Arne Ola Lervåg

• Amland, Tonje; Grande, German; Bergen, Elsje van; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne Ola (2026). Parental and early child skills outweigh home numeracy environment in predicting maths development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ISSN 0021-9630. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.70247.
• Donolato, Enrica; caviola, sara; masi, alice; Lervåg, Arne & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2026). Attitudes and emotions in the context of mathematical learning: A systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. Educational Research Review. ISSN 1747-938X. doi: https:/www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X26000540. Full text in Research Archive
• Dolean, Dacian; Lervåg, Arne & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2026). The Effectiveness of a Language ComprehensionIntervention on the Language, Reading, and Writing Skillsof Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students. Reading Research Quarterly. ISSN 0034-0553. 61(3). doi: 10.1002/rrq.70123. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This pre-registered randomized controlled trial tests the impact of a language comprehension intervention on the language and literacy of 448 upper elementary Roma and non-Roma students from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. The students from the intervention group participated in 132 language comprehension intervention sessions (designed by a research team) which focused on Tier 2 vocabulary instruction and development of expressive language skills. The control group received language instruction designed by their classroom teachers. The effects were statistically significant immediately after the intervention and 8 months later on the words taught during the intervention, and on the listening and reading comprehension of stories which included taught words. The effects on the standardized vocabulary were statistically significant immediately after the intervention only for the students with weaker initial standardized vocabulary. There was also a significant main effect on standardized vocabulary 8 months after the intervention. There were no statistically significant effects on standardized tests of word reading, written composition, listening and reading comprehension. When controlling for compliance, results showed the same pattern, but with slightly larger effect sizes. Monolingual Roma and non-Roma students improved at a similar rate on most measures, but the effects were significantly smaller for bilingual Roma students on vocabulary and listening comprehension tests which included taught words. Thus, language comprehension interventions targeting socioeconomically disadvantaged students can have limited positive effects on the language and literacy development. Future studies should examine whether more comprehensive interventions targeting broader aspects of children's lives might have more profound effects.

• Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Rogde, Kristin; Lervåg, Arne; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Norbury, Courtenay Frazier (2026). Long-term prognosis of low language proficiency in children: Report. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
• Hagen, Åste Marie Mjelve; Rogde, Kristin; Lervåg, Arne Ola; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Norbury, Courtenay Frazier (2026). Long-term prognosis of low language proficiency in children. The Cochrane library. doi: 10.1002/14651858.cd015268.pub2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background Low language proficiency (LLP) affects up to 10% of children, depending on how it is defined, and is a known risk factor for academic and social difficulties. Despite growing awareness, there is limited consensus on the long‐term consequences of LLP across quality of life domains. This review synthesises evidence from longitudinal cohort studies to evaluate long‐term risks associated with LLP identified between ages four and eight, with follow‐up from age 12 onwards. Objectives To examine the long‐term outcomes of children aged four to eight years with low language proficiency (LLP), in terms of language, literacy, and quality of life across five WHO domains (physical, psychological, independence, social relationships, and environment). Search methods CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, and 17 other databases were searched without language or date restrictions. In addition, reference lists were checked, citation searching was conducted, and study authors were contacted to identify additional studies. The most recent search was completed in March 2025. Selection criteria We included prospective or retrospective longitudinal cohort studies that identified children with LLP between ages four and eight years and assessed outcomes at age 12 or older. Studies could include comparison groups or single‐cohort designs. LLP was defined either using standardised diagnostic criteria (≤ –1 SD on normed language measures, encompassing ~10–15% of the population) or clinical judgement by qualified professionals. Data collection and analysis We extracted data on language, literacy, and World Health Organization (WHO) quality of life domains and used robust variance estimation (RVE) meta‐analysis models, including hierarchical and correlated effects models. Effect sizes were reported as Hedges' g or risk ratios (RR), with Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) applied to each outcome domain. We conducted sensitivity and moderator analyses and assessed small‐study effects. Main results We included 80 studies; 72 contributed to meta‐analyses across 15 independent cohorts (≈ 28,828 participants). Studies were published between 1982 and 2024 and conducted in Europe and North America. Risk of bias, assessed across study participation, attrition, and outcome measurement, varied; only three studies were at low risk across all assessed domains, with study attrition most frequently rated as moderate or high. Language outcomes showed large adverse associations in long‐term follow‐up (145 effect sizes; 11 cohorts; Hedges’ g = –1.36, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) –1.80 to –0.92; moderate certainty). Literacy outcomes were similarly affected (86 effect sizes; 7 cohorts; g = –1.12, 95% CI –1.28 to –0.96; high certainty). Physical outcomes were reported in only one study and could not be meta‐analysed; evidence was insufficient to draw conclusions. Psychological outcomes showed moderate adverse associations (91 effect sizes; 7 cohorts; g = –0.50, 95% CI –0.80 to –0.19; moderate certainty), with risk ratio analyses indicating lower probability of favourable psychological outcomes (RR = 0.53, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.67). Independence outcomes showed smaller and more uncertain associations (17 effect sizes; 2 cohorts; g = –0.59, 95% CI –1.35 to 0.18; low certainty). Social relationship outcomes showed moderate adverse associations (35 effect sizes; 6 cohorts; g = –0.64, 95% CI –1.35 to 0.07; moderate certainty). Environmental outcomes showed large but imprecise adverse associations (23 effect sizes; 5 cohorts; g = –1.10, 95% CI –1.47 to –0.73; moderate certainty). Across domains, sensitivity analyses supported the robustness of findings, although degrees of freedom were often low due to the limited number of independent cohorts. Where binary outcome data were available, risk ratio estimates were directionally consistent with continuous outcomes but frequently imprecise. Authors' conclusions Early low language proficiency (LLP) is consistently associated with substantial long‐term language and literacy difficulties. LLP is also associated with poorer psychological well‐being and social relationship outcomes later in life, with moderate certainty of evidence. Associations with independence outcomes are smaller and more uncertain, reflecting limited data and low certainty. Environmental outcomes, including education, employment, and societal participation, show large adverse associations, although estimates are imprecise due to the small number of contributing cohorts. Physical health outcomes remain under‐researched. Taken together, these findings indicate that childhood LLP is not a transient delay but a marker of enduring developmental vulnerability, underscoring the need for sustained identification and support across developmental stages. Further high‐quality longitudinal studies are needed, particularly in under‐represented outcome domains.

• Göbel, Silke Melanie; Landerl, Karin & Lervåg, Arne Ola (2026). Longitudinal Predictors of Conceptual Understanding of Arithmetic Principles. Journal of Numerical Cognition. 12. doi: 10.5964/jnc.19523. Full text in Research Archive
• Haugland, Elisabeth Straume; Aadland, Eivind; Nilsen, Ada Kristine Ofrim; Lervåg, Arne & Aadland, Katrine Nyvoll (2025). Bidirectional, prospective associations between physical activity, fundamental motor skills, and physical fitness in preschool children. BMC Public Health. 26. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-25871-7. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract Background Evidence regarding longitudinal associations between physical activity (PA), fundamental motor skills, and physical fitness in young children is scarce and mixed. This study aimed to investigate bidirectional associations between intensity-specific PA and fundamental motor skills and physical fitness in 3–4-year-old preschoolers over 18 months. Methods We included 821 children (3.8 years, 53.5% boys) from the Active Learning Norwegian Preschool(er)s study who were measured at baseline and 18 months later. PA was measured with ActiGraph GT3X + accelerometers, fundamental motor skills were evaluated using 9 skills as indicators of locomotor skills, object control skills, and balance skills, and fitness was measured through tests of upper- and lower-body muscular strength (handgrip and standing long jump) and motor fitness (4 × 10 shuttle-run test). Structural equation modelling (SEM) with latent change-scores was used to investigate the bidirectional, prospective associations for PA with fundamental motor skills and physical fitness. Results Vigorous PA (VPA) and total PA (TPA) were bidirectionally, and favourably, associated with locomotor skills and motor fitness. Moderate PA (MPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) showed a positive association with balance skills, and MPA, VPA, MVPA, and TPA were prospectively and positively associated with object control skills, handgrip strength, and standing long jump, but not vice versa. Sedentary behaviour (SED) showed a bidirectional, negative association with locomotor skills, and a negative association with object control skills and all fitness measures. Conclusion Although we found a few bidirectional associations for PA with locomotor skills and motor fitness, our results suggest that promoting MVPA in early childhood can have a positive impact on children’s development of fundamental motor skills and physical fitness.

• Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Rogde, Kristin; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2025). Do the Effects of a Preschool Language Intervention Last in the Long Run? A 4-Year Follow-Up Study. Psychological Science. ISSN 0956-7976. 36(12), p. 887–898. doi: 10.1177/09567976251392219. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Childhood language interventions appear promising for improving children’s lives and yielding economic returns. However, few studies have evaluated long-term effects of these interventions. Our study did this using a large, cluster-randomized trial of a preschool intervention for Norwegian children aged 4 to 5 years whose vocabulary was more limited than that of their peers. Results showed that effects on expressive language were maintained at the 7-month follow-up when the children were in first grade and that those with the weakest language skills initially had the largest and most persistent effects. However, 4 years after the intervention, the differences between the intervention and control groups were negligible. Thus, although effects from the preschool language intervention lasted into the first year of elementary school, effects eventually faded and were completely absent in fourth grade. Our findings suggest the need for a sustained approach to language and literacy support, focusing on persistent interventions and high-quality adapted instruction.

• Psyridou, Maria; Torppa, Minna; Lervåg, Arne; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija & Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina (2025). Promotive and Protective Effects of Cognitive, Motivational, and Parental Factors on Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension in Grade 9. Scientific Studies of Reading. ISSN 1088-8438. 29(5), p. 470–499. doi: 10.1080/10888438.2025.2544010. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study examined resilience mechanisms influencing Grade 9 reading fluency and reading comprehension skills. Performance in reading fluency and comprehension in Grade 1 (age 7–8 years) was considered a risk factor for Grade 9 (age 15–16 years) reading performance. We focused on the potential promotive and protective effects of cognitive skills, motivational and parental factors, and gender on reading. Promotive factors benefit all individuals regardless of their level of risk, while protective factors generate more benefit for individuals at higher risk compared with those at lower risk. Data from a longitudinal Finnish sample of approximately 2,000 individuals were analyzed. Promotive and protective factors were examined separately for reading fluency and comprehension. Promotive factors were identified as main effects while controlling for Grade 1 performance. Protective factors were identified based on significant interactions with the risk factor, i.e. Grade 1 reading fluency and comprehension skills, and the signaling of gap-closing effects between those at lower and higher risk. Most examined skills and factors were identified as promotive factors for reading fluency and comprehension. Four protective factors emerged for reading fluency: pre-literacy skills, arithmetic fluency, oral language, and homework persistence. Oral language was identified as a protective factor for reading comprehension. Two additional significant interactions emerged for reading fluency: parental teaching of reading and parental support with reading-related homework, but they did not conform to the classic protective factor model. This study advances the application of constructs indicating resilience in reading research and sheds light on factors that provide promotive and protective support for early reading skills development.

