Abstract
Despite the recent attention to text reading fluency, few studies have studied the construct of oral reading rate and accuracy in connected text in a model that simultaneously examines many of the important variables in a multi-leveled fashion with young readers. Using Structural Equation Modeling, this study examined the measurement and structural relations of the rate and accuracy of variables important in early reading: phonemic blending, letter sounds, phonograms, decoding, single-word reading, reading comprehension, and text reading as well as reading comprehension among second grade readers. The effects from phonemic blending fluency and letter sound fluency to decoding were completely mediated by phonogram fluency, decoding fluency, single-word reading fluency, and reading comprehension had direct effects on the text reading fluency of the second grade students. Understanding the relationship among the many component skills of readers early in their reading development is important because a deficiency in any of the component skills has the potential to affect the development of other skills and, ultimately, the development of the child as a proficient reader.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Berninger, V. W., Abbott, R. D., Vermeulen, K., & Fulton, C. M. (2006). Paths to reading comprehension in at-risk second-grade readers. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39, 334–351.
Biemiller, A. (1977–1978). Relationships between oral reading rates for letters, words, and simple text in the development of reading achievement. Reading Research Quarterly, 13, 223-253.
Breznitz, Z. (1987). Increasing first graders’ reading accuracy and comprehension by accelerating their reading rates. Journal of Educational Psychology, 79(3), 236–242.
Breznitz, Z. (1991). The beneficial effect of accelerating reading rate on Dyslexic readers’ reading comprehension. In M. Snowling & M. Thomson (Eds.), Dyslexia: Integrating theory and practice (pp. 235–243). London: Whurr Publishing Ltd.
Breznitz, Z. (2006). Fluency in reading: Synchronization of processes. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Brown, G. D. A., & Deavers, R. P. (1999). Units of analysis in nonword reading: Evidence from children and adults. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 73, 208–242.
Burke, M. D., Crowder, W., Hagan-Burke, S., & Zou, Y. (2009). A comparison of two path models for predicting reading fluency. Remedial and Special Education, 30, 84–95.
Byrne, B. M. (2000). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2nd ed.). Florence, KY: Psychology Press.
Catts, H. W., Gillispie, M., Leonard, L. B., Kail, R. V., & Miller, C. A. (2002). The role of speed of processing, rapid naming, and phonological awareness in reading achievement. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 510–525.
Chard, D. J., Vaughn, S., & Tyler, B. J. (2002). A synthesis of research on effective interventions for building reading fluency with elementary students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 386–406.
Compton, D. L. (2000). Modeling growth skills in first-grade children. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 11, 239–273.
Compton, D. L., Appleton, A., & Hosp, M. K. (2004). Exploring the relationship between text-leveling systems and reading accuracy and fluency in second grade students who are average and poor decoders. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 19, 176–184.
Daane, M. C., Campbell, J. R., Grigg, W. S., Goodman, M. J., & Oranje, A. (2005). Fourth-grade students reading aloud: NAEP 2002 special study of oral reading (NCES 2006-469). US Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
Denckla, M. B., & Rudel, R. G. (1976). Rapid ‘automatized’ naming (R.A.N.): Dyslexia differentiated from other learning disabilities. Neurosychologia, 14, 471–479.
Dowhower, S. L. (1987). Effects of repeated reading on second-grade transitional readers’ fluency and comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 22(4), 389–406.
Dynamic Measurement Group. (2008). DIBELS 6th edition technical adequacy information (Technical report no 6). Eugene, OR: Dynamic Measurement Group. Accessed January 15, 2009, from http://dibels.org/pubs.html.
Ehri, L. C. (1992). Reconceptualizing the development of sight word reading and its relationship to recoding. In P. Gough, L. C. Ehri, & R. Treiman (Eds.), Reading acquisition (pp. 107–143). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Ehri, L. C. (1998). Grapheme-phoneme knowledge is essential for learning to read words in English. In J. L. Metsala & L. C. Ehri (Eds.), Word recognition in beginning literacy (pp. 3–40). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Ehri, L. C. (2002). Phases of acquisition in learning to read words and implications for teaching. In R. Stainthorp & P. Tomlinson (Eds.), Learning and teaching reading. London: British Journal of Educational Psychology Monograph Series II.
Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Hosp, M. D., & Jenkins, J. (2001). Oral reading fluency as an indicator of reading competence: A theoretical, empirical, and historical analysis. Scientific Studies of Reading, 5, 239–259.
Georgiou, G. K., Parrila, R., Kirby, J. R., & Stephenson, K. (2008). Rapid naming components and their relationship with phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, speed of processing and different reading outcomes. Scientific Studies of Reading, 12, 325–350.
