Rapid naming speed components and early reading acquisition

This study examines how rapid automatized naming (RAN) components-articulation time and pause time-develop from kindergarten to the end of first grade and how RAN components are related to different reading measures and to RAN total time. Sixty-two children were administered RAN tasks in kindergarten and at the beginning and end of Grade 1. Performance on color and letter naming was recorded and analyzed. Reading accuracy and reading fluency measures were used as the criterion variables. Results indicated that pause time was highly stable from kindergarten to the end of Grade 1, developed significantly, and was highly correlated with both reading accuracy and reading fluency measures. Articulation time was less stable, did not develop, and was only weakly correlated with the reading measures.