• Wahl, Hedda Novang; Donolato, Enrica; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2025). The psychometric properties of two math anxiety scales in a sample of Norwegian primary school children. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. ISSN 0031-3831. 70(1), p. 147–163. doi: 10.1080/00313831.2025.2459906. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) and the Achievement Emotion Questionnaire – Math Anxiety (AEQ-MA) in a sample of Norwegian primary school students invited to participate during preschool. A total of 222 children completed both scales, and math tasks in Grade 3 and they followed up on the same questionnaires and math tests in Grade 4. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that a two-factor solution best suited the data for both self-report tools, with the AMAS defined by learning anxiety and testing anxiety dimensions and the AEQ-MA defined by the test-related and the class-and-learning math anxiety factors. Both questionnaires showed good internal consistency, measurement invariance across grade levels and genders, and concurrent validity with math tasks. In conclusion, the AMAS and the AEQ-MA present good psychometric properties and are suitable measures for assessing math anxiety in the first grades of formal education among Norwegian children.

• Grande, German; Amland, Tonje; Bergen, Elsje van; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2025). The intergenerational impact of mothers and fathers on children’s word reading development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ISSN 0021-9630. 66(7), p. 946–955. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.14107. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background Numerous studies have investigated the associations between the home literacy environment (HLE) and children's word reading skills. However, these associations may partly reflect shared genetic factors since parents provide both the reading environment and their child's genetic predisposition to reading. Hence, the relationship between the HLE and children's reading is genetically confounded. To address this, parents' reading abilities have been suggested as a covariate, serving as a proxy for genetic transmission. The few studies that have incorporated this covariate control have made no distinction between the HLE reported by each parent or controlled for different skills in parents and children. We predicted children's reading development over time by the reading abilities of both parents as covariates and both parents' self-reported HLE as predictors. Methods We analyzed data from 242 unrelated children, 193 mothers, and 144 fathers. Children's word reading was assessed in Grades 1 and 3, and parents' word reading was assessed on a single occasion. Predictors of children's reading development included literacy resources and shared reading activities. Results Children's reading in Grade 3 was predicted by mothers' engagement in reading activities and by literacy resources at home, even after controlling for the genetic proxy of parental reading abilities. The longitudinal rate of change from Grades 1 to 3 was not associated with the HLE or parental reading. Conclusions Our finding that parental reading skills predicted children's word reading beyond children's initial word reading underscores the importance of considering genetic confounding in research on the home environment. Beyond parental reading abilities, children's skills were predicted by literacy resources in the home and by how often mothers engage in reading activities with their children. This suggests true environmental effects.

• Aadland, Katrine Nyvoll; Lervåg, Arne; Andersen, John Roger; Howard, Steven J.; Ommundsen, Yngvar & Aadland, Eivind (2024). Effects of a staff physical activity professional development intervention on preschoolers' mental health and self-regulation: The active learning Norwegian Preschool(er)s (ACTNOW) cluster randomised controlled trial. Psychology of Sport And Exercise. ISSN 1469-0292. 75. doi: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2024.102705. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background and aim: Physical activity may have positive effects on preschoolers' mental health and self-regulation. The preschool setting provides children with opportunities to meet physical activity guidelines and could improve with staff training in delivering physical activity. This study examined the effect of physical activity professional development for preschool staff on preschoolers' proxy-measured mental health and self-regulation. Methods: In total, 1265 children from 46 preschools were cluster randomised to either the intervention or the control group. The intervention was nested within two levels implemented concurrently: the preschool level, formed as a professional development where preschools conducted development work, and the child level, with whom the staff implemented physical activity with four core components. Data were analysed using an ANCOVA model through structural equation modelling with latent outcome factors of: emotional problems, peer problems, hyperactivity, and prosocial behaviour from the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire; and cognitive, emotional, and behavioural self-regulation from the Child Self-regulation and Behaviour Questionnaire. Results: No effects of the intervention (standardised effect sizes -0.195–0.145, p-values 0.118–0.893) were observed. Secondary analysis showed that children with initially high prosocial behaviour and behavioural self-regulation positively benefited from the intervention (p = 0.035 and p = 0.047, respectively). Conclusion: The ACTNOW intervention had no effects on preschoolers' mental health or self-regulation after 18 months, besides effects for children with initially the highest prosocial behaviour and behavioural self-regulation. Although the professional development was more extensive than previous studies it may have been insufficient to change the preschools physical activity practices.

• Elnes, Magdalena; Hansen, Joakim Evensen; Lervåg, Arne Ola; Hatlevik, Ove Edvard & Reikerås, Elin Kirsti Lie (2024). Verbal and non-verbal skills in early childhood: dimensionality, developmental trajectories, and gender differences. Frontiers in Psychology. 15. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1330334. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study examines the dimensionality of and relationships between two subscales from the British Ability Scales – Third Edition, measuring verbal (expressive vocabulary) and non-verbal (reasoning) cognitive skills for toddlers (age three) and preschoolers (age five), in a Norwegian context across genders. Descriptive statistics revealed item selection criteria that included specific items within each subscale. Subsequently, Confirmatory Factor Analysis established the subscales’ dimensionality (Naming Vocabulary and Picture Similarities; N = 1094) and confirmed measurement invariance across genders. Further, the relationships between the verbal and non-verbal factors were investigated using correlation analysis and Structural Equation Modeling. The findings revealed that the verbal factor at age three strongly predicted the verbal factor at age five and significantly influenced the non-verbal factor at age five. The non-verbal factor at age three exhibited a moderate predictive relationship with the non-verbal factor at age five, and did not significantly predict the verbal factor at age five. In terms of gender differences, girls showed higher scores on the verbal factor at age three, and a stronger correlation between the non-verbal factor at age three and the verbal factor at age five. In summary, this research provides valuable insights into cognitive skill measurement and development in a Norwegian context and highlights possible variations across gender. The study’s findings, limitations, and implications are discussed.

• Esposito, Rosanne; Lervåg, Arne & Hulme, Charles (2024). Oral language intervention in the late primary school years is effective: evidence from a randomised control trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ISSN 0021-9630. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.14084. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background Oral language skills provide the foundation for formal education, and children may require language support over an extended period of time to maximise their education potential. Most work on language intervention, however, has focussed on the preschool or early school years. Here, we describe the development and evaluation of the Oral Language for Literacy Intervention (OLLI) programme which is designed to support children with weak language skills in the later primary school years. Methods We conducted a randomised control trial in 33 schools (50 classrooms). The language skills of all 8–9 year-old children in each participating classroom (n = 1,423) were assessed using an automated app (LanguageScreen). The six children with the weakest LanguageScreen scores within each classroom (n = 296) were randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 148) or control group (n = 148). The children in the intervention group received the OLLI programme delivered in individual and small group sessions over 20 weeks. Children in the control group received their typical teaching. Results Children receiving the OLLI programme made significantly larger gains than children in the control group on a preregistered latent variable reflecting standardised measures of oral language ability (d = 0.38) and on a measure of their written expression (d = 0.42). Conclusions These findings have important implications for improving educational attainment in children in the late primary school years. The OLLI programme is designed to be deliverable at scale and is of relatively low cost.

• Diamanti, Vassiliki; Grande, German Garcia; Protopapas, Athanassios; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2024). Preschool Morphological Awareness and Developmental Change in Early Reading Ability. Scientific Studies of Reading. ISSN 1088-8438. doi: 10.1080/10888438.2024.2370843. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Purpose This longitudinal study examined the contribution of preschool morphological awareness to word reading skills and reading comprehension, as well as to the developmental change of reading ability beyond other well-established oral language and cognitive predictors. A distinction was made between the domains of inflectional and derivational morphology. Method Two hundred and fifty-nine Norwegian-speaking children (46% female) with a mean age of 5.5 years were assessed in preschool on language measures and again in Grades 1 and 3 on measures of word reading accuracy and fluency and in Grades 3 and 4 on reading comprehension. We fit latent change score models with preschool predictors using parceling to control for measurement error. Results We found a unique contribution of preschool morphological awareness to reading comprehension in Grade 3, but no unique contribution to Grade 1 decoding. Neither awareness of inflections nor awareness of derivations predicted developmental change in word reading fluency between Grades 1 and 3 or change in reading comprehension between Grades 3 and 4 beyond the effect of control variables. Conclusion Our findings confirm the relevance of morphological awareness only for early attainment in reading comprehension and highlight the importance of accounting for measurement error in studying associations among variables aiming to discover specific contributions.

• Amland, Tonje; Grande, German; Scherer, Ronny; Lervåg, Arne & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2024). Cognitive Factors Underlying Mathematical Skills: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Psychological bulletin. ISSN 0033-2909. doi: 10.1037/bul0000457. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In understanding the nature of mathematical skills, the most influential theories suggest that mathematical cognition draws on different systems: numerical, linguistic, spatial, and general cognitive skills. Studies show that skills in these areas are highly predictive of outcomes in mathematics. Nonetheless, the strength of these relations with mathematical achievement varies, and little is known about the moderators or relative importance of each predictor. Based on 269 concurrent and 174 longitudinal studies comprising 2,696 correlations, this meta-analysis summarizes the evidence on cognitive predictors of mathematical skills in children and adolescents. The results showed that nonsymbolic number skills (often labeled approximate number sense) correlate significantly less with mathematical achievement than symbolic number skills and that various aspects of language relate differently to mathematical outcomes. We observed differential predictive patterns for arithmetic and word problems, and these patterns only partly supported the theory of three pathways—quantitative, linguistic, and spatial—for mathematical skills. Concurrently, nonsymbolic number and phonological skills were weak but exclusive predictors of arithmetic skills, whereas nonverbal intelligence quotient (IQ) predicted word problems only. Only symbolic number skills predicted both arithmetic and word problems concurrently. Longitudinally, symbolic number skills, spatial ability, and nonverbal IQ predicted both arithmetic and word problems, whereas language comprehension was important for word problem solving only. As in the concurrent data, nonsymbolic number skill was a weak longitudinal predictor of arithmetic skills. We conclude that the candidates to target in intervention studies are symbolic number skills and language comprehension. It is uncertain whether the two other important predictors, nonverbal IQ and spatial skills, are actually malleable.

