The Development of Orthographic Processing Ability

Evaluation of the Computer-Based Orthographic Processing Assessment: An Application of Cognitive Diagnostic Modeling

The Computer-based Orthographic Processing Assessment (COPA) is a newly developed assessment to measure orthographic processing skills, including rapid perception, access, differentiation, correction, and arrangement. In this study, cognitive diagnostic models were used to test if the dimensionality of the COPA conforms to theoretical expectation, evaluate individual items’ quality, and examine the validity and the learning sequence of each skill. Results showed that the COPA captures five distinctive operating attributes, but some items could be revised to increase their item quality. Correlations with external variables confirmed that performances on the COPA are more strongly related to literacy outcomes than to oral language outcomes but that the COPA also demonstrates discriminant validity relative to even proximal measures of word reading and spelling. The mastery probabilities and best-fitting hierarchical model indicate that four of the five attributes follow a learning progression that is consistent with information processing theory and that was assumed by developers of the COPA.

Reading in Arabic: How Well Does the Standard Model Apply?

Purpose We investigated the cognitive and linguistic processes that underlie reading in Arabic in relation to a well-defined theoretical framework of reading and the factors that underlie reading. Method The sample was 201 (101 boys, 100 girls) 3rd-grade Arabic-speaking children. Children were administered measures of Vocabulary, Phonological Awareness (PA), Naming Speed, Orthographic Processing, Morphological Awareness (MA), Memory, Nonverbal Ability, and 5 reading outcomes. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted for each of the 5 reading outcomes to investigate the predictors of children's reading. Results Each of the constructs explained unique variance when added to the model. In the final models, PA was the strongest predictor of all outcomes, followed by MA. In a follow-up analysis, participants were divided into good and poor decoders, based on their Pseudoword Reading scores. Good decoders outscored poor decoders on every measure. Within-group regression analyses indicated that poor decoders relied on more component processes than good decoders, suggesting a lack of automaticity. Variance in reading outcomes was better predicted for poor decoders than for good decoders. Conclusion These results indicate that standard predictors apply well to Arabic, showing the particular importance of PA and MA. Longitudinal and instructional studies are required to determine developmental patterns and ways to improve reading performance.

Longitudinal stability of pre-reading skill profiles of kindergarten children: implications for early screening and theories of reading

Research suggests that early identification of developmental dyslexia is important for mitigating the negative effects of dyslexia, including reduced educational attainment and increased socioemotional difficulties. The strongest pre-literacy predictors of dyslexia are rapid automatized naming (RAN), phonological awareness (PA), letter knowledge, and verbal short-term memory. The relationship among these constructs has been debated, and several theories have emerged to explain the unique role of each in reading ability/disability. Furthermore, the stability of identification of risk based on these measures varies widely across studies, due in part to the different cut-offs employed to designate risk. We applied a latent profile analysis technique with a diverse sample of 1215 kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students from 20 schools, to investigate whether PA, RAN, letter knowledge, and verbal short-term memory measures differentiated between homogenous profiles of performance on these measures. Six profiles of performance emerged from the data: average performers, below average performers, high performers, PA risk, RAN risk, and double-deficit risk (both PA and RAN). A latent class regression model was employed to investigate the longitudinal stability of these groups in a representative subset of children (n = 95) nearly two years later, at the end of 1st grade. Profile membership in the spring semester of pre-kindergarten or fall semester of kindergarten was significantly predictive of later reading performance, with the specific patterns of performance on the different constructs remaining stable across the years. There was a higher frequency of PA and RAN deficits in children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. There was no evidence for the IQ-achievement discrepancy criterion traditionally used to diagnose dyslexia. Our results support the feasibility of early identification of dyslexia risk and point to the heterogeneity of risk profiles. These findings carry important implications for improving outcomes for children with dyslexia, based on more targeted interventions.

Do Cognitive Patterns of Strengths and Weaknesses Differentially Predict Errors on Reading, Writing, and Spelling?

This study investigated the relationship between specific cognitive patterns of strengths and weaknesses (PSWs) and the errors children make in reading, writing, and spelling tests from the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition (KTEA-3). Participants were selected from the KTEA-3 standardization sample based on five cognitive profiles: High Crystallized Ability paired with Low Processing Speed and Long-Term Retrieval (High Gc), Low Crystallized Ability paired with High Processing Speed and Long-Term Retrieval (High Gs/ Glr), Low Orthographic Processing (Low OP), Low Phonological Processing (Low PP), and Low Phonological Processing paired with Low Orthographic Processing (Low PP_OP). Error factor scores for all five groups were compared on Reading Comprehension and Written Expression; the first four groups were compared on Letter & Word Recognition, Nonsense Word Decoding, and Spelling, and the first three groups were compared on Phonological Processing. Significant differences were noted among the patterns of errors demonstrated by the five groups. Findings support the notion that students with diverse cognitive PSWs display different patterns of errors on tests of academic achievement.

