Prediction of Basic Reading Skills Among Young Children With Diverse Linguistic Backgrounds

This study was conducted to assess the relative predictive validity of phonological processing, listening comprehen-sion, general cognitive ability, and visual-motor coordina-tion against early reading skills within a sample of chil-dren from diverse linguistic backgrounds. Children (N = 65) were tested in Kindergarten with measures from each of the aforementioned areas, and in Grade 1 with measures of letter and word recognition. Among all pre-dictor variables, phonological processing was the only significant predictor of Grade 1 reading. Language(s) spoken in the home added to the prediction of letter rec-ognition. Results suggest that phonological processing may contribute to the acquisition of basic reading skills for children with varied language experiences in the sam