• West, Gillian; Lervåg, Arne; Birchenough, Julia M. H.; Korell, Caroline; Diaz, Mariela Rios & Duta, Mihaela [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2024). Oral language enrichment in preschool improves children's language skills: a cluster randomised controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ISSN 0021-9630. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13947. Full text in Research Archive
• Grande, German; Diamanti, Vassiliki; Protopapas, Athanassios; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2024). The development of morphological awareness and vocabulary: What influences what? Applied Psycholinguistics. ISSN 0142-7164. doi: 10.1017/S0142716424000213. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The awareness of words’ morphological structure has been thought to allow generalizing meaning to other, similarly constructed words. Conversely, a large vocabulary is thought to facilitate the recognition of words’ morphological regularities, thereby contributing to morphological awareness. For this reason, morphological awareness and vocabulary have been suggested to be reciprocally associated across development. We followed 242 (girls = 119) Norwegian preschoolers (Mage = 5.5 years) from preschool through Grade 2 and examined the cross-lagged relations between morphological awareness (inflections and derivations) and vocabulary (receptive and expressive). Our results confirm that the traditional cross-lagged panel model shows significant cross-lagged relations between morphological awareness and vocabulary, as previous studies have shown. However, no cross-lagged relations were found when we accounted for longitudinal measured stability through a cross-lagged panel model with lag-2 paths or unmeasured stability through the random intercept cross-lagged panel model. We found that approximately 50% of the variation in morphology and vocabulary was due to highly stable and invariant factors across grades. We discuss how the significant cross-lagged relations found in previous studies could have been due to their not accounting for the right type of stability when using longitudinal panel data.

• Hoff, David Armas; Amland, Tonje; Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Lervåg, Arne & Protopapas, Athanassios (2023). Early rapid naming longitudinally predicts shared variance in reading and arithmetic fluency. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. ISSN 0022-0965. 231. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105656. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A number of cognitive factors have been suggested to underlie development in reading and arithmetic skills. Although the two domains are strongly linked, only a few studies have investigated the processes that are shared between them during the early school years. Rapid automatized naming (RAN) has been identified as a strong predictor of a common fluency factor in reading and arithmetic. In the current study with 232 Norwegian children, we examined how RAN in preschool and Grade 1 relates to the shared and nonshared variance in arithmetic fluency and reading fluency in Grade 3. Furthermore, we examined whether related processing skills (phoneme awareness, working memory, speed of processing, and symbol knowledge) can account for the relationship between RAN and shared fluency—or if they predict variance that is unique to each domain. Our results show that RAN in both preschool and Grade 1 is a strong predictor of shared variance between reading fluency and arithmetic fluency measured several years later, whereas other predictors mainly relate to the nonshared parts of variance in the fluency outcomes. That is, control variables with the theoretical potential to explain some of RAN’s relation to the overlap between reading and arithmetic fluency do not in fact account for this relationship. Our findings provide a starting point for future investigations of the mechanisms of rapid naming.

• Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Rogde, Kristin; Lervåg, Arne; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Norbury, Courtenay (2023). Long-term prognosis of low language proficiency in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2023(1). doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD015268. Full text in Research Archive
• Ehm, Jan-Henning; Schmitterer, Alexandra M.A.; Nagler, Telse & Lervåg, Arne (2023). The Underlying Components of Growth in Decoding and Reading Comprehension: Findings from a 5-Year Longitudinal Study of German-Speaking Children. Scientific Studies of Reading. ISSN 1088-8438. doi: 10.1080/10888438.2022.2164199. Full text in Research Archive
• Donolato, Enrica; Toffalini, Enrico; Rogde, Kristin; Nordahl-Hansen, Anders; Lervåg, Arne & Norbury, Courtenay Frazier [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2023). Oral language interventions can improve language outcomes in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 19(4), p. 1–48. doi: 10.1002/cl2.1368. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background Young people who fail to develop language as expected face significant challenges in all aspects of life. Unfortunately, language disorders are common, either as a distinct condition (e.g., Developmental Language Disorder) or as a part of another neurodevelopmental condition (e.g., autism). Finding ways to attenuate language problems through intervention has the potential to yield great benefits not only for the individual but also for society as a whole. Objectives This meta-analytic review examined the effect of oral language interventions for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Search Methods The last electronic search was conducted in April 2022. Selection Criteria Intervention studies had to target language skills for children from 2 to 18 years of age with Developmental Language Disorder, autism, intellectual disability, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and Williams syndrome in randomised controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs. Control groups had to include business-as-usual, waiting list, passive or active conditions. However, we excluded studies in which the active control group received a different type, delivery, or dosage of another language intervention. Eligible interventions implemented explicit and structured activities (i.e., explicit instruction of vocabulary, narrative structure or grammatical rules) and/or implicit and broad activities (i.e., shared book reading, general language stimulation). The intervention studies had to assess language skills in receptive and/or expressive modalities. Data Collection and Analysis The search provided 8195 records after deduplication. Records were screened by title and abstract, leading to full-text examinations of 448 records. We performed Correlated and Hierarchical Effects models and ran a retrospective power analysis via simulation. Publication bias was assessed via p-curve and precision-effect estimate. Main Results We examined 38 studies, with 46 group comparisons and 108 effects comparing pre-/post-tests and eight studies, with 12 group comparisons and 21 effects at follow-up. The results showed a mean effect size of d = 0.27 at the post-test and d = 0.18 at follow-up. However, there was evidence of publication bias and overestimation of the mean effects. Effects from the meta-analysis were significantly related to these elements: (1) receptive vocabulary and omnibus receptive measures showed smaller effect sizes relative to expressive vocabulary, grammar, expressive and receptive discourse, and omnibus expressive tests; and (2) the length of the intervention, where longer sessions conducted over a longer period of time were more beneficial than brief sessions and short-term interventions. Neither moderators concerning participants’ characteristics (children's diagnosis, diagnostic status, age, sex, and non-verbal cognitive ability and severity of language impairment), nor those regarding of the treatment components and implementation of the language interventions (intervention content, setting, delivery agent, session structure of the intervention or total number of sessions) reached significance. The same occurred to indicators of study quality. The risk of bias assessment showed that reporting quality for the studies examined in the review was poor. Authors’ Conclusions In sum, the current evidence base is promising but inconclusive. Pre-registration and replication of more robust and adequately powered trials, which include a wider range of diagnostic conditions, together with more long-term follow-up comparisons, are needed to drive evidence-based practice and policy.

• Aadland, Katrine Nyvoll; Nilsen, Ada Kristine Ofrim; Lervåg, Arne & Aadland, Eivind (2022). Structural validity of a test battery for assessment of fundamental movement skills in Norwegian 3–6-year-old children. Journal of Sports Sciences. ISSN 0264-0414. 40(15), p. 1688–1699. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2022.2100622. Full text in Research Archive
• Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård; Hokstad, Silje; Engevik, Liv Inger; Lervåg, Arne & Smith, Elizabeth (2022). A Randomized Trial of the Digital Down Syndrome LanguagePlus (DSL+) Vocabulary Intervention Program. Remedial and special education. ISSN 0741-9325. 43(5). doi: 10.1177/07419325211058400. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study investigated the effect of the digital Down Syndrome LanguagePlus (DSL+) intervention on vocabulary outcomes through a school-delivered randomized controlled trial. A national sample of first graders with Down syndrome from 91 schools was allocated to an intervention group (n = 50), which received daily intervention for 15 weeks, or a business-as-usual control group (n = 53). The intervention involved picture book sharing and structured tasks and was organized as one-to-one, small-group, and full-class lessons. Children in the intervention group made greater gains than children in the control group in expressive vocabulary breadth (d = .429, CI [.160, .699]) and receptive vocabulary breadth (d = .447, CI [.193, .700]). The outcomes indicate that the novel DSL+ intervention is an effective intervention to increase trained vocabulary among first graders with Down syndrome, and it takes only 15 minutes of effort 5 days a week.

• Lervåg, Arne & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2022). Modeling the Development of Reading Comprehension. In Snowling, Margaret J.; Hulme, Charles & Nation, Kate (Ed.), The Science of Reading: A Handbook (Wiley Blackwell Handbooks of Developmental Psychology) 2nd Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. ISSN 9781119705093. p. 280–297. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A skilled reader can derive the meaning from a printed text rapidly and effortlessly. Becoming a skilled reader takes time and practice and is one of the main goals of primary school education. Since the previous edition of this book in 2005, research in this area has flourished and there are now many longitudinal studies examining how reading comprehension develops. This chapter will focus on what we know about the development of reading comprehension in the early school years, with a particular emphasis on understanding causal processes.

• Lervåg, Arne & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2022). Early prediction of learning outcomes in reading. In Skeide, Michael A. (Eds.), he Cambridge Handbook of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology). Cambridge University Press. ISSN 9781108973595. p. 305–317. doi: 10.1017/9781108973595.024. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This chapter focuses on the processes involved in the development of children’s decoding skills: the ability to translate printed words into a speech code, typically assessed by the accuracy and speed of reading aloud. If children struggle in developing this ability, they are often characterized as having dyslexia, but since decoding skills are normally distributed in the population, the cut-off for this diagnosis is somewhat arbitrary (Melby-Lervåg et al. 2012). During the first two years of school, the main aim for children is to develop accurate and fluent early reading abilities that will lay the foundation for the main goal of reading – to be able to extract meaning from text. Thus, though insufficient by itself, efficient word reading is, in turn, a necessary condition for the development of reading comprehension. Research on the foundations of learning to read has burgeoned in the last twenty-five years, with important theoretical and practical consequences.

