Examining the effects of PASS cognitive processes on Chinese reading accuracy and fluency

The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive) processes to Chinese reading accuracy and fluency. One-hundred-forty Grade 3 to 5 Mandarin-speaking children were assessed on measures of PASS processes, phonological awareness, and orthographic knowledge. A year later they were assessed on reading accuracy and fluency. The results indicated that successive processing predicted reading through the effects of phonological awareness and simultaneous processing predicted reading through the effects of orthographic knowledge. The results were similar for reading accuracy and fluency. Implications for the PASS theory are discussed.

► We examined the role of PASS processes on reading accuracy and fluency in Chinese.
► Successive processing predicted reading through the effects of phonological awareness.
► Simultaneous processing predicted reading through the effects of orthographic knowledge.
► The results were similar for reading accuracy and fluency.
► The premises of PASS theory apply to reading acquisition across languages.