Predictive Validity of Kindergarten Phonemic Awareness Measures on Second Grade Reading Skills

• Main Author: Midden, Sarah
• Format: Others
• Published: TopSCHOLAR® 2003
• Subjects: Education; Psychology
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/555; http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1558&context=theses

In order to succeed and progress in the academic domain, a student must possess basic reading skills. One characteristic of poor readers is their lack of understanding of phonological structure and lack of awareness of phonemes. Phonemic awareness tasks are divided into two broad categories: synthetic or analytic. Both have been shown to be accurate indicators of later reading ability. Little research has been conducted on the predictive nature of some of the recently published measures of phonemic awareness. The purpose of the current study is to examine four published measures to determine which measures are the best predictors of later reading. In this study, 104 students' second grade reading achievement scores as assessed by the CAT-5 standardized achievement test were compared to their kindergarten phonemic awareness skills. Each of the four measures of phonemic awareness administered to students in the winter of their kindergarten year had a significant correlation with second grade reading achievement. No significant difference between correlations was found for the analytic and synthetic measures. This information is very important for schools when trying to identify a system of screening students who may be at risk for future reading difficulties.