Phonemic awareness is a more important predictor of orthographic processing than rapid serial naming: Evidence from Russian

We studied the relationship between rapid serial naming (RSN) and orthographic processing in Russian, an asymmetrically transparent orthography. Ninety-six students (mean age = 13.73) completed tests of word and pseudoword reading fluency, spelling, orthographic choice, phonological choice, PA and RSN. PA was a better predictor of orthographic skills and pseudoword reading accuracy than RSN, which accounted for more variance in word and pseudoword reading fluency. Controlling for pseudoword reading fluency washed out RSN's contribution to word reading fluency. These results extend previous findings questioning the role of RSN as an index of orthographic processing skills and support the idea that RSN taps into automaticity/efficiency of processing print-sound mappings.

Asynchrony of cerebral systems activated during word recognition: comparison of dyslexic and typical readers

The aim of this study was to extend our understanding of the "asynchrony" phenomenon by examining the existence of several additional differences in brain activity. The differences which were investigated were the difference between the left and right hemisphere processing, the anterior and posterior areas processing and the differences between the different stages of information processing. These differences could account as an additional explanation for word decoding failure among individuals with dyslexia. The research utilized behavioral and electrophysiological (ERP - Event Related Potentials) measures in skilled and dyslexic university students. The subjects performed a lexical decision task presented in the visual and auditory modalities. The dyslexics exhibited a larger processing time interval between the activation of the P2 and P3 components, between the left and right hemisphere and between posterior and anterior regions of the cortex. Disharmony of the dyslexic brain is suggested as a possible explanation for the dyslexia phenomenon.

Bringing development into a universal model of reading

Reading development is integral to a universal model of reading. Developmental research can tell us which factors drive reading acquisition and which are the product of reading. Like adult research, developmental research needs to be contextualised within the language and writing system and it needs to include key cross-linguistic evaluations. This will create a universal model of reading development.

Reorganizing the instructional reading components: could there be a better way to design remedial reading programs to maximize middle school students with reading disabilities' response to treatment?

The primary purpose of this study was to explore if there could be a more beneficial method in organizing the individual instructional reading components (phonological decoding, spelling, fluency, and reading comprehension) within a remedial reading program to increase sensitivity to instruction for middle school students with reading disabilities (RD). Three different modules (Alternating, Integrated, and Additive) of the Reading Achievement Multi-Modular Program were implemented with 90 middle school (sixth to eighth grades) students with reading disabilities. Instruction occurred 45 min a day, 5 days a week, for 26 weeks, for approximately 97 h of remedial reading instruction. To assess gains, reading subtests of the Woodcock Johnson-III, the Gray Silent Reading Test, and Oral Reading Fluency passages were administered. Results showed that students in the Additive module outperformed students in the Alternating and Integrated modules on phonological decoding and spelling and students in the Integrated module on comprehension skills. Findings for the two oral reading fluency measures demonstrated a differential pattern of results across modules. Results are discussed in regards to the effect of the organization of each module on the responsiveness of middle school students with RD to instruction.

Does a visual-orthographic deficit contribute to reading disability?

In this study, visual-orthographic skills were defined as the ability to recognize whether letters and numerals are correctly oriented. Aims were to investigate whether visual-orthographic skills would contribute independent variance to reading, and whether children with a visual-orthographic deficit would be more impaired readers than similar children without this deficit. Participants were 207 children, aged 8 to 10 years, who attended school in a small suburban community. Because of the evidence that phonological awareness and naming speed are strongly related to reading, visual-orthographic skills were entered into hierarchical regression analyses following these variables. With age, verbal IQ, and verbal short-term memory also controlled, visual-orthographic skills accounted for significant independent variance in all reading measures. When children with a visual- orthographic deficit (29% of the sample) were compared with those without this deficit, they were significantly lower on all reading variables. At 8 to 10 years of age, reading progress of some children continues to be hampered by a problem in orthographic memory for the orientation of letters and numerals. Such children will require special attention, but their problems may be overlooked. As recommended by Willows and Terepocki (1993), there is need for further research on the phenomenon of letter reversals when they occur among children beyond first grade.

Phonological recoding and self-teaching: sine qua non of reading acquisition

The self-teaching hypothesis proposes that phonological recoding functions as a self-teaching mechanism enabling the learner to independently acquire an autonomous orthographic lexicon. Successful decoding encounters with novel letter strings provide opportunities to learn word-specific print-to-meaning connections. Although it may not play a central role in skilled word recognition, phonological recoding, by virtue of its self-teaching function, is regarded as critical to successful reading acquisition. This paper elaborates the self-teaching hypothesis proposed by Jorm and Share (1983), and reviews relevant evidence. Key features of phonological recoding include an item-based rather than stage-based role in development, the progressive "lexicalization" of the process of recoding, and the importance of phonological awareness and contextual information in resolving decoding ambiguity. Although phonological skills have been shown to be primary in reading acquisition, orthographic processing appears to be an important but secondary source of individual differences. This implies an asymmetrical pattern of dissociations in both developmental and acquired reading disorders. Strong relationships between word recognition, basic phonological processing abilities and phonemic awareness are also consistent with the self-teaching notion. Finally, it is noted that current models of word recognition (both PDP and dual-route) fail to address the quintessential problem of reading acquisition-independent generation of target pronunciations for novel orthographic strings.