Predicting Growth in Reading Ability from Children's Exposure to Print.

A longitudinal study of growth in reading ability employed two new indicators of print exposure that use a checklist-with-foils logic and that have very brief administration times. Subjects, 52 boys and 46 girls from 4 different fourth- and fifth-grade classes in a religiously-affiliated private school, completed the Title Recognition Test (TRT) and the Author Recognition Test (ART) (in which they identified titles and authors of actual children's books interspersed with false titles). Subjects' scores on standardized reading tests taken during their third and fifth grades were also analyzed. Results indicated that individual differences in third to fifth grade growth in reading were significantly related to subjects' scores on the TRT and the ART. Findings suggest that the extent to which individuals engage in literacy activities is a significant contributor to developed reading ability. Further studies of the cognitive consequences of literacy could be facilitated by the use of the easily administered indicators of print exposure examined in this study. (Three tables of data are included; two appendixes containing the author and title recognition test items and the percentage recognition for each item, and 39 references are attached.) (RS)