Psycholinguistic precursors of reading and adjustment of the simple view of reading throughout primary education in a context of low reading achievement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4151/S0718-0934202501170954Keywords:
reading comprehension, simple view of reading, reading precursors, low achievement, PanamaAbstract
The simple view theory of reading postulates that reading comprehension is the result of the conjunction of oral language comprehension and decoding skill, which in turn depends on cognitive precursors such as phonological awareness and naming speed. Various international assessments show low reading levels in Panamanian students prior to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This study was conducted after a year of suspension of in-person education in the country. Its purpose was to virtually assess the state of reading development of a representative sample of 339 students in 2nd, 4th, and 6th grade from the metropolitan region of Panama, to study the contribution of certain psycholinguistic abilities to reading, and to verify the fit of the simple view theory of reading in a context of low reading achievement. The overall results showed that 20.4% of 2nd-grade students are non-readers. The contribution of naming speed to reading increased throughout primary school, and phonological awareness proved to be more persistent than expected. There was a good fit of the simple view theory of reading to the study context, although with distinctive features of a persistent contribution of the decoding factor to reading comprehension and a greater contribution of accuracy than fluency to the decoding factor. This study helps advance the exploration of the mechanisms that underline reading comprehension.
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