IQ vs phonological recoding skill in explaining differences between poor readers and normal readers in word recognition:: Evidence from a naming task

The aim of this study was to investigate whether differences in reading performance between poor readers and normal readers could be better explained by phonological recoding deficiences than IQ. A sample of 132 Spanish children was classified into four groups according to IQ (< 80; 81-90; 91-109; 110-140) and into two groups based on reading skills (poor readers vs normal readers). A word naming task was also administered. We manipulated the word parameters (length, positional syllable frequency, and word frequency) and nonword parameters (length and positional syllable frequency) to find out whether students with reading disabilities would have more difficulties than normal readers in naming words under conditions that require extensive phonological computation. The results demonstrated that there were differences between Spanish children who were normal readers and those who were poor readers, independent of their IQs.