Abstract
We present a meta-analysis to test the validity of the Simple View of Reading Gough & Tunmer (Remedial and Special Education, 7:6–10, 1986) for beginner readers of English and other, more transparent, orthographies. Our meta-analytic approach established that the relative influence of decoding and linguistic comprehension on reading comprehension is different for readers of different types of orthography during the course of early reading development. Furthermore, we identified key differences in the relations among different measures of decoding and reading comprehension between readers of English and other more transparent orthographies. We discuss the implications for reading instruction and the diagnosis of reading difficulties, as well as our theoretical understanding of how component skills influence reading comprehension level.
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Notes
Some studies (see Table 1) used composite scores of measures of word and non-word decoding. These studies were grouped together with those using measures of word decoding.
In most of the studies on English and more transparent orthographies (see Table 1), performance on the fluency measures was coded as the number of stimuli read correctly in a fixed period of time; in these cases, the correlation between decoding fluency and reading comprehension was positive. In the study of Proctor et al. (2006), Roch and Levorato (2009), Seigneuric and Ehrlich (2005) and Seigneuric et al. (2000), which are included in the group of studies on transparent languages, the indicator of fluency was coded as a response time measure. In these two studies, therefore, the correlation between fluency and reading comprehension was negative. In order to carry out the meta-analysis, the sign of the correlation was reversed. This change was based on the rationale that even though these studies used different coding systems, the expected direction of the correlation for both types of measures is the same at a theoretical level. In other words, children who read a higher number of words correctly in a fixed period of time, are also expected to be those who will read the words faster. Based on a similar rationale, we reversed the negative sign of the correlation between decoding accuracy and reading comprehension in the study of Seigneuric et al. (2000).
We did not distinguish between measures of word and non-word decoding accuracy for transparent orthographies because the majority report measures of non-word, rather than single word decoding and, more importantly, for transparent orthographies the crucial distinction is between decoding accuracy and fluency (Wimmer, et al. 1998).
The procedure has been applied to: Kendeou, Savage et al. (2009) (for the measure of decoding fluency), Muter et al. (2004) (for the measure of word decoding accuracy), Spear-Swerling (2004) (for measures of non-word and word decoding accuracy, decoding fluency and linguistic comprehension), which were included in the group of English studies, and de Jong and van der Leij (2002) (for measures of decoding fluency and linguistic comprehension), Hagtvet 2003 (for measures of decoding fluency and linguistic comprehension) and Roch and Levorato 2009 (for measures of decoding fluency and accuracy), which were included in the group of studies on transparent orthographies.
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Acknowledgments
The review presented in this paper was conducted during a 4-month study visit to Lancaster University, supported by a grant awarded to the first author from the Experimental Psychology Society. We thank Dr. Maja Roch for her constructive comments on an earlier draft of this paper.
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Florit, E., Cain, K. The Simple View of Reading: Is It Valid for Different Types of Alphabetic Orthographies?. Educ Psychol Rev 23, 553–576 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-011-9175-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-011-9175-6