Predicting Reading, Spelling, and Mathematical Skills: A Longitudinal Study From Kindergarten Through First Grade
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Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Using Cholesky Decomposition to Explore Individual Differences in Longitudinal Relations between Reading Skills
Published on: September 17, 2019
Giuliana Pinto1, Lucia Bigozzi1, Christian Tarchi2
1Department of Education and Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Abstract:
This two-year longitudinal study contributes to the debate between the school readiness and emergent literacy approaches, individuating early markers for reading, spelling, and mathematical skills. Two hundred and two Italian children participated in this study (M age = 5.6years, SD = 0.3). In kindergarten, a wide range of children's domain-general and domain-specific skills were assessed through standardized tests. In primary school, children's reading, spelling, and mathematical competences were assessed through standardized tests. Results showed that domain-specific predictors contribute to the explanation of reading, spelling, and mathematical performances more than domain-general predictors do. Each primary school skill is mainly predicted by their respective domain-specific kindergarten skill, although some cross-domain relations exist, for example, phonological awareness contributing to both reading and mathematical performances.
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