A Latent Change Score Modelng Approach to Examining the Growth of Reading Comprehension and Listening Comprehension

Reading comprehension and its predictors have been extensively studied. One predictor of reading comprehension, listening comprehension, has consistently been shown to have strong cross-sectional and longitudinal associations with reading comprehension. Previous research suggests that earlier listening comprehension is predictive of later reading comprehension; however, little research has explored the nature of this predictive relation. The present study used latent change score modeling to examine developmental relations between listening comprehension and reading comprehension in a longitudinal study from first through fourth grade. In addition to finding expected correlations between listening comprehension and reading comprehension, the results provided evidence for a direct influence of listening comprehension on the subsequent development of reading comprehension. The results did not support an opposite direct influence of reading comprehension on the subsequent development of listening comprehension. Implications of the results are discussed.