RELATION OF PHONOLOGICAL AND ORTHOGRAPHIC PROCESSING TO EARLY READING- COMPARING 2 APPROACHES TO REGRESSION-BASED, READING-LEVEL-MATCH DESIGNS

K. E. Stanovich and L. Siegel (1994) introduced regression-based logic to the reading-level-match design by statistically matching children with reading disabilities, with and without discrepancies in IQ, to no rmal-reading children on the basis of grade-adjusted decoding scores. The authors replicated this approach but contrasted it with statistica l matches using w scores, which are Rasch-scaled decoding scores based on a common metric regardless of age or grade. No differences were fo und in cognitive skills between children whose reading performance was discrepant and not discrepant with IQ, regardless of whether age-adju sted decoding scores or w scores were used. Matching on w scores did n ot result in the phonological and orthographic tradeoffs seen when sta ndardized scores were used. The orthographic-decoding relationship was nonlinear, with little functional relation between the skills at low levels of decoding. These results question the conclusion that orthogr aphic skills are compensatory for reading-disabled children.