The Relationship between Selected Auditory Abilities and Beginning Reading Achievement

Abstract
During the fall semester, eighty-four first grade boys of average and above-average intelligence were administered tests of auditory blending, auditory discrimination, and phonemic segmentation. End-of-year reading achievement test scores were also obtained. Of the 84, only 21 boys showed sufficient variation in achievement across the measures to permit inferences concerning relationships between and among the abilities measured. Among these 21, relatively high achievement was observed in auditory discrimination overall. Blending ability appeared less well developed among them but, overall, each was least proficient in phonemic segmentation. Statistical tests (multiple correlation and the regression source of variance) were applied to permit inferences concerning the relative strength of each of the auditory variables in predicting the level of reading achievement. Neither performance on any of the three auditory measures nor level of intelligence alone could adequately predict end-of-year reading achievement. When considered in combination, however, the four factors measured during the first semester of first grade accounted for about 43% of the variability observed in end-of-year reading achievement. Results suggest that success in beginning reading requires the effective utilization of a complex of auditory abilities necessary for the processing of spoken language.

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