Factors That Influence Reading: A Developmental Perspective

ABSTRACT:Research supports the view that reading skills change developmentally. During the primary grades when the child is learning to read, the acquisition of decoding skills is of fundamental importance. In the first section of this article, we discuss non-instructional and instructional factors that associate with acquisition. Beyond the primary grades, the child increasingly reads to learn, i.e., to gain new knowledge. In the second section of the article, we discuss the non-instructional and instructional factors that associate with reading-to-learn. The article concludes with a statement on the implications of these data for school psychologists.