Which skill is considered the best predictor of early reading success for children?

Phonemic awareness is recognized as the best predictor of early reading success because it involves the understanding and manipulation of the individual sounds, or phonemes, within words. This skill allows children to hear, identify, and manipulate the sounds in spoken language, which is crucial for decoding words and developing reading proficiency. When children can recognize the sounds that make up words, they are better equipped to connect these sounds to written letters, facilitating the ability to sound out words while reading.

Phonemic awareness is foundational to reading; it underpins skills such as blending, segmenting, and manipulating sounds, which are essential for developing strong reading skills. Studies have shown that children who have strong phonemic awareness skills are more likely to become proficient readers, making it a central focus in early literacy instruction.

In contrast, while receptive language, expressive language, and vocabulary development are all important aspects of language and literacy, they do not have the same direct impact on the initial skills needed for reading as phonemic awareness does. Receptive language involves understanding language, expressive language is about communicating with language, and vocabulary development is related to knowing the meaning of words. While these skills contribute to overall language proficiency and play a role in reading comprehension later on, they are not as