Do Assessments of Preschoolers Comprehension Processes Predict Future Reading

描述（由申请人提供）：在美国，文盲仍然是一个重要且具有挑战性的问题。迄今为止，许多研究表明，低效的单词识别解码技能是导致阅读能力低下和文盲的原因之一。然而，即使孩子们确实具有有效的单词识别解码技能，他们在阅读评估中仍然会得分很低，因为用于理解文本的过程薄弱或效率低下。但是理解过程在多大程度上预测了学龄前儿童未来的阅读能力，哪些过程是最重要的？可悲的是，这些问题仍然没有答案，因为目前我们没有评估学龄前儿童的理解过程，以预测他们未来的阅读能力。这种知识的缺乏是有问题的，因为如果我们知道理解过程的测量可以预测学龄前儿童未来的阅读理解能力，那么我们就可以在这些问题真正开始之前发现阅读中的潜在问题。事实上，这种检测与早期检测正字法和音位解码问题的实践既相似又互补。此外，这些知识将使我们能够减少文盲，因为这些知识被用于创建干预程序，以促进学龄前和初级读者的理解过程的发展（识别->干预）。因此，本研究的目标是通过对学龄前儿童实施阅读理解过程的测试，然后通过学龄前儿童在这些测试中的表现来预测他们未来的阅读理解能力，从而获得这些关键知识。本研究还将理解过程的预测能力与其他已知的预测阅读理解能力的认知过程/资源（即较低水平的单词解码识别过程、语言理解能力和词汇知识）进行了比较。为了完成这个理论和实践动机的研究，本项目使用纵向设计，两个时间点相隔两年。在时间点一，学龄前儿童将完成(i)理解过程、（ii）单词解码过程、（iii）语言理解能力和（iv）词汇知识的适龄测量。在时间点2，同样的孩子将完成与年龄相适应的(i)阅读理解和（ii）语言理解能力测试。本研究的结果将为在儿童开始阅读之前识别阅读理解中的潜在问题提供坚实的知识基础。目前的研究还将消除一些低水平的自尊、自我概念和学习动机，这些往往困扰着一年级结束时阅读能力差的学生。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Illiteracy continues to be an important and challenging problem in the U.S. To date, numerous studies suggest that inefficient word identification-decoding skills are a source of poor reading and illiteracy. However, even if children do have efficient word identification-decoding skills children can still score poorly on assessments of reading because of weak or inefficient processes that are used for comprehending text. But how well do comprehension processes predict the future reading ability of preschoolers and which processes are most important? Sadly, these questions remain unanswered because currently we do not assess the comprehension processes of preschoolers in order to predict their future reading abilities. This lack of knowledge is problematic because i we knew that measures of comprehension processes predicted preschoolers' future reading comprehension abilities than we could detect potential problems in reading before these problems actually begin. Indeed, such detections would be both analogous to and complementary of the practice of early detections of problems with orthographic and phonemic decoding. Moreover, such knowledge would allow us to reduce illiteracy because such knowledge is used to create intervention programs that foster the development of comprehension processes in pre- and beginning readers (identification -> intervention). Therefore, the goal of the present proposal is to acquire this critical knowledge by first administering measures of comprehension processes to preschoolers and then by using the preschoolers' performances on these measures to predict their future reading comprehension ability. The present proposal also compares the predictive power of comprehension processes to other cognitive processes/resources that are known to predict reading comprehension ability (i.e., lower-level word decoding-identification processes, language comprehension ability, and vocabulary knowledge). To complete this theoretically- and practically-motivated research, the present project uses a longitudinal design with two time points that are two years apart. At time point one, preschoolers will complete age-appropriate measures of (i) comprehension processes, (ii) word decoding processes, (iii) language comprehension ability, and (iv) vocabulary knowledge. At time point 2, the same children will complete age-appropriate measures of (i) reading comprehension and (ii) language comprehension ability. The results of the present study will provide a strong foundation of knowledge for identifying potential problems in reading comprehension before a child begins to read. The present study will also eliminate some of the low-levels of self-esteem, self-concept and motivation to learn that often plague poor readers by the end of the first grade.