Stability or Change in Reading Achievement over Times Developmental and Educational Implications

Abstract

Just as IQ is thought to be a relatively stable attribute, skill acquisition is considered an orderly, continuous growth process. Teachers must set goals based on such an assumption. Researchers often define their LD samples assuming that a reading achievement score reflects the skill growth rate. Federal LD standards have formalized both assumptions by defining LD as the difference between these two indices. Belmont and Belmont's findings may not measurably help teachers set reading goals for their pupils but do confirm suspicions regarding the predictability of a specific child's short-range accomplishments. Group statistics are found not to represent individual growth patterns in reading which suggests the need for a more detailed understanding of the reading skill acquisition process and for a more sensitive measurement technology. — G.M.S.

Previous work has led to conflicting conclusions regarding the long-term stability or variability of individual reading performance. This paper attempts to resolve the contradictory findings through a preliminary study of the course of individual performance and explores the results in terms of implications for normal growth and development and for the early prediction of later reading performance.

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