This article reports a longitudinal study of factors associated with reading ability in a large sample of children aged seven and then at age nine. It was found that the correlation between reading at age seven and reading at age nine was 0.87. The implications of the results are discussed. (Author/CT)

Analyzes data from a longitudinal investigation of reading ability in New Zealand children, ages 7-13. Children with lower reading abilities at age 13 were compared with children who were slow starters but had normal reading abilities at age 13 in an effort to identify predictors of reading progress. (22 references) (Author/LRW)