Reciprocal effects between reading comprehension and spelling

• Longitudinal study drawing on two relatively large samples from Germany
• Evidence for reciprocal effects between reading comprehension and spelling
• Support for hypothesis that reading is causally dominant over spelling for older children.

This research aimed to identify reciprocal effects between reading comprehension and spelling in a shallow language in lower secondary school students. We drew on two samples from a German longitudinal study comprising N = 1227 and N = 994 students who were repeatedly tested at the beginning of grade 5 and grade 7. In both samples, we found reciprocal effects between reading comprehension and spelling with a greater effect from reading comprehension to spelling than vice versa. The results of our study not only add to our knowledge about the importance of proficient reading comprehension for spelling but also to the growing body of literature showing the importance of spelling knowledge for reading for understanding.