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Cross-lag analysis of longitudinal associations between primary school students’ writing and reading skills

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Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between reading (i.e., rapidity and accuracy) and writing competences (i.e., fluency, accuracy, and composition skills) of Italian children in the first and second grade. The performance of seventy-five children was longitudinally assessed over a 2-year period. Results demonstrated that reading and spelling were stable across the first two grades of primary school. Cross-lagged analyses suggested that spelling plays a pivotal role in the acquisition of formal literacy, especially within a transparent writing system like that of our Italian participants. Early progress in spelling becomes a resource for later reading acquisition. However, spelling did not correlate with the composition component of writing, suggesting the independence of these two processes. Results have implications for early childhood educators on the design and delivery of writing and reading instruction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education and Psychology, University of Florence (IT), via di San Salvi, 12, 50014, Florence, Italy

    Giuliana Pinto, Lucia Bigozzi, Christian Tarchi, Beatrice Accorti Gamannossi & Laura Canneti

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  1. Giuliana Pinto
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  2. Lucia Bigozzi
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  3. Christian Tarchi
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  4. Beatrice Accorti Gamannossi
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  5. Laura Canneti
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Correspondence to Christian Tarchi.

Appendix

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Table 3 Examples of story produced by children for each level of structure (writing composition measure)
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Pinto, G., Bigozzi, L., Tarchi, C. et al. Cross-lag analysis of longitudinal associations between primary school students’ writing and reading skills. Read Writ 28, 1233–1255 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-015-9569-9

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