Initial Evidence That Letter Fluency Tasks Are Valid Indicators of Early Reading Skill

This longitudinal investigation evaluated the validity of letter-name fluency (LNF) and nonsense word fluency (NWF) measures as indicators of early reading skill with a sample of 39 kindergarten children. In the spring of kindergarten and first grade, these children responded to a battery of languag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of special education 2003, Vol.36 (4), p.223-233
Main Authors: Speece, Deborah L., Mills, Christina, Ritchey, Kristen D., Hillman, Elgen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alphabet letters
Early Identification
Early Reading
Fluency
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 4
Grade 5
Kindergarten
Kindergartens
Language development
Letters (Alphabet)
Multiple Regression Analysis
Naming
Nonsense Words
Nonwords
Phonological Awareness
Predictive Validity
Primary Education
Reading
Reading Achievement
Reading Difficulties
Reading Failure
Reading Fluency
Reading Readiness
Reading Skills
Students
USA
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Summary:This longitudinal investigation evaluated the validity of letter-name fluency (LNF) and nonsense word fluency (NWF) measures as indicators of early reading skill with a sample of 39 kindergarten children. In the spring of kindergarten and first grade, these children responded to a battery of language, reading-related, and reading measures. Construct and social consequential validity were evaluated through concurrent and predictive criterion-related validity coefficients, multiple regression analyses, and classification analysis. Evidence supportive of validity was found for both fluency measures, with NWF receiving the strongest support. Both fluency measures were more sensitive to poor reader status in first grade than any other measure when reading was defined by oral reading fluency. These findings extend the usefulness of NWF to the early identification of kindergarten students.
ISSN:0022-4669
1538-4764
DOI:10.1177/002246690303600403