Evaluating the Simple View of Reading Model: Longitudinal Testing and Applicability to the Swedish Language

This study investigates the empirical validity of the Simple View of Reading model in a semi-transparent language, Swedish, by using a large amount of reading test data from 11,791 students. Data was collected during the primary grades (year 1–3), which allowed us to test two aspects of the model: how much reading comprehension variance that can be accounted for by decoding and language comprehension across primary grades (nine test occasions in total), and how decoding and language comprehension contributes to reading comprehension at each test occasion (three test occasions per grade). By using a latent variable framework, our findings indicated that nearly all reading comprehension variance was accounted for by decoding and language comprehension across each test occasion. Both decoding and language comprehension contributed to reading comprehension at all grades. While decoding contributed the most to reading comprehension variance at the first test occasions (Grade 1), language comprehension became equally important in the middle of second grade. At the end of third grade, language comprehension outperformed decoding. This study shows that the Simple View of Reading model is highly usable for yet another semi-transparent language, which has practical implications for how to assess reading skills and, ultimately of how to inform reading instruction for beginner readers.