Visual multi-element processing as a pre-reading predictor of decoding skill

- We examine the importance of visual multi-element processing (MEP) in reading.
- Pre-reading MEP, measured using non-verbal stimuli, predicts Grade 3 reading speed.
- MEP predicts reading beyond the influence of PA, RAN and early reading level.
- MEP predicts reading of long unfamiliar words only, suggesting a role in decoding.
- This is the first study to show a relation between pre-reading MEP and future reading.

A lack of longitudinal studies impedes the understanding of whether visual processing skills significantly influence reading performance. The present study assessed if multi-element processing (MEP), a visual processing task comprising only non-verbal stimuli, was predominantly related with decoding or sight-word reading. One hundred Spanish pre-reading children were evaluated on their MEP, naming speed (RAN), phonemic awareness (PA), letter knowledge (LK) and IQ. Early reading level was measured in first grade. In third grade, four reading lists consisting of short and long, high- and low-frequency words were administered. Results from path analyses revealed that, after controlling for RAN, PA, LK, IQ and early reading level, MEP was a significant predictor of the reading of long low-frequency words only. This result suggests that, in the transparent Spanish orthography, pre-reading MEP is significantly linked to future decoding skill. This is the first study to provide empirical evidence that pre-reading MEP predicts future reading.