Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cognitive preconditions of early reading and spelling: a latent-variable approach with longitudinal data

  • Published:
Reading and Writing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to empirically disentangle the interdependencies of the impact of nonverbal intelligence, working memory capacities, and phonological processing skills on early reading decoding and spelling within a latent variable approach. In a sample of 127 children, these cognitive preconditions were assessed before the onset of formal education, whereas reading as well as spelling achievement was measured at the end of grade 1. The findings indicate that working memory does contribute to the prediction of early reading and spelling, and that this contribution outperforms that of general intelligence and phonological recoding from long-term memory during the early steps of reading and spelling acquisition. Moreover, the results show that phonological awareness mediates the effects of working memory capacities on early literacy outcomes. The role of working memory and phonological awareness as key cognitive preconditions of early reading and spelling are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alloway, T. P., & Alloway, R. G. (2010). Investigating the predictive roles of working memory and IQ in academic attainment. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 106, 20–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alloway, T. P., Gathercole, S. E., Adams, A.-M., Willis, C., Eaglen, R., & Lamont, E. (2005). Working memory and phonological awareness as predictors of progress towards early learning goals at school entry. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 23, 417–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alloway, T. P., Gathercole, S. E., Willis, C., & Adams, A.-M. (2004). A structural analysis of working memory and related cognitive skills in young children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 87, 85–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baddeley, A. D. (1996). Exploring the central executive. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49A(1), 5–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badian, N. A. (2000). Do preschool orthographic skills contribute to prediction of reading? In N. A. Badian (Ed.), Prediction and prevention of reading failure (pp. 31–56). Baltimore, MD: York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, J. (1979). Orthographic and word-specific mechanisms in children’s reading of words. Child Development, 50, 60–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beauducel, A., & Wittmann, W. W. (2005). Simulation study on fit indexes in CFA based on data with slightly distorted simple structure. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 12, 41–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, L., & Bryant, P. (1985). Rhyme and reason in reading and spelling. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brady, S. A., & Shankweiler, D. P. (1991). Phonological processes in literacy. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brunner, M. (2008). No g in education? Learning and Individual Differences, 18, 152–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, P. E., Bradley, L., MacLean, M., & Crossland, J. (1989). Nursery rhymes, phonological skills and reading. Journal of Child Language, 16, 407–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cattell, R. B., Weiß, R. H., & Osterland, J. (1997). Grundintelligenztest Skala 1—CFT 1 [Culture fair intelligence tests—Scale 1] (5th ed.). Göttingen: Hogrefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Catts, H. W., Gillispie, M., Leonard, L. B., Kail, R. V., & Miller, C. A. (2002). The role of speed of processing, rapid naming, and phonological awareness in reading achievement. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 509–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, F. F., West, S., & Sousa, K. (2006). A comparison of bifactor and second-order models of quality of life. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 41, 189–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cormier, P., & Dea, S. (1997). Distinctive patterns of relationship of phonological awareness and working memory with reading development. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 9, 193–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutting, L. E., & Denckla, M. B. (2001). The relationship of rapid serial naming and word reading in normally developing readers: An exploratory model. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 14, 673–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daneman, M., & Merikle, P. M. (1996). Working memory and language comprehension: A meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 3, 422–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daneman, M., & Tardif, T. (1987). Working memory and reading skill re-examined. In M. Coltheart (Ed.), Attention and performance 12: The psychology of reading (pp. 491–508). Hove, UK: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doctor, E. A., & Coltheart, M. (1980). Children’s use of phonological encoding when reading for meaning. Memory & Cognition, 8, 195–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehri, L. C., & Wilce, L. S. (1979). The mnemonic value of orthography among beginning readers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 26–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eid, M., Lischetzke, T., Nussbeck, F. W., & Trierweiler, L. I. (2003). Separating trait effects from trait-specific method effects in multitrait-multimethod models: A multiple-indicator CT-C(M-1) model. Psychological Methods, 8, 38–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischbach, A., Preßler, A.-L., & Hasselhorn, M. (2012). Die prognostische Validität der AGTB 5-12 für den Erwerb von Schriftsprache und Mathematik [The prognostic vadility of the AGTB 5-12 for the acquisition of literacy and mathematic]. In M. Hasselhorn & C. Zoelch (Eds.), Funktionsdiagnostik des Arbeitsgedächtnisses. Test und Trends, N.F. Bd. 10. Jahrbuch der pädagogisch-psychologischen Diagnostik (pp. 37–58). Göttingen: Hogrefe.