• Hokstad, Silje; Næss, Kari-Anne Bottegård; Yaruss, J. Scott; Hoff, Karoline; Melle, Ane H. & Lervåg, Arne (2022). Stuttering Behavior in a National Age Cohort of Norwegian First-Graders With Down Syndrome. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research. ISSN 1092-4388. 65(11), p. 4133–4150. doi: 10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00605. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Purpose: The aims of this study were to investigate the occurrence of stuttering behavior across time and to evaluate the relationship between stuttering behavior and language ability in children with Down syndrome. Method: A national age cohort of Norwegian first graders with Down syndrome (N = 75) participated in the study. Speech samples from a story-retelling task and a picture book dialogue as well as standardized measures of vocabulary, grammar, and nonverbal mental ability were collected at two time points approximately 5 months apart. Stuttering behavior was evaluated through counting stuttering-like disfluencies and stuttering severity ratings. The relationship between stuttering behavior and language ability was investigated through hierarchical regression analysis. Results: The participants had stuttering severity ratings ranging from no stuttering behavior to severe and displayed all types of stuttering-like disfluencies. There were significant relationships between stuttering behavior and language ability at the first time point, whereas the relationships were not significant at the second time point. The stuttering severity ratings were significantly predicted by language ability across time, whereas the frequency of stuttering-like disfluencies was not. Conclusions: The occurrence of stuttering behavior was high across the measures and time points; however, the relationship between stuttering behavior and language ability varied across these variables. Thus, the nature of the relationship does not seem to follow a strict pattern that can be generalized to all children across time.

• West, Gillian; Lervåg, Arne; Snowling, Margaret J.; Buchanan-Worster, Elizabeth; Duta, Mihaela & Hulme, Charles (2022). Early language intervention improves behavioral adjustment in school: Evidence from a cluster randomized trial. Journal of School Psychology. ISSN 0022-4405. 92, p. 334–345. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2022.04.006. Full text in Research Archive
• Aadland, Katrine Nyvoll; Lervåg, Arne; Ommundsen, Yngvar & Aadland, Eivind (2022). Structural validity of the Norwegian version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in children aged 3–6 years. Frontiers in Psychology. 13, p. 1–15. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1024918. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Introduction: This study examined the structural validity of the teacher-report Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in Norwegian preschoolers aged 3–6 years. We tested the original five-factor structure, the five-factor structure with two broader second-order factors, and a three-factor structure, all suggested in the literature. Since the positively worded items in SDQ have been shown to introduce noise, we also examined all three structures with a positive construal method factor for these items. Methods: Preschool teachers from 43 preschools completed the SDQ questionnaire for 1,142 children [48% girls, mean age 4.3 (SD 0.9) years]. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to estimate and compare the six models. Measurement invariance was tested across sex (multi-group approach) and age (multiple-indicator multiple-cause approach). Results: The original five-factor structure of SDQ was supported, where the model fit improved when including a method factor for positively worded items. Both models showed scalar invariance across sex and age. The second-order and the three-factor structures were not supported. Conclusion: We recommend using the original five-factor structure when using SDQ for both clinical and research purposes in young children and adding a method factor when using structural equation modeling.

• Thurmann-Moe, Anne C; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2021). Single case design i evaluering av spesialpedagogiske tiltak. En gjennomgang av aktuelle analysemetoder for vurdering av effekt. Spesialpedagogikk. ISSN 0332-8457. 86(1), p. 53–72. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Artikkelen drøfter hvordan single case design (SCD) kan brukes i vurdering av spesialpedagogiske tiltak, og diskuterer spørsmål knyttet til validitet og alternative innfallsvinkler for vurdering av effekt. Det presenteres også et konkret eksempel fra en gjennomført studie. Det argumenteres for at SCD er spesielt egnet til vurdering av effekt av spesialpedagogiske tiltak for elever med lavfrekvente og/eller sammensatte vansker. I skolen kan SCD bidra til å øke kvaliteten på spesialundervisningen gjennom mer nøyaktige vurderinger av hva som virker for den enkelte elev, og også bidra til utvikling av forskningsbasert kunnskap for praksis.

• Dolean, Dacian; Lervåg, Arne; Visu-Petra, Laura & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2021). Language skills, and not executive functions, predict the development of reading comprehension of early readers: evidence from an orthographically transparent language. Reading and writing. ISSN 0922-4777. doi: 10.1007/s11145-020-10107-4. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract The simple view of reading proposes that the development of reading comprehension in early elementary school is best predicted by children’s fluent decoding and oral language skills. Recent studies challenge this view and suggest that executive functions should also be included in this theoretical model; however, the empirical evidence is not strong enough to clearly support or refute this hypothesis. In this short-term longitudinal study, we used latent variables to test whether executive functions have direct effects on the development of reading comprehension in 184 Romanian second graders, beyond fluent decoding and oral language skills. The results indicated that the initial stages of reading comprehension were associated with executive functions, but only the language skills could independently predict the development of reading comprehension. Our findings show that executive functions do not have a significant direct effect on the development of reading comprehension in early readers beyond fluent decoding and oral language skills in languages with transparent orthography. The results also suggest that once children learn to decode well, their language skills (and not their executive functions) have a strong effect on the development of reading comprehension. Therefore, reading interventions in elementary school should stress on the development of oral language skills.

• West, Gillian; Snowling, Margaret J.; Lervåg, Arne; Buchanan-Worster, Elizabeth; Duta, Mihaela & Hall, Alexandra [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2021). Early language screening and intervention can be delivered successfully at scale: evidence from a cluste rrandomized controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ISSN 0021-9630. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13415. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background It is well established that oral language skills provide a critical foundation for formal education. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme in ameliorating language difficulties in the first year of school when delivered at scale. Methods We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) in 193 primary schools (containing 238 Reception classrooms). Schools were randomly allocated to either a 20-week oral language intervention or a business-as-usual control group. All classes (N = 5,879 children) in participating schools were screened by school staff using an automated App to assess children’s oral language skills. Screening identified 1,173 children as eligible for language intervention: schools containing 571 of these children were allocated to the control group and 569 to the intervention group. Results Children receiving the NELI programme made significantly larger gains than the business-as-usual control group on a latent variable reflecting standardized measures of language ability (d = .26) and on the school-administered automated assessment of receptive and expressive language skills (d = .32). The effects of intervention did not vary as a function of home language background or gender. Conclusions This study provides strong evidence for the effectiveness of a school-based language intervention programme (NELI) delivered at scale. These findings demonstrate that language difficulties can be identified by school-based testing and ameliorated by a TA delivered intervention; this has important implications for educational and social policy.

• Thurmann-Moe, Anne C; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2021). The impact of articulatory consciousness training on reading and spelling literacy in students with severe dyslexia: an experimental single case study. Annals of Dyslexia. ISSN 0736-9387. doi: 10.1007/s11881-021-00225-1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract This study evaluates the effect of an intervention whose aim is to make articulatory consciousness a tool in decoding and spelling. The sample comprises 11 students with severe dyslexia (2 SD below the mean pseudoword scores), and the intervention programme consists of 32 individual sessions over 8 weeks. The study applies a multiple baseline/probe design with five baseline tests that correspond to a control condition, eight tests during the intervention and five post-intervention tests. On average, the results show significant improvement in all reading and spelling outcomes. However, there were also significant effects on an irrelevant control task (the pegboard test), perhaps indicating testing effects on the dependent variables, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions from the study. Consequently, testing the intervention in randomised trials of children with severe dyslexia is recommended to draw more firm conclusions about its efficacy for this group.

• Rogde, Kristin; Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Lervåg, Arne & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2021). Improvement in oral language interventions: Differences and relation between effects on treatment-inherent measures and effects on standardized tests. Nordic Journal of Literacy Research. 7(2), p. 1–18. doi: 10.23865/njlr.v7.2814. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Whether the effects of an oral-language intervention is tested with measures of trained vocabulary (treatment-inherent tests) or standardized measures (treatment-independent tests) can have consequences for the mean effect size in meta-analyses. Moreover, based on a theory of transfer effects, effects on the trained words could serve as an index of how much benefit is gained by children from the intervention. We present a meta-analysis that assesses the differences and relation between the intervention effects of these two types of outcomes, trained vocabulary and standardized vocabulary tests. The results show large effects on trained vocabulary, limited effects on standardized measures, and no clear relation between the two. The moderator analysis indicates that less instruction time is associated with larger effect sizes on trained vocabulary but that trained vocabulary is not a predictor of either standardized expressive or receptive vocabulary. Thus, in interventions and meta-analyses, it is important to distinguish between effects on trained vocabulary and standardized tests, and trained vocabulary effects does not necessarily transfer to standardized measures. This indicates that effects on trained vocabulary outcomes provide limited information when evaluating language interventions.

• Thurmann-Moe, Anne C; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2021). Effects of Articulatory Consciousness Training in First Graders with a Reading Delay: A Randomised Control Trial. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. ISSN 0031-3831. p. 1–18. doi: 10.1080/00313831.2020.1869823. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper describes a randomised control trial (RCT) of a small group intervention targeting articulatory consciousness in first graders with a reading delay (control condition: n = 57, intervention condition: n = 64). The programme in the intervention condition consisted of basic decoding and spelling tasks using articulatory cards to symbolise speech sounds. Training took place four times per week for five weeks. The control condition received “business as usual”. The results show that the children in the intervention condition learned to use the articulatory symbols, but there were no effects of the intervention on reading and phonological awareness measures. Also, there was no relationship shown between initial phonological awareness skills and gains, or lack thereof, from the intervention.

• Amland, Tonje; Lervåg, Arne & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2021). Comorbidity Between Math and Reading Problems: Is Phonological Processing a Mutual Factor? Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 14. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.577304. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  There is a relationship between reading and math skills, as well as comorbidity between reading and math disorders. A mutual foundation for this comorbidity could be that the quality of phonological representations is important for both early reading and arithmetic. In this study, we examine this hypothesis in a sample traced longitudinally from preschool to first grade ( N = 259). The results show that phonological awareness does not explain development in arithmetic, but that there is an indirect effect between phoneme awareness in preschool and arithmetic in first grade via phoneme awareness in first grade. This effect is, however, weak and restricted to verbal arithmetic and not arithmetic fluency. This finding is only partly in line with other studies, and a reason could be that this study more strongly controls for confounders and previous skills than other studies.

