An investigation of factors associated with letter-sound knowledge at kindergarten entry

• Letters with names that provide clues to their sounds are learned earlier.
• Letters with a one-to-one relationship to their sounds are learned earlier.
• Knowledge of a letter's name is associated with an increase in the odds of knowing that letter's sound.
• Children tend to learn the sound of the first letter of their own first names earlier.
• Greater phonological awareness is associated with greater letter-sound knowledge.

Letter-sound knowledge is necessary for children to begin reading and writing, and kindergarteners who know only a few letter sounds are at risk for later reading difficulties. This study examines the letter-sound knowledge of 1197 first-time kindergarteners who were economically disadvantaged, in light of six hypotheses about letter-sound knowledge acquisition: (1) the letter-name structure effect hypothesis, (2) the letter-sound ambiguity hypothesis, (3) the letter-name knowledge hypothesis, (4) the own-name advantage hypothesis, and 5) the phonological awareness facilitation hypothesis, as well as the (6) interactions between phonological awareness and letter-name structure. Results using three-level multilevel modeling indicate that letter sounds have varying levels of difficulty and several letter- and child-related factors are associated with naming a letter sound correctly. Implications for instruction are discussed.