  • Furnes, B., & Samuelsson, S. (2011). Phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming predicting early development in reading and spelling: Results from a cross-linguistic longitudinal study. Learning and Individual Differences, 21, 85–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1993). Working memory and language. Hove, UK: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gathercole, S. E., Brown, L., & Pickering, S. J. (2003). Working memory assessments at school entry as longitudinal predictors of National Curriculum attainment levels. Educational and Child Psychology, 20, 109–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustafsson, J.-E., & Balke, G. (1993). General and specific abilities as predictors of school achievement. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 28, 407–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasselhorn, M., Schuchardt, K., & Mähler, C. (2010). Phonologisches Arbeitsgedächtnis bei Kindern mit diagnostizierter Lese- und/oder Rechtschreibstörung. [Phonological working memory in children with specific learning disorders in reading and/or spelling]. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie, 42, 211–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasselhorn, M., Schumann-Hengsteler, R., Gronauer, J., Grube, D., Mähler, C., Schmid, I., et al. (2012). Arbeitsgedächtnistestbatterie für Kinder von 5 bis 12 Jahren—AGTB 5-12. [Working memory test battery for children from 5 to 12 years]. Göttingen: Hogrefe.

  • Hecht, S. A., Torgesen, J. K., Wagner, R. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (2001). The relations between phonological processing abilities and emerging individual differences in mathematical computation skills: A longitudinal study from second to fifth grades. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 79, 192–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horn, W. F., & Packard, T. (1985). Early identification of learning problems: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 597–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1998). Fit indices in covariance structure modeling: Sensitivity to underparameterized model misspecification. Psychological Methods, 3, 424–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jansky, J., & de Hirsch, K. (1972). Preventing reading failure: Prediction, diagnosis, intervention. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kane, M. J., Hambrick, D. Z., Tuholski, S. W., Wilhelm, O., Payne, T. W., & Engle, R. W. (2004). The generality of working memory capacity: A latent-variable approach to verbal and visuospatial memory span and reasoning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133, 189–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kibby, M. Y., Marks, W., Morgan, S., & Long, C. J. (2004). Specific impairment in developmental reading disabilities: A working memory approach. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 37, 349–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, J. R., Parrila, R. K., & Pfeiffer, S. L. (2003). Naming speed and phonological awareness as predictors of reading development. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 453–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krajewski, K., & Schneider, W. (2009). Exploring the impact of phonological awareness, visual-spatial working memory, and preschool quantity-number competencies on mathematics achievement in elementary school: Findings from a 3-year longitudinal study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 103, 516–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krajewski, K., Schneider, W., & Nieding, G. (2008). Zur Bedeutung von Arbeitsgedächtnis, Intelligenz, phonologischer Bewusstheit und früher Mengen-Zahlen-Kompetenz beim Übergang vom Kindergarten in die Grundschule 1. [On the importance of working memory, intelligence, phonological awareness, and early quantity-number-competencies for the successful transition from kindergarten to elementary school]. Psychologie in Erziehung und Unterricht, 55, 100–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liberman, I. Y., Shankweiler, D. P., & Liberman, A. M. (1989). The alphabetic principle and learning to read. In D. P. Shankweiler & I. Y. Liberman (Eds.), Phonology and reading disability: Solving the reading puzzle. Research Monograph Series. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

  • Lonigan, C. J., Anthony, J. L., Phillips, B. M., Purpura, D. J., Wilson, S. B., & McQueen, J. D. (2009). The nature of preschool phonological processing abilities and their relations to vocabulary, general cognitive abilities, and print knowledge. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 345–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analysis (pp. 47–77). New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  • Manis, F. R., Seidenberg, M. S., & Doi, L. M. (1999). See Dick RAN: Rapid naming and the longitudinal prediction of reading subskills in first and second graders. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 129–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, V. A. (1984). Longitudinal prediction and prevention of early reading difficulty. Annals of Dyslexia, 34, 117–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, V. A., & Liberman, I. Y. (1984). Phonological awareness and verbal short-term memory. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 17, 592–599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell, S., & Cole, D. (2007). Bias in cross-sectional analyses of longitudinal mediation. Psychological Methods, 12, 23–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naglieri, J. A. (2001). Do ability and reading achievement correlate? Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34, 304–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naglieri, J. A., & Ronning, M. E. (2000). The relationship between general ability using the Naglieri nonverbal ability test (NNAT) and Stanford achievement test (SAT) reading achievement. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 18, 230–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Näslund, J. C., & Schneider, W. (1991). Longitudinal effects of verbal ability, memory capacity, and phonological awareness on reading performance. European Journal of Psychology of Education, VI(4), 375–392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Näslund, J. C., & Schneider, W. (1996). Kindergarten letter knowledge, phonological skills, and memory processes: Relative effects on early literacy. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 62, 30–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, S. (2000). Working memory: A developmental study of phonological recoding. Memory, 8, 179–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickering, S. J. (2006). Working memory in dyslexia. In T. P. Alloway & S. E. Gathercole (Eds.), Working memory and neurodevelopmental disorders (pp. 7–40). Hove, UK: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Satz, P., Taylor, H. G., Friel, J., & Fletcher, J. M. (1978). Some developmental and predictive precursors of reading disabilities: A six-year follow-up. In A. L. Benton & D. Pearl (Eds.), Dyslexia: An appraisal of current knowledge (pp. 457–501). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schatschneider, C., Fletcher, J. M., Francis, D. J., Carlson, C. D., & Foorman, B. R. (2004). Kindergarten prediction of reading skills: A longitudinal comparative analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 265–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmiedek, F., & Li, S.-C. (2004). Toward an alternative representation for disentangling age-associated differences in general and specific cognitive abilities. Psychology and Aging, 19, 40–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, W., Blanke, I., Faust, V., & Küspert, P. (2011). Würzburger Leise Leseprobe—Revision. [Wurzburg silent reading test-revised]. Göttingen: Hogrefe.