• Sjøstrand, Åse; Kefalianos, Elaina; Hofslundsengen, Hilde Christine; Guttormsen, Linn Stokke; Kirmess, Melanie & Lervåg, Arne [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2021). Non-pharmacological interventions for stuttering in children six years and younger. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2021(9), p. 1–63. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013489.pub2. Full text in Research Archive
• Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Knoph, Rebecca; Hjetland, Hanne Næss; Rogde, Kristin; Lawrence, Joshua & Lervåg, Arne [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2021). Measuring Listening Comprehension and Predicting Language Development in At-Risk Preschoolers. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. ISSN 0031-3831. doi: 10.1080/00313831.2021.1939136. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Listening comprehension involves the ability to understand and extract meaning from spoken sentences, stories, and instruction. This skill is vital for young children and has long-term effects on school achievement, employability, income, and participation in society. There is a lack of measures of young children’s listening comprehension skills. We report on a new measure of listening comprehension (LURI) that we tested in a group of at-risk preschoolers. Using IRT (Item Response Theory) analysis, we examined the psychometric properties of the instrument. Moreover, in a series of regressions, we found that the LURI measure predicted a range of other language skills better than standardized measures. Thus, the LURI test is a reliable and valid measure of listening comprehension. Assessing listening comprehension is a time-effective way of measuring a skill critically important to language development and represents the product of a range of different oral language processes.

• Hulme, Charles; Snowling, Margaret J.; West, Gillian; Lervåg, Arne & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2020). Children’s Language Skills Can Be Improved: Lessons From Psychological Science for Educational Policy. Current Directions in Psychological Science. ISSN 0963-7214. 29(4), p. 372–377. doi: 10.1177/0963721420923684. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Oral language is crucial for social interaction and for learning in the classroom; it also provides the foundation for reading comprehension. It follows that children with language difficulties are at high risk of educational failure. Recently, a number of studies have demonstrated that it is possible to produce small but significant improvements in children’s oral language through targeted language interventions ( d = 0.16) and, furthermore, that studies with high-quality implementation show larger effects ( d = 0.24). There is also evidence that effects of language intervention can generalize to produce improvements in reading comprehension. Although further research examining the long-term effects of language interventions are needed, current findings have important implications for educational policy and practice.

• Lyster, Solveig Alma Halaas; Snowling, Margareth; Hulme, Charles & Lervåg, Arne (2020). Preschool phonological, morphological and semantic skills explain it all: Following reading development through a 9-year period. Journal of Research in Reading. ISSN 0141-0423. doi: 10.1111/1467-9817.12312. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background There is increasing recognition of the contribution of morphological skills to the development of reading fluency. However, theoretical models and recent research raise questions about how different language skills influence reading development. Methods The present study was designed to follow the reading development of a large sample of Norwegian children (N = 323) from preschool to Grade 9, assessing their performance on a wide range of language‐related and reading skills including morphological awareness. We employed confirmatory factor analyses of the cognitive, linguistic and reading variables prior to modelling the contribution of the preschool language variables to reading comprehension in Grades 1, 2 and 9. Results Preschool measures of phonological, morphological and semantic skills were best represented by a single language latent variable. Reading in Grades 1 and 2, assessed by measures of both decoding and comprehension, was also best represented by a single latent variable. Preschool language skills have long‐range direct and indirect effects on the development of reading comprehension. Overall, preschool language abilities accounted for 69.2% of the variance in reading comprehension 9 years later. Conclusions The results demonstrate the powerful influence of early language on later reading and suggest that language intervention programmes, combining phonological, morphological and semantic activities, may help to reduce the incidence of reading problems.

• Heller, Mia Cecilie & Lervåg, Arne (2020). KARTLEGGING AV NORSKSPRÅKLIGE FERDIGHETER FOR ELEVER PÅ 1.-4.TRINN: EN VURDERING AV KARTLEGGINGSVERKTØYET NORSK SOM LÆRINGSSPRÅK (NSL). Norsk tidsskrift for logopedi. ISSN 0332-7256. 66(3), p. 6–16. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Kartlegging av norskspråklige ferdigheter kan bidra til tidlig identifisering av minoritetsspråklige barn som trenger språkstøtte i skolen, og dermed være veiledende for innholdet i undervisningen. Kvaliteten ved kartleggingsverktøy er viktig ved kartlegging. Denne studien gjennomførte analyser av reliabilitet, begrepsvaliditet og kriterievaliditet i kartleggingsverktøyet «Norsk Som Læringsspråk » (NSL), som er en læreplanorientert kartlegging av elevers norskspråklige ferdigheter for 1.-4.trinn. NSL vurderer ferdigheter innenfor kategorisering, vokabular (bredde og dybde) og grammatikk. Konfirmerende faktoranalyser identifiserte NSL som en fire-faktormodell. Det ble også funnet korrelasjoner mellom NSL og andre standardiserte språkkartlegginger som underbygger validiteten i kartleggingsverktøyet. Implikasjoner og potensielle utfordringer ved NSL diskuteres.

• Dolean, Dacian & Lervag, Arne (2020). Variations of homework amount assigned in elementary school can impact academic achievement. Journal of Experimental Education. ISSN 0022-0973. doi: 10.1080/00220973.2020.1861422. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The utility of homework and its impact on academic achievement has been an ongoing debate for more than 100 years. To date, there is no rigorous experimental research to show whether, and the extent to which, variations in the amount of homework assigned can impact the academic performance of elementary school students. In this study, 440 second-grade students were randomly distributed in 3 groups within the classes they attended. Each group received different amounts of homework in writing and math for 20 days. The results showed a significant immediate effect of homework quantity on writing competency (but not on math competency). The writing homework effects were sustained 4 months later, but only for the group that had allocated a moderate amount of homework to writing skills practice. This study shows that the additional opportunities for practice offered by homework can have differential short-term and medium-term effects on the academic achievement of elementary school students and supports the assignment of a moderate amount of writing homework at this age.

• Caravolas, Markéta; Lervåg, Arne; Mikulajová, Marína; Defior, Sylvia; Seidlová-Málkova, Gabriela & Hulme, C (2019). A Cross-Linguistic, Longitudinal Study of the Foundations of Decoding and Reading Comprehension Ability. Scientific Studies of Reading. ISSN 1088-8438. doi: 10.1080/10888438.2019.1580284. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The present study investigated the moderating role of orthographic consistency on the development of reading comprehension in four language groups (English, n = 179; Spanish, n = 188; Czech, n = 135; Slovak, n = 194) from kindergarten to Grade 2. In all languages, early variations in phoneme awareness/letter knowledge, rapid automatised naming, and emerging decoding skills, but not oral language, predicted variations in decoding skills at the end of Grade 1; these in turn predicted reading comprehension in Grade 2. For the three consistent orthographies (Spanish, Slovak, and Czech), kindergarten language skills were another significant predictor of Grade 2 reading comprehension. This effect was absent in the English sample, where variations in decoding skills were a more powerful predictor. These results provide the first longitudinal evidence for effects of orthographic consistency on the development of reading comprehension and provide support for the simple view of reading.

• Ehm, Jan-Henning; Lonnemann, Jan; Brandenburg, Janin; Huscha, Sine Simone; Hasselhorn, Marcus & Lervåg, Arne (2019). Exploring factors underlying children’s acquisitionand retrieval of sound–symbol association skills. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. ISSN 0022-0965. 177, p. 86–99. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2018.07.006. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Letter knowledge is considered an important cognitive foundation for learning to read. The underlying mechanisms of the association between letter knowledge and reading skills are, however, not fully understood. Acquiring letter knowledge depends on the ability to learn and retrieve sound–symbol pairings. In the current study, this process was explored by setting preschool children’s (N = 242, mean age = 5.57 years) performance in the acquisition and retrieval of a paired associate learning (PAL) task in relation to their letter knowledge as well as to their performance in tasks assessing precursors of reading skills (i.e., phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, phonological short-term memory, backward recall, and response inhibition). Multiple regression analyses revealed that performance in the acquisition of the PAL task was significantly associated with phonological awareness and backward recall, whereas performance in the retrieval of the PAL task was significantly associated with rapid automatized naming, phonological awareness, and backward recall. Moreover, PAL proved to be mediating the relation between reading precursors and letter knowledge. Together, these findings indicate that the acquisition of letter knowledge may depend on a visual–verbal associative learning mechanism and that different factors contribute to the acquisition and retrieval of such visual–verbal associations.

• Malone, Stephanie A.; Pritchard, Verena E.; Heron-Delaney, Michelle; Burgoyne, Kelly; Lervåg, Arne & Hulme, Charles (2019). The relationship between numerosity discrimination and arithmetic skill reflects the approximate number system and cannot be explained by inhibitory control. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. ISSN 0022-0965. 184, p. 220–231. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.02.009. Full text in Research Archive
• Dolean, Dacian; Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Tincas, Ioana; Damsa, Crina I. & Lervåg, Arne (2019). Achievement gap: Socioeconomic status affects reading development beyond language and cognition in children facing poverty. Learning and Instruction. ISSN 0959-4752. 63. doi: 10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.101218. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Learning to read efficiently is one of the main skills that children has to learn in school and is important in order to functioning well in modern society. Even if children's reading skills seem to be related to their socioeconomic status, only a few studies have examined how SES is related to the development of reading skills in children facing severe poverty. This study traced 322 Roma children facing severe poverty from 7 through 9 years and compared them with an unselected sample of 178 Romanian non-Roma children. The Roma children had both poorer initial reading and a slower growth of their reading skills. In contrast to previous studies, SES did explain growth in reading skills after controlling for other well-known cognitive and linguistic predictors of reading. Among the Roma children, the effects of SES on reading growth were partly mediated by school absence. Thus, interventions directed at Roma children facing severe poverty need to target both the quality of reading instruction and broader aspects of these children's lives.

• Burgoyne, Kelly; Malone, Stephanie; Lervåg, Arne & Hulme, Charles (2019). Pattern understanding is a predictor of early reading and arithmetic skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. ISSN 0885-2006. 49, p. 69–80. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2019.06.006. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  There is increasing interest in the role that pattern understanding may play in the development of arithmetic and reading skills. However, longitudinal studies are rare and typically do not control for other predictors which contribute to development in these domains. This large-scale longitudinal study examined the extent to which pattern understanding is a unique predictor of reading and arithmetic, after controlling for a range of theoretically important skills. We assessed a large sample of 5-year old children (N = 569) in the first few months of school on measures of reading, arithmetic, naming speed, number knowledge, counting, non-symbolic magnitude, executive function, oral language, and non-verbal IQ. Children completed alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric pattern understanding tasks six months later. Reading and arithmetic skills were assessed again 12 months after the initial assessment. Latent variable path models showed that pattern understanding predicted significant additional variance in both reading and arithmetic after controlling for a range of other variables. Pattern understanding was in turn predicted by executive function, which indirectly predicted both reading and arithmetic. Thus, we find support for a role of domain general skills (executive function and pattern understanding) as shared predictors of both reading and arithmetic.

• Rogde, Kristin; Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2019). The effect of linguistic comprehension instruction on generalized language and reading comprehension skills: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 15:e1059(4), p. 1–37. doi: 10.1002/cl2.1059. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The linguistic comprehension programs included in this review display a small positive immediate effect on generalized outcomes of linguistic comprehension. The effect of the programs on generalized measures of reading comprehension is negligible. Few studies report follow‐up assessment of their participants. Children who begin school with proficient language skills are more likely to develop adequate reading comprehension abilities and achieve academic success than children who struggle with poor language skills in their early years. Individual language difficulties, environmental factors related to socioeconomic status (SES), and having the educational language as a second language are all considered risk factors for language and literacy failure. Intervention programs have been designed with the aim of supporting at‐risk children's language skills. In these programs, the instructional methods typically include a strong focus on vocabulary instruction within the context of storytelling or text reading. Elements that directly activate narrative and grammatical development are often included.

• Snowling, Margareth; Lervåg, Arne; Nash, Hanna & Hulme, Charles (2019). Longitudinal relationships between speech perception, phonological skills and reading in children at high- risk of dyslexia. Developmental Science. ISSN 1363-755X. 22(1). doi: 10.1111/desc.12723. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Speech perception deficits are commonly reported in dyslexia but longitudinal evidence that poor speech perception compromises learning to read is scant. We assessed the hypothesis that phonological skills, specifically phoneme awareness and RAN, mediate the relationship between speech perception and reading. We assessed longitudinal predictive relationships between categorical speech perception, phoneme awareness, RAN, language, attention and reading at ages 5½ and 6½ years in 237 children many of whom were at high risk of reading difficulties. Speech perception at 5½ years correlated with language, attention, phoneme awareness and RAN concurrently and was a predictor of reading at 6½ years. There was no significant indirect effect of speech perception on reading via phoneme awareness, suggesting that its effects are separable from those of phoneme awareness. Children classified with dyslexia at 8 years had poorer speech perception than age‐controls at 5½ years and children with language disorders (with or without dyslexia) had more severe difficulties with both speech perception and attention control. Categorical speech perception tasks tap factors extraneous to perception, including decision‐making skills. Further longitudinal studies are needed to unravel the complex relationships between categorical speech perception tasks and measures of reading and language and attention.

• Lervåg, Arne; Dolean, Dacian; Tincas, Ioana & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2019). Socioeconomic background, nonverbal IQ and school absence affects the development of vocabulary and reading comprehension in children living in severe poverty. Developmental Science. ISSN 1363-755X. 22(5). doi: 10.1111/desc.12858. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Few studies have examined how socioeconomic status (SES) affects two essential parts of human development, namely vocabulary and reading comprehension, in children facing severe poverty. The Roma population is the largest minority group in Europe, the majority of whom live in severe poverty. This study compared the development of 322 Roma children with the development of 178 non‐Roma children, between the ages of 7 and 10 years, living in Romania. The Roma children had poorer initial vocabulary and reading comprehension skills as well as slower growth rates for both compared to the non‐Roma children. Importantly, SES had a direct influence on growth in both reading comprehension and vocabulary. The effect of SES was partly mediated by school absence and nonverbal IQ. This is a powerful finding since it suggests that poverty may have detrimental effects not only on reading but also on the development of verbal abilities.

• Heller, Mia Cecilie; Lervåg, Arne & Grøver, Vibeke (2019). Oral Language Intervention in Norwegian Schools Serving Young Language‐Minority Learners: A Randomized Trial. Reading Research Quarterly. ISSN 0034-0553. 54(4), p. 531–552. doi: 10.1002/rrq.248. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In this randomized trial study, the authors examined the efficacy of a practitioner partnership language intervention addressing oral language learning (expressive and receptive) in young language‐minority learners from multiple‐language groups in Norway. Resource teachers in 16 elementary schools implemented the intervention in the first and second grades, delivering a total of 64 thirty‐minute sessions over eight consecutive weeks. With a mean age of 6 years 3.34 months, 137 students were randomly allocated to an intervention group or a waiting‐list control group, with the latter group receiving the intervention after posttest 1. Five assessments of oral language skills were conducted before the intervention, immediately following it, and four months later. The intervention group showed significant improvements in various oral language skills compared with the waiting‐list control group. There were no significant differences between the groups at the four‐month follow‐up when the waiting‐list control group received the intervention. The program was successful in enhancing oral language skills in young language‐minority learners.

• Ricketts, Jessie; Lervåg, Arne; Dawson, Nicola; Taylor, Lucy A & Hulme, Charles (2019). Reading and Oral Vocabulary Development in Early Adolescence. Scientific Studies of Reading. ISSN 1088-8438. doi: 10.1080/10888438.2019.1689244. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  International assessments show that 20% of adolescents cannot read simple texts with understanding. Despite this, research has focused on early reading in childhood and skilled reading in adulthood, neglecting reading development during adolescence. We report a longitudinal study assessing reading and vocabulary development at 12, 13 and 14 years in a sample of 210 adolescents who were unselected for ability. Word reading accuracy, word reading fluency, reading comprehension, receptive vocabulary and expressive vocabulary were assessed using standardized assessments. Latent variable models showed consistent rank order amongst individuals (high stability), significant progress over time, and evidence that achievement gaps between the least and most able adolescents were narrowing. Oral vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension were best conceptualized as indices of a common language construct. Low levels of reading proficiency were also observed in a substantial proportion of this sample, underlining the importance of providing ongoing reading and language support during adolescence.

• Clayton, Francina J; West, Gillian; Sears, Claire; Hulme, Charles & Lervåg, Arne (2019). A Longitudinal Study of Early Reading Development: Letter-Sound Knowledge, Phoneme Awareness and RAN, but Not Letter-Sound Integration, Predict Variations in Reading Development. Scientific Studies of Reading. ISSN 1088-8438. p. 1–18. doi: 10.1080/10888438.2019.1622546. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  It is now widely accepted that phonological language skills are a critical foundation for learning to read (decode). This longitudinal study investigated the predictive relationship between a range of key phonological language skills and early reading development in a sample of 191 children in their first year at school. The study also explored the theory that a failure to establish automatic associations between letters and speech sounds is a proximal causal risk factor for difficulties in learning to read. Our findings show that automatic letter-sound associations are established early, but do not predict variations in reading development. In contrast, phoneme awareness, letter-sound knowledge and alphanumeric RAN were all strong independent predictors of reading development. In addition, both phoneme awareness and RAN displayed a reciprocal relationship with reading, such that the growth of reading predicted improvements in these skills.

• Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Hagen, Åste Mjelve & Lervåg, Arne (2019). Disentangling the far transfer of language comprehension gains using latent mediation models. Developmental Science. ISSN 1363-755X. doi: 10.1111/desc.12929. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  While we know that interventions targeting oral language can be effective, little is known about what drives these effects. In this study, we examine whether gains in transfer measures are mediated through the specific words that are trained in a language intervention. Based on a large‐scale randomized controlled trial of language intervention in 4‐ to 5‐year‐old children, latent mediation models were used to disentangle oral language gains in transfer measures. The results first showed that the effects of the language intervention and the transfer effects are generated through expressive rather than receptive measures of language. Second, we found that the effects of the intervention on intermediate transfer measures of language were mediated through the ability to define the trained words. Third, and critically, for far transfer measures that did not contain any of the trained words, the effects were mediated through the trained words. The findings relate to theories of transfer and support the idea that far transfer is possible, at least within the same domain. In addition, it seems that effects on receptive language skills are difficult to obtain and that what is improved is instead the children's ability to express themselves and use procedures to explain words. Thus, to optimize intervention effects, future studies should focus on expressive language.

• Nordahl-Hansen, Anders; Donolato, Enrica; Lervåg, Arne; Norbury, Courtenay Frazier & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2019). PROTOCOL: Language interventions for improving oral language outcomes in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 15:e1062(4), p. 1–21. doi: 10.1002/cl2.1062. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This protocol presents the plan for a systematic review that will investigate the effect of oral language interventions for children with intellectual disability (ID), language disorder (LD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Down syndrome (DS), Williams syndrome (WS), and fragile X syndrome (FXS). Language development is a highly frequent area of difficulty for children within these diagnostic groups, and oral language interventions are therefore important. However, to provide better evidence‐informed practice, we need to investigate what oral language interventions are effective and for whom. The systematic review will not only investigate the effect of oral language interventions targeted at specific disorders but also identify interventions that may be yield similar improvements in different neurodevelopmental disorders.

• Burgoyne, Kelly; Lervåg, Arne; Malone, Stephanie & Hulme, Charles (2019). Speech difficulties at school entry are a significant risk factor for later reading difficulties. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. ISSN 0885-2006. 49, p. 40–48. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2019.06.005. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study examined the relationship between speech difficulties at school entry and problems learning to read. We test the hypothesis that phonological skills explain the relationship between speech and reading difficulties. Speech skills were assessed in a large (N = 569) unselected sample of 5-year old children just after school entry. Children also completed a wide range of tasks measuring oral language (expressive vocabulary, receptive grammar and listening comprehension), reading and reading-related skills (single word reading, letter-sound knowledge, phoneme awareness, rapid automatized naming) and non-verbal IQ. Assessments were repeated six months later. Speech difficulties were identified in 6.88% of children. Speech difficulties were associated with poorer non-verbal IQ, oral language and reading relative to children without speech difficulties. A mediation model demonstrated that the relationship between speech difficulties and later reading was entirely mediated by phoneme awareness. Speech difficulties at school entry are related to problems in acquiring phoneme awareness which in turn are associated with problems in learning to read. Clinically, our results imply that any child who has a speech difficulty at school entry should be assessed and monitored for broader oral language difficulties and for delays in reading development with a view to providing early intervention to ameliorate such difficulties.

• Hjetland, Hanne Næss; Lervåg, Arne; Lyster, Solveig-Alma Halaas; Hagtvet, Bente Eriksen; Hulme, Charles & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2019). Pathways to Reading Comprehension: A Longitudinal Study From 4 to 9 Years of Age. Journal of Educational Psychology. ISSN 0022-0663. 111(5), p. 751–763. doi: 10.1037/edu0000321. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The two major determinants of reading comprehension are language comprehension and decoding, but prior studies of the development of reading comprehension from an early age show inconsistent results. To clarify these inconsistencies we report a 6-year longitudinal study (starting at Age 4 years) where we control for measurement error and track the development and interrelationships between a range of predictors of reading comprehension (language, decoding, and cognitive skills). We found two main pathways to reading comprehension: a highly stable language comprehension pathway (reflecting variations in vocabulary, listening comprehension, grammar, and verbal working memory) and a less stable code-related pathway (reflecting variations in phoneme awareness, letter knowledge, and rapid automatized naming). Early language comprehension at Age 4 years is strongly related to code-related predictors (phoneme awareness, letter knowledge, and rapid naming), and influences decoding indirectly through these constructs. Early oral language skills predicted initial levels of reading comprehension and its growth between the ages of 7 and 9 years. Strikingly, language comprehension and decoding, together with their interaction and curvilinear effects, explain almost all (99.7%) of the variance in reading comprehension skills at 7 years of age. Our study adds to prior knowledge in several important ways and provides strong support for an elaborated version of the simple view of reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986).

• Lawrence, Joshua Fahey; Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Hwang, Jin Kyoung; Lin, Grace & Lervåg, Arne (2018). Academic vocabulary and reading comprehension: exploring the relationships across measures of vocabulary knowledge. Reading and writing. ISSN 0922-4777. p. 1–22. doi: 10.1007/s11145-018-9865-2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study examined the relationship between knowledge of academic vocabulary and reading comprehension in data contributed by 5855 middle school students. Each student completed an academic vocabulary assessment, a standardized reading comprehension test, and one of four types of novel vocabulary-depth measures. Multiword expressions examined students’ abilities to complete formulaic phrases. Topical associates items required students to identify a target word that was topically related to three others. The hypernyms task required students to identify the superordinate for each target word. The definitions task asked students to choose the definition of the target word. We modeled the relationship between performance on the reading comprehension task and each of the four types of assessments using a residual factors approach (Bentler & Satorra, 2000) with latent variables. Even though each depth measure tested exactly the same sets of words, we found that these measures had a differential impact on reading comprehension, with the definitions task explaining the largest portion of variance in reading comprehension beyond overall academic vocabulary. The knowledge of multiword expressions and topical associates—but not of hypernyms—also explained unique variance in reading comprehension even when controlling for academic vocabulary knowledge.

• Lervåg, Arne; Hulme, Charles & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2018). Unpicking the Developmental Relationship Between Oral Language Skills and Reading Comprehension: It's Simple, But Complex. Child Development. ISSN 0009-3920. 89(5), p. 1821–1838. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12861. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Listening comprehension and word decoding are the two major determinants of the development of reading comprehension. The relative importance of different language skills for the development of listening and reading comprehension remains unclear. In this 5‐year longitudinal study, starting at age 7.5 years (n = 198), it was found that the shared variance between vocabulary, grammar, verbal working memory, and inference skills was a powerful longitudinal predictor of variations in both listening and reading comprehension. In line with the simple view of reading, listening comprehension, and word decoding, together with their interaction and curvilinear effects, explains almost all (96%) variation in early reading comprehension skills. Additionally, listening comprehension was a predictor of both the early and later growth of reading comprehension skills.

• Hulme, Charles; Zhou, Lulin; Tong, Xiuli; Lervåg, Arne & Burgoyne, Kelly (2018). Learning to read in Chinese: Evidence for reciprocal relationships between word reading and oral language skills. Developmental Science. ISSN 1363-755X. doi: 10.1111/desc.12745. Full text in Research Archive
• Aadland, Katrine Nyvoll; Aadland, Eivind; Andersen, John Roger; Lervåg, Arne; Moe, Vegard Fusche & Resaland, Geir Kåre [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2018). Executive Function, Behavioral Self-Regulation, and School Related Well-Being Did Not Mediate the Effect of School-Based Physical Activity on Academic Performance in Numeracy in 10-Year-Old Children : The Active Smarter Kids (ASK) Study. Frontiers in Psychology. 9. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00245. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Inconsistent findings exist for the effect of school-based physical activity interventions on academic performance. The Active Smarter Kids (ASK) study revealed a favorable intervention effect of school-based physical activity on academic performance in numeracy in a subsample of 10-year-old elementary schoolchildren performing poorer at baseline in numeracy. Aiming to explain this finding, we investigated the mediating effects of executive function, behavioral self-regulation, and school related well-being in the relation between the physical activity intervention and child’s performance in numeracy. An ANCOVA model with latent variable structural equation modeling was estimated using data from 360 children (the lower third in academic performance in numeracy at baseline). The model consisted of the three latent factors as mediators; executive function, behavioral self-regulation, and school related well-being. We found no mediating effects of executive function, behavioral self-regulation or school related well-being in the relationship between the ASK intervention and academic performance in numeracy (p >- 0.256). Our results suggest that the effect of the intervention on performance in numeracy in the present sample is not explained by change in executive function, behavioral self-regulation, or school related well-being. We suggest this finding mainly could be explained by the lack of effect of the intervention on the mediators, which might be due to an insufficient dose of physical activity.

• Fricke, Silke; Burgoyne, Kelly; Bowyer-Crane, Claudine; Kyriacou, Maria; Zosimidou, Alexandra & Maxwell, Liam [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2017). The efficacy of early language intervention in mainstream school settings: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ISSN 0021-9630. 58(10), p. 1141–1151. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12737. Full text in Research Archive
• Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2017). Improving Language Comprehension in Preschool Children with Language Difficulties: A Cluster Randomized Trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ISSN 0021-9630. 58(10), p. 1132–1140. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12762. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background: Children with language comprehension difficulties are at risk of educational and social problems, which in turn impede employment prospects in adulthood. However, few randomized trials have examined how such problems can be ameliorated during the preschool years. Methods: We conducted a cluster randomized trial in 148 preschool classrooms. Our intervention targeted language comprehension skills and lasted 1 year and 1 month, with five blocks of 6 weeks and intervention three times per week (about 75 min per week). Effects were assessed on a range of measures of language performance. Results: Immediately after the intervention, there were moderate effects on both near, intermediate and distal measures of language performance. At delayed follow-up (7 months after the intervention), these reliable effects remained for the distal measures. Conclusions: It is possible to intervene in classroom settings to improve the language comprehension skills of children with language difficulties. However, it appears that such interventions need to be intensive and prolonged.

• Aadland, Katrine Nyvoll; Ommundsen, Yngvar; Aadland, Eivind; Brønnick, Kolbjørn Selvåg; Lervåg, Arne & Resaland, Geir Kåre [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2017). Executive functions do not mediate prospective relations between indices of physical activity and academic performance: The Active Smarter Kids (ASK) study. Frontiers in Psychology. 8. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01088. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Changes in cognitive function induced by physical activity have been proposed as a mechanism for the link between physical activity and academic performance. The aim of this study was to investigate if executive function mediated the prospective relations between indices of physical activity and academic performance in a sample of 10-year-old Norwegian children. The study included 1,129 children participating in the Active Smarter Kids (ASK) trial, followed over 7 months. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with a latent variable of executive function (measuring inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility) was used in the analyses. Predictors were objectively measured physical activity, time spent sedentary, aerobic fitness, and motor skills. Outcomes were performance on national tests of numeracy, reading, and English (as a second language). Generally, indices of physical activity did not predict executive function and academic performance. A modest mediation effect of executive function was observed for the relation between motor skills and academic performance.

• Karlsen, Jannicke; Lyster, Solveig-Alma Halaas & Lervåg, Arne (2017). Vocabulary development in Norwegian L1 and L2 learners in the kindergarten-school transition. Journal of Child Language. ISSN 0305-0009. 44(2), p. 402–426. doi: 10.1017/S0305000916000106. Full text in Research Archive
• Rogde, Kristin; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2016). Improving the linguistic comprehension skills of second-language learners in preschool: A randomized trial study. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. ISSN 1934-5747. doi: 10.1080/19345747.2016.1171935. Full text in Research Archive
• Rogde, Kristin; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2016). Improving the General Language Skills of Second-Language Learners in Kindergarten: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. ISSN 1934-5747. 9, p. 150–170. doi: 10.1080/19345747.2016.1171935. Full text in Research Archive
• Lyster, Solveig-Alma Halaas; Lervåg, Arne & Hulme, Charles (2016). Preschool morphological training produces long-term improvements in reading comprehension. Reading and writing. ISSN 0922-4777. 29(6), p. 1269–1288. doi: 10.1007/s11145-016-9636-x. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  We evaluated the effect of morphological awareness training delivered in preschool (8 months before school entry) on reading ability at the end of grade 1 and 5 years later (in Grade 6). In preschool, one group of children received morphological awareness training, while a second group received phonological awareness training. A control group followed the ordinary preschool curriculum. The comparison between each training condition and the control condition is quasi experimental, whereas the comparison between the morphological and phonological treatments is randomized at group level. In Grade 1 children in the morphological awareness training group had significantly higher scores than children in the control group on both word reading and text reading measures, but no differences were found between the experimental groups. In Grade 6 children in the morphological awareness training group had significantly higher scores compared with the control group on a latent measure of reading comprehension, whereas the children in the phonological awareness training group did not differ from the controls; although the experimental groups did not differ significantly from each other. The results suggest that early training in morphological awareness can have long-term effects on children’s literacy skills.

• Bowyer-Crane, Claudine; Fricke, Silke; Schaefer, Blanca; Lervåg, Arne & Hulme, Charles (2016). Early literacy and comprehension skills in children learning English as an additional language and monolingual children with language weaknesses. Reading and writing. ISSN 0922-4777. p. 1–20. doi: 10.1007/s11145-016-9699-8. Full text in Research Archive

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• Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Lervåg, Arne & Rogde, Kristin (2026). Tidlig innsats er ikke nok: Effekten av språkstimulering i barnehage er av begrenset varighet. [Journal]. FORSKNING.NO. Full text in Research Archive
• Rønneberg, Vibeke; Amland, Tonje; Solheim, Oddny Judith; Lervåg, Arne; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Ertesvåg, Sigrun K. [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2026). Improving Reading And Mathematical Skills Through an Integrated Intervention: A Multi-site Randomized Trial. doi: https:/www.the-mcls.org/conferences/mcls-2026-padua. Full text in Research Archive
• Lervåg, Arne; Wang, Lei & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2026). Developmental Dynamics between Reading Comprehension, Word Reading and Vocabulary in Norwegian Second to Third Graders. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Purpose — It is well established that language skills, such as vocabulary, are important precursors for word reading and reading comprehension. However, theories about reading development are not very specific about how different components impact reading during various developmental phases. This study examines the developmental relationship between reading comprehension, vocabulary, and word reading skills in an early phase of reading. Models, which separate variation within and between the children, and those that do not, are used. Method — 288 children, recruited 4 months after the start of formal reading instruction, were measured four times over 1.5 years. Different cross-lagged panel models were estimated to test the direction of influence between the development of reading comprehension, vocabulary skills, and word reading skills. Results — Models, separating within-person from between-person variation, clearly showed that changes in word-reading skills were associated with later reading comprehension skills. This was less clear in the models that mix up the within-person and between-person variation. Some, but fewer, dynamic relations were found for vocabulary and reading comprehension, and the ones found were in models that mix up the within-person and between-person variance. Conclusions — The findings provide important information about the developmental dynamics of reading in a relatively early phase of development. Further, the results inform us about the importance of choosing the appropriate model if we are interested in how a child’s reading skills develop over time.

