For typically developing students, vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension show bidirectional leading influences over time in kindergarten through fourth grade¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · checked against its sources 2026-10-25 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? For students without an LD, removing either cross-lagged pathway (vocabulary to change in reading comprehension, or reading comprehension to change in vocabulary) significantly degraded model fit, indicating bidirectional influences after accounting for slope and autoregressive parameters. → Quinn 2020

Evidence¶

Quinn 2020¶

Quinn, Jamie M.; Wagner, Richard K.; Petscher, Yaacov; Roberts, Greg; Menzel, Andrew J.; Schatschneider, Christopher. (2020). Differential Co-Development of Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension for Students with and without Learning Disabilities. Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000382

q2 · i? · associational · r3

Longitudinal secondary-data LCS modeling of N = 14,140 typically developing students from 440 primarily lower-performing Florida schools with Title I designations, followed from kindergarten to fourth grade (vocabulary was measured from kindergarten to third grade, reading comprehension from first to fourth). Constraining either cross-lagged pathway to zero significantly degraded fit (Wald(1) = 24.53, p < .001; removing the reciprocal pathway gave Wald(1) = 53.53, p < .001), supporting "bidirectional influences between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension for typically developing students."

"The results indicated that there were bidirectional influences between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension for typically developing students, and that these leading influences existed after accounting for the effects of the slope parameters and the auto-regressive change parameters."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Reading and Language — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Vocabulary — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• For students with a school-identified learning disability, there were no significant direct cross-lagged pathways between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension — related
• Students with a learning disability started about one standard deviation lower in reading comprehension and did not catch up to typically developing peers by fourth grade, which the authors interpret as a developmental deficit — related
• Vocabulary development was broadly similar for students with and without a learning disability, while reading comprehension gains decelerated for both groups yet the LD group started over a standard deviation lower — related