Early cognitive predictors of PISA reading in children with and without family risk for dyslexia

This study examined language skills and pre-literacy skills (phonological awareness, rapid naming, and letter knowledge) before school-age as predictors of PISA reading at age 15 in two groups of children, with (n = 88) and without (n = 70) family-risk for dyslexia. Moreover, effects of family-risk on these early predictors, reading fluency, and PISA reading were examined while controlling the effect of gender. Children were followed from age 2 to 15. Family-risk had a significant effect on early language and pre-literacy skills, reading fluency and PISA reading. A similar model predicting PISA reading fitted the data well in the Family-risk and the No family-risk group. Language skills explained a good portion and pre-literacy skills to a lesser extent the variance in PISA reading. Altogether 68% of the variance in PISA reading was explained in the Family-risk group and 44% in the No family-risk group. Findings suggest that family risk sets children at elevated risk to develop long-standing difficulties in language and literacy and that the early language and pre-literacy skills are strong predictors of reading as far as PISA reading at age 15.