Initial levels of vocabulary and social communication skills each predict kindergarten reading achievement, but only rate of growth in social communication skills incrementally predicts reading¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q3
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i? Initial levels of vocabulary (β = .27, p < .01) and social communication skills (β = .31, p < .001) each predicted better kindergarten reading, and rate of growth in social communication skills (β = .33, p < .001) but not vocabulary growth (β = .10, p = .18) predicted reading. → Ramsook K. Ashana 2020
Evidence¶
Ramsook K. Ashana 2020¶
Ramsook K. Ashana, Welsh Janet A., Bierman Karen L. (2020). What you say, and how you say it: Preschoolers' growth in vocabulary and communication skills differentially predict kindergarten academic achievement and self‐regulation. Social Development, 29(3), 783–800. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12425
q3 · i? · associational · r2
Two-stage multilevel modeling of three waves of data from 164 Head Start children, controlling for baseline reading, age, sex, SES, cohort, and classroom nesting. The full model showed "Rate of growth in social communication skills (β = .33, SE = .55, p < .001)" predicted reading while vocabulary growth did not.
"Initial levels of vocabulary (β = .27, SE = .01, p < .01) and social communication skills (β = .31, SE = .19, p < .001) each predicted better reading achievement at Wave 3. Rate of growth in social communication skills (β = .33, SE = .55, p < .001), but not growth in vocabulary (β = .10, SE = .06, p = .18) predicted reading achievement at Wave 3."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Vocabulary showed accelerating linear growth and social communication skills showed decelerating linear growth from preschool to kindergarten, with substantial individual variation — related
- Growth in both vocabulary and social communication skills predicts kindergarten math achievement — related
- Social communication skills uniquely predict teacher-rated kindergarten learning behaviors after accounting for vocabulary — related
- Social communication skills uniquely predict kindergarten executive functions after accounting for vocabulary, which does not predict EF — related
- Positive preschool interpersonal relationships predict kindergarten academic achievement controlling for initial achievement — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
social-communication-growth-uniquely-predicts-kindergarten-reading |
title |
Initial levels of vocabulary and social communication skills each predict kindergarten reading achievement, but only rate of growth in social communication skills incrementally predicts reading |
description |
Initial levels of vocabulary and social communication skills each predict kindergarten reading achievement, but only rate of growth in social communication skills incrementally predicts reading |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2020 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — ramsook-k-ashana-2020 |
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