A longitudinal study examined the contributions of early language ability, home characteristics, and emerging knowledge about literacy to children's later decoding and comprehension ability. The study followed 127 children from the beginning of kindergarten to the end of grade 3 (when 83 were left). Subjects attended schools in a small, rural, midwestern town or a low-income area of a small
... [Show full abstract] midwestern city. In one of two sets of regression analyses, baseline measures collected at the beginning of kindergarten were used as predictors of reading ability at the next five time periods: end of kindergarten, beginning of first grade, and at the ends of first, second, and third grade. In the second set of analyses, the same baseline measures and measures of reading ability at the end of each time period, predicted reading ability for each subsequent time period. Results indicated that: (1) individual differences in decoding ability have little effect on children's reading comprehension, and vice versa; (2) early language understanding predicts reading comprehension; (3) emerging knowledge about reading predicts subsequent decoding ability; (4) children's early interest in and involvement in literacy predicts gains in reading; and (5) home problems had a negative prediction on reading. Findings suggest support for integrating cognitive processing models, developmental models, and social constructivist models. (Thirteen tables and three figures of data are included; 50 references, a parent questionnaire, and a summary of information from the parent questionnaire are attached.) (Author/RS)
