Relationship between reading comprehension, spelling and academic performance. A study in Primary School students.

Abstract

There are many studies that have been produced to deepen the knowledge into the relationship among reading comprehension, spelling and school performance. Decoding and coding are two required skills to learn reading and writing in the first steps of learning. The aim of this study is to verify the existing relationships among all these variables, by the end of primary school. The spelling coding was assessed by means of a dictation and the reading comprehension by means of Angel Lazaro´s test. 252 students, ages 11 to 12, took part in this survey. A correlation design was made. Three groups were split according to the levels of implementation of these variables. In the sample a significant correlation between school performance and reading comprehension was found, and also a weak correlation between spelling marks and reading comprehension. Regarding the overlapping of both skills, a good reading comprehension was confirmed not to be a guarantee for a good spelling coding. In the discussion this relationship is analyzed and some measures for its improvement have been proposed.