To clarify the link between anomalous letter processing and developmental dyslexia, we examined the impact of surrounding contours on letter vs. pseudo-letter processing by three groups of children - phonological dyslexics and two controls, one matched for chronological age, the other for reading level - and three groups of adults differing by schooling and literacy - unschooled illiterates and ex-illiterates, and schooled literates. For pseudo-letters, all groups showed congruence effects (CE: better performance for targets surrounded by a congruent than by an incongruent shape). In contrast, for letters, only dyslexics exhibited a CE, strongly related to their phonological recoding abilities even after partialling out working memory, whereas the reverse held true for the pseudo-letter CE. In illiterate adults, the higher letter knowledge, the smaller their letter CE; their letter processing was immune (to some extent) to inference from surrounding information. The absence of a letter CE in illiterates and the positive CE in dyslexics have their origin in different aspects of the same ability, i.e. phonological recoding.

The aim of this study was twofold. In Study 1, we described the development of four forms of a test of word reading (TLP -Teste de Leitura de Palavras) for elementary school children (grades 1 to 4), using the Rasch model. An initial pool of 142 words was selected and tested on 905 Portuguese students. Rasch analyses allowed the development of a shorter version of the test for each grade with adjusted values concerning reliability coefficients and item local independence. In Study 2 (n = 325), the classification accuracy of the TLP to identify at-risk students for reading problems was examined based on several indices. Results indicated that each test form of the TLP presented overall satisfactory classification accuracy in identifying at-risk readers with a criterion of 0.80 to set the sensitivity levels.

Abstract. This article presents data concerning the validity evidence of a test of word reading (TLP – Teste de Leitura de Palavras) that assesses single-word reading accuracy in Portuguese students from Grades 1 to 4. The test is composed of four vertically scaled forms, one for each grade, allowing for the evaluation of students’ word reading progression. In the internal structure-related evidence validity study, administration of the TLP to 905 Portuguese elementary students confirmed its one-dimensional structure. In the evidence based on the relationship with other variables’ study, 280 Portuguese elementary students were assessed with each TLP test form and criterion measures (reading tests, digit span, and vocabulary measures). Significant correlations were observed between results from the TLP test forms, reading instruments, short-term memory, and vocabulary measures. These results revealed adequate evidence based on internal structure and evidence based on the relationship to other variables of the TLP for the assessment of word reading accuracy in Portuguese elementary students.

This study examines the pronunciation of the first vowel in decoding disyllabic pseudowords derived from Portuguese words. Participants were 96 Portuguese monolinguals and 52 Portuguese-English bilinguals of equivalent Portuguese reading levels. The results indicate that sensitivity to vowel context emerges early, both in monolinguals and in bilinguals. However, bilinguals, unlike monolinguals, appear to use this knowledge consistently from the first grade. Moreover, the effect of context was stronger in bilinguals than in monolinguals. Apparently, bilinguals benefited from an earlier acquisition of reading principles regarding the use of orthographic context derived from their more frequent use of large patterns to read vowels. Because the Portuguese orthography is considered to be of intermediate consistency, it demands the development of decoding mechanisms that entail units larger than graphemes. English orthography, being more inconsistent, confers bilinguals with an asset to deal with complex structures. Additionally, the data suggest that those patterns appear to be not at the level of the syllable.

Resumo Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar a relação entre nível de escrita, consciência fonológica e conhecimento de letras. Participaram 60 crianças do 1º ano do ensino fundamental com média de idade de 6,09 anos, as quais foram submetidas a testes de conhecimento de letras, consciência fonológica e escrita inventada no início e no final do ano escolar e ao Teste Matrizes Progressivas Coloridas de Raven, aplicado apenas no início do ano. Verificaram-se correlações significativas entre consciência fonológica, conhecimento de letras e nível de escrita. A maioria das crianças evoluiu ao longo do ano nos desempenhos observados. Significativamente, aquelas que apresentaram melhor domínio da consciência fonológica e conhecimento do nome das letras desde o início do ano, evoluíram mais na escrita ao final do ano. Nesse sentido, a instrução da consciência fonológica associada ao conhecimento de letras deve ser realizada ainda na pré-escola, a fim de garantir uma boa aprendizagem ulterior em escrita.