Good, R. H., & Kaminski, R. A. (Eds.). (2002a). Dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills (6th ed.). Eugene, OR: Institute for the Development of Educational Achievement.
Good, R. H., & Kaminski, R. A. (2002b). DIBELS oral reading fluency passages for first through third grades (Technical report no. 10). Eugene, OR: University of Oregon.
Good, R. H., Simmons, D. C., & Kame’enui, E. J. (2001). The importance and decision-making utility of a continuum of fluency-based indicators of foundational reading skills for third-grade high-stakes outcomes. Scientific Studies of Reading, 5, 257–288.
Goswami, U. (1988). Children’s use of analogy in learning to spell. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 6, 21–33.
Gough, P. B. (1996). How children learn to read and why they fail. Annals of Dyslexia, 4, 3–20.
Gough, P. B., & Walsh, M. (1991). Chinese, phoenicians, and the orthographic cipher of English. In S. Brady & D. Shankweiler (Eds.), Phonological processes in literacy (pp. 199–209). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Harn, B. A., Stoolmiller, M., & Chard, D. J. (2008). Measuring the dimensions of alphabetic principle on the reading development of first graders: The role of automaticity and unitization. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41, 143–157.
Hudson, R. F., Pullen, P. C., Lane, H. B., & Torgesen, J. K. (2009). The complex nature of reading fluency: A multidimensional view. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 25, 4–32.
Jenkins, J. R., Bausell, R. B., & Jenkins, L. M. (1972). Comparisons of letter name and letter sound training as transfer variables. American Educational Research Journal, 9, 75–86.
Jenkins, J. R., Fuchs, L. S., van den Broek, P., Espin, C., & Deno, S. L. (2003). Sources of individual differences in reading comprehension and reading fluency. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 719–729.
Kail, R., & Hall, L. K. (1994). Speed of processing, naming speed, and reading. Developmental Psychology, 30, 949–954.
Kame’enui, E. J., & Simmons, D. C. (2001). Introduction to this special issue: The DNA of reading fluency. Scientific Studies of Reading, 5, 203–210.
Kessler, B., & Treiman, R. (2003). Is English spelling chaotic? Misconceptions concerning its irregularity. Reading Psychology, 24, 267–289.
Kline, R. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
LaBerge, D., & Samuels, S. J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology, 6, 293–323.
Manis, F. R., Doi, L. M., & Bhadha, B. (2000). Naming speed, phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge in second graders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33, 325–333.
Manis, F. R., Seidenberg, M. S., & Doi, L. M. (1999). See Dick RAN: Rapid naming and the longitudinal prediction of reading sub-skills in first and second graders. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 129–158.
McKay, M. F., & Thompson, G. B. (2009). Reading vocabulary influences in phonological recoding during the development of reading skill: A re-examination of theory and practice. Reading and Writing, 22, 167–184.
Moats, L. C. (2000). Speech to print: Language essentials for teachers. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Company.
National Reading Panel. (2000). A report of the national reading panel: Teaching children to read. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Perfetti, C. A. (1985). Reading ability. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Perfetti, C. A., Beck, I., Bell, L. C., & Hughes, C. (1987). Phonemic knowledge and learning to read are reciprocal: A longitudinal study of first grade children. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 33, 283–319.
Perfetti, C. A., & Hogaboam, T. (1975). Relationship between single word decoding and reading comprehension skill. Journal of Educational Psychology, 67, 461–469.
Rayner, K., Foorman, B. R., Perfetti, C. A., Pesetsky, D., & Seidenberg, M. S. (2001). How psychological science informs the teaching of reading. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2, 31–74.
Samuels, S. J., & Farstrup, A. E. (2006). What research has to say about fluency instruction. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Savage, R., & Frederickson, N. (2005). Evidence of a highly specific relationship between rapid automatic naming of digits and text-reading speed. Brain and Language, 93, 152–159.
Schatschneider, C., Buck, J., Torgesen, J., Wagner, R., Hassler, L., Hecht, S., et al. (2004a). A multivariate study of individual differences in performance on the reading portion of the Florida comprehensive assessment test: A brief report. Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University, Florida Center for Reading Research.
Schatschneider, C., Fletcher, J. M., Francis, D. J., Carlson, C. D., & Foorman, B. R. (2004b). Kindergarten prediction of reading skills: A longitudinal comparative analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 265–282.
Schwanenflugel, P. J., Hamilton, A. M., Kuhn, M. R., Wisenbaker, J. M., & Stahl, S. A. (2004). Becoming a fluent reader: Reading skill and prosodic features in the oral reading of young readers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 119–129.