  • Schneider, W., Küspert, P., Roth, E., Visé, M., & Marx, H. (1997). Short- and long-term effects of training phonological awareness in kindergarten: Evidence from two German studies. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 66, 311–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, W., & Näslund, J. C. (1992). Cognitive prerequisites of reading and spelling: A longitudinal approach. In A. Demetriou, M. Shayer, & A. Efklides (Eds.), Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development (pp. 256–274). London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, W., & Näslund, J. C. (1993). The impact of early metalinguistic competencies and memory capacity on reading and spelling in elementary school: Results of the Munich longitudinal study on the genesis of individual competencies (LOGIC). European Journal of Psychology of Education, 8, 273–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, W., Roth, E., & Ennemoser, M. (2000). Training phonological skills and letter knowledge in children at risk for dyslexia: A comparison of three kindergarten intervention programs. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 284–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, W., Roth, E., & Küspert, P. (1999). Frühe Prävention von Lese-Rechtschreibproblemen: Das Würzburger Trainingsprogramm zur Förderung sprachlicher Bewusstheit bei Kindergartenkindern. [Early prevention of reading and spelling problems: The Wurzburg training program to improve phonological awareness in kindergarten children]. Kindheit und Entwicklung, 8, 147–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuchardt, K., Kunze, J., Grube, D., & Hasselhorn, M. (2006). Arbeitsgedächtnisdefizite bei Kindern mit schwachen Rechen- und Schriftsprachleistungen. [Working memory deficits in children with low calculating and spelling performance]. Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 20, 261–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuchardt, K., Mähler, C., & Hasselhorn, M. (2008). Working memory deficits in children with specific learning disorders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41, 514–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, L. S., & Ryan, E. B. (1989). The development of working memory in normally achieving and subtypes of learning disabled children. Child Development, 60, 973–980.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanovich, K. E., Cunningham, A. E., & Feeman, D. J. (1984). Intelligence, cognitive skills, and early reading progress. Reading Research Quarterly, 19, 278–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stock, C., & Schneider, W. (2008). Deutscher Rechtschreibtest für das erste und zweite Schuljahr (DERET 1-2). [German spelling test for grades 1 and 2]. Göttingen: Hogrefe.

  • Swanson, H. L. (1999). What develops in working memory? A life span perspective. Developmental Psychology, 35, 986–1000.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swanson, H. L., & Alexander, J. E. (1997). Cognitive processes as predictors of word recognition and reading comprehension in learning-disabled and skilled readers: Revisiting the specificity hypothesis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 128–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swanson, H. L., Zheng, X., & Jerman, O. (2009). Working memory, short-term memory, and reading disabilities: A selective meta-analysis of the literature. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42, 260–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vellutino, F. R., Fletcher, J. M., Snowling, M. J., & Scanlon, D. M. (2004). Specific reading disability (dyslexia): What have we learned in the past four decades? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 2–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, R. K., & Torgesen, J. K. (1987). The nature of phonological processing and its causal role in the acquisition of reading skills. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 192–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., Rashotte, C. A., Hecht, S. A., Barker, T. A., Burgess, S. R., et al. (1997). Changing relations between phonological processing abilities and word-level reading as children develop from beginning to skilled readers: A 5-year longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 33, 468–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yung, Y.-F., Thissen, D., & McLeod, L. D. (1999). On the relationship between the higher-order factor model and the hierarchical factor model. Psychometrika, 64, 113–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Hessian initiative for the development of scientific and economic excellence (LOEWE).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. German Institute for International Educational Research (DIPF), Schloßstraße 29, 60486, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Anna-Lena Preßler, Tanja Könen, Marcus Hasselhorn & Kristin Krajewski

  2. Center for Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk (IDeA), Schloßstraße 29, 60486, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Anna-Lena Preßler, Tanja Könen & Marcus Hasselhorn

  3. Department of Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Goethestraße 58, 35390, Gießen, Germany

    Kristin Krajewski

Authors
  1. Anna-Lena Preßler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tanja Könen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marcus Hasselhorn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kristin Krajewski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna-Lena Preßler.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Preßler, AL., Könen, T., Hasselhorn, M. et al. Cognitive preconditions of early reading and spelling: a latent-variable approach with longitudinal data. Read Writ 27, 383–406 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-013-9449-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-013-9449-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation