PREDICTING GROWTH IN READING-ABILITY FROM CHILDRENS EXPOSURE TO PRINT

Previous research on whether exposure to print could account for individual differences in growth in children's reading comprehension has produced conflicting results (Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988; Taylor, Frye, & Maruyama, 1990). We conducted a longitudinal study of growth in reading ability employing two new indicators of print exposure that use a checklist-with-foils logic and that have very brief administration times. We found that individual differences in third- to fifth-grade growth in reading were significantly related to these indicators of print exposure. It appears that the extent to which individuals engage in literacy activities is a significant contributor to developed reading ability. Further studies of the cognitive consequences of literacy could be facilitated by the use of the easily administered indicators of print exposure that we examined in this study. © 1992.