Development of silent reading fluency and reading comprehension across grades 1 to 9: unidirectional or bidirectional effects between the two skills?

Abstract

Purpose This study examines the developmental interplay between silent reading fluency and reading comprehension from Grade 1 to Grade 9 (age 7 to 15) in a large Finnish sample (N = 2,518). Of particular interest was whether the associations are bidirectional or unidirectional. Methods Children’s silent reading fluency and reading comprehension skills were assessed using group-administered tests, at seven time points, in Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model with latent factors was used to identify between- and within-person associations between silent reading fluency and reading comprehension. The use of latent factors allowed for the controlling of measurement error. Results The model showed that silent reading fluency and reading comprehension correlated at the between-person level, indicating that those who were proficient in one reading skill were typically good at the other also. At the within-person level, however, only some developmental associations emerged: in the early reading acquisition phase (Grade 1–2), silent reading fluency predicted reading comprehension, and in adolescence, reading comprehension weakly predicted silent reading fluency (Grade 7–9). Conclusions The results thus suggest only weak developmental within-person associations between silent reading fluency and comprehension, although some unidirectional associations emerged with a change in the direction of the associations over time.

Dynamics of cognitive predictors during reading acquisition in a sample of children overrepresented for dyslexia risk

“…In later stages of development, reading comprehension is also very relevant as "learning to read" gradually shifts into "reading to learn" (Chall, 1983). Even though the assessment of higher‐level reading tasks such as reading comprehension was beyond the scope of the current study, dynamic prediction patterns are likely to differ depending on the reading task (Peng et al., 2019; Psyridou et al., 2021, 2022). Additionally, we looked at the effect of family risk for reading difficulties assessed indirectly using the parental Adult Reading History Questionnaire (ARHQ).…”