title: Reading Rate Acceleration: Developmental Aspects.
abstract: The relationships between reading rate, decoding, and comprehension during consecutive stages of reading acquisition were examined in this longitudinal study. Participants were followed throughout their first 5 years of elementary school. Substantial gains in comprehension and decoding accuracy were obtained for all 5 grade levels during reading acceleration. This effect was particularly pronounced among poor readers. Reading acceleration may enhance reading performance by promoting a more effective use of cognitive resources. Further analyses revealed 2 stages in the development of the 3 reading subskills. In the first stage (Grades 1 to 3), performance in each subskill was directly related to improvements in that same subskill, whereas in the second stage (Grades 4 to 5), reading rate became a determining factor in reading performance. Second-grade reading rate was the best predictor of reading performance in Grades 4 and 5. This finding indicates that reading rate may play a critical role in the successful acquisition of reading skills. Reading rate could be a useful diagnostic aid, and accelerating reading rate might serve as a remedial tool.
authors.affiliation: a School of Education , University of Haifa , Israel.
authors.forename: Zvia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Breznitz
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis