Writing Development from Grade 3 to 6 in Students with a History of Reading Difficulties

In this study, we explore writing development from Grade 3 to 6 in four groups of students with varying reading abilities measured in a screening in Grade 2 as follows: students with (1) poor word reading, (2) poor reading comprehension, (3) mixed difficulties, and (4) typical reading. The written texts were collected from the narrative writing assignments in the National Assessment Tests in Swedish (L1) in Grades 3 and 6. The texts were analysed in relation to vocabulary diversity (VocD), narrative text quality (Narrative Scoring Scheme), and text length (total number of words). A mixed ANOVA was used to explore between-group differences and within-group changes in writing measures from Grades 3 to 6. A significant main effect for time was found for vocabulary diversity, narrative text quality, and text length, indicating a growth in writing performance for all groups from Grade 3 to 6. There were no significant interaction effects between group and time. Furthermore, there was a significant main effect for group on all three written text measures. Post-hoc analyses revealed significant differences between the groups with typical reading and mixed difficulties on all written text measures. The results will be discussed in relation to the varying reading abilities among the four reading profiles and in relation to possible educational implications.