The Predictive Value of Phonemic Awareness Curriculum-Based Measures on Kindergarten Word Reading Fluency

This manuscript synthesizes the importance of the alphabetic principles of reading, building blocks of teaching reading, indicators of early reading success, and curriculum-based measures (CBM) within the Response to Intervention (RtI) process from empirical research. A review of the literature reflects contrasting views on which specific pre-reading skill is most predictive of word reading success toward the end of kindergarten and the important role of CBM in such an analysis. Therefore, my research questions analyzed (a) the correlations between letter naming, letter sounds, phonemic segmentation, and word reading fluency in kindergarten; (b) the relative predictive relation of letter names, letter sounds, and phonemic segmentation measures to word reading fluency for kindergarten students; and, (c) the relation of non-academic variables of special education status, English language learner status, attendance, free-and-reduced-meals, and NonWhite Race to word reading fluency in kindergarten. Correlation results indicated the correlation between winter word reading fluency and spring word reading fluency in kindergarten was r = .82, spring word reading and fall letter sounds was r = .57, spring word reading and winter letter sounds was r = .66, and spring word reading and spring letter sounds was r =.58. All the non-academic variables weakly correlated to spring word reading, with the exception of fall attendance percentage showing a negative to low correlation range (-0.15 to 0.11). In addition, regression results indicated that Winter Word Reading Fluency (Winter WRF) (beta = .64) was predictive of Spring Word Reading. Spring Letter Sounds (Spring LS) (beta = .29) also were predictive of Spring Word Reading as was Fall Letter Sounds (Fall LS) (beta = .11). These results frame practical implications for reading instruction that suggest ways in which schools and districts to think about staffing, instruction, and schedules to better meet student needs in preparation for state-mandated all-day kindergarten in the fall of 2017 and beyond.