AP32925

Stronger Reading Skills and Higher IQ's

A study has found that strong reading skills may positively effect later intelligence. This theory makes sense considering IQ tests are normally used to group children for instruction based on how intelligent they are. But IQ tests are controversial, according to our textbook. If a child has trouble reading, an IQ test can tell where the problem lies. But if a child learns to read earlier in life, there would be no reason that the child should have problems in reading. This particular study was done with 1,890 identical twins who were part of the Twins Early Development Study, an ongoing longitudinal study in the United Kingdom, that shared all of their genes as well as their home environment.The twin with stronger early reading skills was found to have higher overall intellectual ability by age 7. "If, as our results imply, reading causally influences intelligence, the implications for educators are clear," suggests Stuart J. Ritchie, research fellow in psychology at the University of Edinburgh. "Children who don't receive enough assistance in learning to read may also be missing out on the important, intelligence-boosting properties of literacy." Children are "sponges", so to speak. They most definitely absorb everything around them. I know a lot of parents who enjoy reading to their children and encouraging them to read prior to school. If all parents knew that encouraging reading may help their children's intellectual ability, many more parents may start to read to their kids a lot more often.

References: Ritchie, SJ, Bates, TC and Plomin, R. **Does Learning to Read Improve Intelligence? A Longitudinal Multivariate Analysis in Identical Twins From Age 7 to 16**. //Child Development//, 2014

Society for Research in Child Development. "Stronger early reading skills predict higher intelligence later." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 24 July 2014. .

Boyd, Denise Roberts., and Helen L. Bee. //Lifespan Development//. Sixth ed. Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon, 2012. Print.

Only graders edit below this line!

Grader #1: 1406566931 Grader #2: 1406595669 Grader #3: [sb14-2627] Grader #4: 1406817406 Grader #5:1406832623 =Grading Form= media type="custom" key="25032734"