Reading Achievement, Language Functioning and Perceptual-Motor Development of 10- and 11-Year-Olds

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Abstract
An analysis of the relationship of reading problems to language habits, PMA and the group Bender-Gestalt test was made for 750 children, ages 10 and 11, who represent 90% of all children born on Kauai, Hawaii in 1955. The percentage of reading problems increased from 1 out of 6 children in the above average to 1 out of 2 children in the below-average SES groups. 88% of the children with reading problems came from homes in which Pidgin English was frequently spoken. Children with reading problems had significantly lower mean scores on all PMA scores than successful readers. Factor V predicted reading grade and STEP reading test scores as well as PMA IQ and better than any other PMA factor. The incidence of reading problems increased with error scores on the group Bender-Gestalt test, but the majority of children with reading problems had adequate Bender-Gestalt reproductions. Most poor B-G reproductions were found among children of low and below average intelligence. The addition of the group Bender-Gestalt error score to the PMA IQ or Factor V did not improve the prediction of reading grade or reading test results.