Schwanenflugel, P. J., Meisinger, E. B., Wisenbaker, J. M., Kuhn, M., Strauss, G. P., & Morris, R. D. (2006). Becoming a fluent and automatic reader in the early elementary school years. Reading Research Quarterly, 41, 496–522.
Share, D. L. (1995). Phonological recoding and self-teaching: Sine qua non of reading acquisition. Cognition, 55, 151–218.
Share, D. L. (1999). Phonological recoding and orthographic learning: A direct test of the self-learning hypothesis. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 72, 95–129.
Share, D. L., & Stanovich, K. E. (1995). Cognitive processes in early reading development: Accommodating individual differences into a model of acquisition. Issues in Education: Contributions from Educational Psychology, 1, 1–57.
Speece, D. L., Mills, C., Ritchey, K. D., & Hillman, E. (2003). Initial evidence that letter fluency tasks are valid indicators of early reading skill. The Journal of Special Education, 36(4), 223–233.
Speece, D. L., & Ritchey, K. D. (2005). A longitudinal study of the development of oral reading fluency in young children at risk for reading failure. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38, 387–399.
Stage, S. A., Sheppard, J., Davidson, M. M., & Browning, M. M. (2001). Prediction of first-graders’ growth in oral reading fluency using kindergarten letter fluency. Journal of School Psychology, 39(3), 225–237.
Thompson, B. (2000). Ten commandments of structural equation modeling. In L. Grimm & P. Yarnold (Eds.), Reading and understanding more multivariate statistics (pp. 261–284). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Thompson, B., & Vacha-Haase, T. (2000). Psychometrics is datametrics: The test is not reliable. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 60, 174–195.
Torgesen, J. K., Rashotte, C. A., & Alexander, A. (2001). Principles of fluency instruction in reading: Relationships with established empirical outcomes. In M. Wolf (Ed.), Dyslexia, fluency, and the brain. Parkton, MD: York Press.
Torgesen, J. K., Wagner, R. K., & Rashotte, C. (1999). Test of word reading efficiency. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed Publishing.
Treiman, R., Goswami, U., & Bruck, M. (1990). Not all nonwords are alike: Implications for reading development and theory. Memory & Cognition, 18, 559–567.
Wagner, R. K., & Torgesen, J. K. (1987). The nature of phonological processing and its causal role in the acquisition of reading skills. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 192–212.
Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., Laughon, P., Simmons, K., & Rashotte, C. (1993). Development of young readers’ phonological processing abilities. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 83–103.
Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1994). Development of reading-related phonological processing abilities: New evidence of bidirectional causality from a latent variable longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 30, 73–87.
Wagner, R., Torgesen, J., & Rashotte, C. (1999). Comprehensive test of phonological processing (CTOPP). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Walczyk, J. J., Wei, M., Zha, P., Griffith-Ross, D. A., Goubert, S. E., & Cooper, A. L. (2007). Development of the interplay between automatic processes and cognitive resources in reading. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 867–887.
Weiderholt, J. L., & Bryant, B. R. (2001). Gray oral reading test (4th ed.). Austin, TX: PRO-ED Publishing Co.
Wolf, M. (1997). A provisional, integrative account of phonological and naming-speed deficits in dyslexia: Implications for diagnosis and intervention. In B. Blachman (Ed.), Foundations of reading acquisition and dyslexia: Implications for early intervention (pp. 67–92). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Wolf, M., & Bowers, P. G. (1999). The double-deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexias. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 415–438.
Wolf, M., Bowers, P. G., & Biddle, K. (2000). Naming-speed processes, timing, and reading: A conceptual review. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33, 387–407.
Acknowledgments
The work presented in this article was supported by Grant H324N040039 from the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. This article does not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of this funding agency and no official endorsement should be inferred. We are grateful for the generous assistance of Richard K. Wagner and Robert Abbott in this project and the invaluable comments of Joseph Jenkins and anonymous reviewers on an earlier draft. We also appreciate Laura Snyder, Jennifer Wolvin, Jennifer Tow, Anna Ylakotola, Christan Grygas, Yi Pan, Patricia Shubrick, and Brian Mincey for their work collecting the data in this study. We especially thank the children, parents, teachers, and principals in the Leon County School District and Florida State University School who made this research possible.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hudson, R.F., Torgesen, J.K., Lane, H.B. et al. Relations among reading skills and sub-skills and text-level reading proficiency in developing readers. Read Writ 25, 483–507 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-010-9283-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-010-9283-6