THE ROLE OF ORTHOGRAPHIC PROCESSING SKILLS ON 5 DIFFERENT READING TASKS

THE UNIQUE contribution of orthographic processing skills to individual differences on five types of reading measures was examined using a sample of 87 third-grade children. The reading measures included nonword reading, untimed isolated word identification, timed word identification, oral reading rate for text, and silent reading rate for text. The role of orthographic skills in each of these measures was examined in a series of hierarchical regression analyses in which measures of orthographic skills were entered after age, IQ, and phonological ability measures. Orthographic skills contributed significantly to each type of reading, but their role in reading of text was stronger than for isolated words. A second series of analyses showed that, while differences in print exposure can explain part of the meaningful variation in orthographic skills, significant variation still remains after print exposure is partialed out of the regressions.