Newborn and preschool predictors of second-grade reading scores: An evaluation of categorical and continuous scores

This study examined how the development of foundation skills in speech perc eption, language, short-term memory, and family demographics and activities in the home environment influence, the development of reading skills. Data from 96 children participating in a longitudinal research project were use d. It was hypothesized that measures of specific foundation skills in the p reschool period and measures of family demographics and home environment co uld be used to identify children's reading abilities. As expected, most of the foundation skills were found to be related to and predictive of reading scores. Event-related potential (ERP) measures of speech perception, which have previously been found to be predictive of reading abilities, and meas ures of family and home activities and language measures were related to re ading scores. Verbal short-term memory scores contributed little to the pre diction of reading scores. These variables influenced the results whether t hey were used to discriminate reading groups or to predict a continuum of r eading scores, but there were large differences in the amount of variance a ccounted for. More variance was accounted for in the group analyses than in the continuum analyses.