, while the other one assessed simultaneous and successive processing. We hypothesised (a) cognitive processes to predict reading ability, as well as (b) the presence of a significant relationship between (c) simultaneous processing and reading comprehension and (d) successive processing and letter and word decoding. The findings confirmed that the anticipated relationships between these domains exist and are of moderate effect size. The research has helped to contribute to the understanding of how simultaneous and successive processing can affect EFL reading skills both on the level of basic word and letter decoding and reading comprehension.     

Getting ready for reading: A follow‐up study of inner city second language learners at the end of Key Stage 1

Background: A previous study (Stuart, 1999) showed that early phoneme awareness and phonics teaching improved reading and spelling ability in inner‐city schoolchildren in Key Stage 1, most of whom were learning English as a second language. Aims: The present study, a follow‐up of these children at the end of Key Stage 1, addresses four main questions: (1) Are these improvements maintained to the end of Key Stage 1? (2) Are different patterns of cognitive process evident in the word recognition skills of phonics trained versus untrained children? (3) Do the phonics trained children now also show a significant advantage in reading comprehension? (4) Are there differences in amount of reading, in self‐concept as readers and in oral vocabulary development between phonics trained and untrained children? Relationships between reading and spelling ages and Key Stage 1 SATs levels are also explored. Sample: Data are reported from 101 seven‐year‐olds (85 of whom were second language learners) remaining from the original 112 children reported on previously. Method: Children were tested on four standardized tests of reading, spelling and vocabulary, and on a further six experimental tests of phoneme segmentation, grapheme‐phoneme correspondence knowledge, regular, exception and nonword reading, author recognition and reading self‐concept. Results: Lasting influences of early phoneme awareness and phonics teaching on phoneme awareness, grapheme‐phoneme correspondence knowledge, word reading and spelling were found. Part of the previously untrained group had now received structured phonics teaching, and were therefore treated as a third (late trained) group. Early and late‐trained groups showed similar levels of attainment and similar cognitive processing patterns, which were different from the untrained group. However, there were no influences of training on reading comprehension, self‐concept or oral vocabulary. Conclusions: Early phoneme awareness and phonics training efficiently accelerates the word recognition and spelling skills of first and second language learners alike. However, this is not sufficient to bootstrap the development of language comprehension in the second language learners. Further research is needed into the kinds of language teaching that will best develop their oral and written language comprehension.