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National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth: Early reading ability and later literacy skills

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The Daily


Tuesday, December 5, 2006
1994/1995 to 2004/2005

Early reading skills are related to a child's later ability to use and understand printed information, regardless of the child's background, according to data from the most recent cycle of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY).

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The survey showed that children aged 8 or 9 whose reading ability in school was better than their peers had significantly higher test scores in literacy a decade later when they had reached 18 or 19.


Note to readers

The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) is a long-term study designed to collect information about factors influencing the social, emotional and behavioural development of children and youth, and to monitor the impact of these factors on their development over time. The survey is conducted by Statistics Canada and is sponsored by Human Resources and Social Development Canada.

The NLSCY began in 1994/1995 with a sample of children in Canada under the age of 12. This analysis includes findings from the sixth cycle of data collected in 2004/2005. It reports on 1,329 children who were aged 8 or 9 in 1994/1995 and who completed the literacy test at the age of 18 or 19 in 2004/2005.

Information was gathered from parents when the children were under 10, and from both parents and children when the youngsters were 10 to 13. The children themselves provided the information when they were 18 or 19 in 2004/2005.

An analysis of partial non-response is available upon request.

Definitions

Literacy test: This direct assessment measures the literacy abilities of youth aged 18 or 19. This assessment is made up of 36 items taken from an adapted, abridged version of the International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey and covers two types of literacy: prose literacy, the knowledge and skills needed to understand and use information from texts such as editorials, news stories, poems and fiction; and document literacy, the knowledge and skills required to locate and use information contained in various formats such as tables, forms, graphs and diagrams.

The literacy score used in this analysis was the number of items answered correctly by the respondent. The minimum score was two and the maximum score was 36.

Early reading ability: This was reported by parents and was based on their knowledge of their child's school work, including report cards.


This held true even when socio-demographic characteristics, child behaviour, school-related factors and parental literacy practices were taken into account.

The survey also showed that improvement in early reading skills was associated with better literacy test scores later on.

The NLSCY, a long-term study, followed the same sample of children through six separate interviews between 1994/1995 and 2004/2005. The sample described in this analysis represents about 650,000 children who were aged 8 or 9 in 1994/1995.

This analysis represents a first look at the most recent cycle of NLSCY data. It focuses on links between the literacy of young people and their abilities, characteristics and behaviour in the years before they entered high school.

Parents' education, school-related factors also linked to later literacy

Early reading ability in school was not the only factor linked to later literacy. The survey found that parents' education and certain school-related factors were also associated with literacy skills at ages 18 or 19.

Children whose parents had not finished high school scored lower on the literacy test 10 years later than did children whose parents had a higher level of education.

In addition, children who lived in a household where the income was below Statistics Canada's low income cut-off had lower literacy scores 10 years later compared to children from more affluent households. However, this link was no longer significant once other factors, including the education level of the parents, were taken into account.

Previous research has suggested that hyperactivity at an early age may be adversely linked to later literacy skills. In the NLSCY, children who placed high (in the top 10%) on the hyperactivity-inattention scale at the age of 8 or 9 had lower literacy scores subsequently than children who placed lower on the scale.

The relationship between hyperactivity and later literacy, however, was mediated by certain school-related factors.

These factors included repeating a grade in elementary school, and physical, emotional or behavioural limitations for which the child received special help with school work. Both of these factors were linked to lower literacy scores at ages 18 or 19.

Children who reported disliking or hating school at age 12 or 13 also had lower literacy scores later on. Furthermore, children who reported skipping at least one day of school when they were 12 or 13 had lower literacy scores six years later than children who said they had not skipped school.

Parents were asked about their own literacy practices, such as how often they used a public library, wrote letters, read newspapers or magazines, and read books. Children aged 12 or 13 whose parents read books had higher literacy scores six years later than youngsters whose parents did not do so.

On the other hand, data showed that the child's mother tongue was not associated with literacy scores at the age of 18 or 19, nor did it matter whether the child was a boy or girl.

Improvement in early reading skills linked to better literacy scores

NLSCY data showed that improvement in early reading skills was associated with better literacy test scores later on.

About 10% of children saw their reading ability in school increase from average-or-below when they were aged 8 or 9 to above-average when they were 12 or 13.

By the time they were aged 18 or 19, these children had literacy scores approaching those whose above-average reading ability had remained unchanged.

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These results held true after taking into account socio-demographic characteristics, child behaviour, school-related factors and parental literacy practices.

For some, higher literacy scores accompanied higher educational expectations

The NLSCY found that higher scores were linked to higher educational expectations, depending on the level of educational attainment.

By the age of 18 or 19, higher literacy scores accompanied higher educational expectations for those who had completed high school but were not yet in some form of post secondary.

Among this group, those who expected to get one or more university degrees had higher literacy scores than those who did not expect to go beyond high school, as well as those who expected to go to college, CEGEP or an apprenticeship program.

For some, current employment status was also linked to literacy. Among students who were still in high school, literacy scores were higher for those who were currently employed compared to those who were not.

The NLSCY has six cycles of data now available. Future research can draw on this wealth of information to explore the many factors influencing the social, emotional and behavioural development of children and youth over time.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 4450.

NLSCY microdata are available at Statistics Canada's Research Data Centres. For more information, visit The Research Data Centres Program page of our website.

For more information about the data collected during the first six cycles of the NLSCY or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-800-461-9050; 613-951-3321; ssd@statcan.gc.ca), Special Surveys Division.

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