• Donolato, Enrica; Wahl, Hedda Novang; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2026). Math anxiety and math skills development in children: a longitudinal study on early predictors. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Introduction. Math anxiety and math skills are closely intertwined, yet their early predictors in childhood remain poorly understood. Previous research has identified cognitive and affective predictors of math performance, including intelligence and working memory (Amland et al., 2025), knowledge of mathematical symbols (Szczygieł et al., 2024), and general and math anxiety (Barroso et al., 2021; Caviola et al., 2022). Similarly, there is evidence that math anxiety is shaped by general anxiety (Szczygieł et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2014), working memory (Pellizzoni et al., 2022), and knowledge of mathematical symbols (Szczygieł et al., 2024). Despite extensive correlational evidence, few longitudinal studies have systematically examined cognitive and affective predictors of math anxiety and math skills in school-age children. Research Aims. The goal of this study is to examine children’s math anxiety and math skills development and identify their cognitive and affective predictors in a sample of children followed up from kindergarten to primary school. Materials and Methods. The sample consisted of 259 children (52% boys; M age = 5.5 years at project onset). At the first time point, during their final year of preschool, children completed assessments of cognitive abilities, numeracy skills, and general anxiety. From Grade 3 to Grade 6, children were assessed annually on math anxiety (Achievement Emotions Questionnaire–Math Anxiety; AEQ-MA), arithmetic fluency (Test of Basic Arithmetic and Numeracy Skills; TOBANS) and a mathematical reasoning (Word Problems subtest of the WISC-IV). Assessments were administrated individually in sessions of approximately 60 minutes during kindergarten or school hours. Results. Growth models are being used to examine math anxiety and math skills and to test early predictors of individual differences in growth. Final results from ongoing analyses will clarify the extent to which early cognitive, numeracy and affective factors contribute to changes in math anxiety and math skills in primary school. Discussion. These findings are expected to contribute to a better understanding of early factors that may place children at risk for unfavourable trajectories in developing math anxiety or poor math skills. The study has implications for early identification, highlighting how targeting foundational skills may support both math skills and mitigate math anxiety. Findings will further inform how these insights can be translated into educational practices to enhance young students’ successful math learning.

• Lervåg, Arne; Wahl, Hedda Novang; Donolato, Enrica & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2026). The developmental dynamics between math anxiety and math skills: examining three theories. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Introduction. Math anxiety is consistently associated with poorer learning and achievement, yet the direction of this relationship remains debated (e.g., Namkung et al., 2019). Three primary theoretical models explain the link between anxiety and achievement. The reduced competency model suggests that weak math skills generate anxiety. The learning avoidance model proposes that anxiety leads students to disengage from practice and participation, thereby harming performance. The reciprocal model integrates both processes, proposing a cyclical relationship in which poor skills increase anxiety, which in turn further impairs achievement (Carey et al., 2016). Some studies using traditional cross-lagged panel models support reciprocal effects (Gunderson et al., 2018). However, newer Random Intercept-Cross-Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPMs) control for stable individual differences, allowing clearer examination of within-person changes over time (Hammaker et al., 2015). One five-year study applying RI-CLPMs found that anxiety negatively predicted later math grades within individuals, whereas grades did not predict anxiety. Thus, whereas traditional CLPM findings favor the reciprocal model, RI-CLPM results align more closely with the learning avoidance model. However, this study relied on grades rather than standardized tests, and anxiety was not assessed specifically in testing contexts. Research Aims. The present study uses RI-CLPMs to examine whether developmental relations between math anxiety and achievement vary across anxiety types, providing a more nuanced understanding of how emotions influence children’s mathematical learning. Norwegian students were followed from Grade 3 to Grade 6, with two different measures of anxiety, class anxiety and test anxiety. Methods. Two hundred and fifty children's math anxiety and math word problem skills were tested annually over three years. Results. The results show that earlier higher levels of test anxiety were significantly related to poorer later math skills. For class anxiety, there was a significant relation in the opposite direction. Poor math skills were related to later math class anxiety. In this model, there was also some evidence of a relationship in the opposite direction, but sensitivity tests suggest this might be due to confounders. Further analyses also revealed that the effect of poor math skills on class anxiety was moderated by gender, with higher effect sizes for girls than for boys. Discussion. Support was found for all the above-mentioned three theories of this relationship, but the results suggest types of anxiety and gender might moderate the direction and strength of the relations between anxiety and math skills.

• Torkildsen, Janne von Koss; Hagelund, Silje; Knoph, Rebecca; Jerijærvi, Camilla Bøen & Lervåg, Arne (2026). Gender differences in self-reported audience awareness in middle schoolers’ argumentative writing. Full text in Research Archive
• Hagelund, Silje; Torkildsen, Janne von Koss & Lervåg, Arne (2026). Perspective-taking and writing motivation on writing quality. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A conference presentation about our study, where we examine whether writing motivation and perspective-taking correlate with 7th grade argumentative writing quality after accounting for foundational language skills. Specifically, we investigate how self-reported perspective-taking and writing motivation relate to three dimensions of argumentative writing: writing conventions (WC), language complexity (LC), and argumentative skills and audience awareness (AAW) when we account for oral language (vocabulary, listening comprehension), reading-related skills (reading comprehension, word decoding), and transcriptional skills (spelling, transcription).

• Hagelund, Silje; Torkildsen, Janne von Koss & Lervåg, Arne (2026). Can perspective-taking and writing motivation predict argumentative writing skills beyond reading comprehension and decoding in 7th-grade students? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  A conference poster with results from our study examining how writing motivation and perspective-taking correlate with aspects of argumentative writing quality in 7th grade after accounting for foundational language skills.

• Amland, Tonje; Grande, German; Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Bergen, Elsje van & Lervåg, Arne (2025). The Intergenerational Impact of Mothers and Fathers on Children’s Arithmetic Development. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Several studies have investigated the associations between the home numeracy environment (HNE) and children’s mathematical skills. Collectively, findings point in different directions. An aspect rarely considered in HNE studies, are parent’s mathematical abilities. Parental abilities carry the potential to serve as a proxy for genetic transmission and therefore shed light on the intergenerational impact of parents on children’s achievement. In this study, we asked whether reported numeracy activities in the home and parent’s arithmetic ability both predict children’s arithmetic skill development.

• Donolato, Enrica; caviola, sara; Masi, Alice; Lervåg, Arne & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2025). Improving Math Attitudes in School-Age Students: A Meta-Analysis on Intervention Studies. Full text in Research Archive
• Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Rønneberg, Vibeke; Lopez-Pedersen, Anita; Amland, Tonje; Solheim, Oddny Judith & Lervåg, Arne (2025). Improving reading and mathematical skills through an integrated intervention: a multi-site randomized trial. Full text in Research Archive
• Dacian, dolean,; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2025). The impact of homework and guided parental support on socioeconomically disadvantaged children. Full text in Research Archive
• Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Rogde, Kristin; Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Lervåg, Arne & Norbury, Courtenay Frazier (2025). Long-term prognosis of low language proficiency in children: A Cochrane prognostic review. Full text in Research Archive
• Amland, Tonje; Bergen, Elsje van; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2024). The gene-environment interplay of reading: The intergenerational impact of mothers and fathers on child word reading development. doi: https:/www.triplesr.org/thirty-first-annual-meeting. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Purpose: Parents provide children with a home literacy environment (HLE) and a genetic disposition for reading, leading to potential gene-environment correlations that may confound the relationship between HLE and children’s reading. This study examines whether the reading ability of both parents serves as a proxy of the genetic confounding influencing the association between the HLE and children’s word reading development. Method: Data from 242 unrelated children, 193 mothers, and 144 fathers were analyzed. The Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE) assessed word reading in Grades 1 and 3 in children and mothers and fathers in the interim. Additionally, literacy resources at home were measured using each parent’s knowledge of children’s literature and number of books at home. Reading activities were indexed by self-reports of the frequency of parents’ own reading activities with the child. Using a latent change score model of children’s word reading, we predicted word reading initial status in Grade 1 and longitudinal change from Grades 1–3. Results: Mothers’ frequency of teaching reading and parents’ literacy resources at home predicted significant differences among children’s word reading in Grade 1, controlling for parental reading abilities. However, mothers’ and fathers’ reading abilities emerged as the sole significant predictors of the initial status in Grade 1 and the rate at which children develop word reading abilities from Grades 1–3. Conclusions: This study emphasizes that parental ability is an overlooked component of the HLE, as parental reading partially confounds the association between the reading environment and children’s word reading development.

• Haugland, Elisabeth Straume; Aadland, Eivind; Nilsen, Ada Kristine Ofrim; Lervåg, Arne Ola & Aadland, Katrine Nyvoll (2024). Bidirectional, prospective associations between physical activity, fundamental motor skills, and physical fitness in preschool children. Full text in Research Archive
• Amland, Tonje; Bergen, Elsje van; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne Ola (2024). The intergenerational impact of mothers and fathers on children's word reading development. Full text in Research Archive
• Amland, Tonje; Bergen, Elsje van; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne Ola (2024). The intergenerational impact of mothers and fathers on children's word reading development. Full text in Research Archive
• Hagen, Åste Mjelve; Rogde, Kristin; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2024). Do the Effects of a Preschool Language Intervention Last in the Long Run?  A 4-Year Follow-Up Study. Full text in Research Archive
• Donolato, Enrica; Masi, Alice; Caviola, Sara; Melby-Lervåg, Monica & Lervåg, Arne (2023). Math-attitudes intervention programs for school-age students: A meta-analysis and overview of the literature. Full text in Research Archive
• Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Amland, Tonje; Grande, German; Scherer, Ronny & Lervåg, Arne (2023). Does language underlie mathematical skill development? A systematic review and meta-analysis of concurrent and longitudinal predictors. Full text in Research Archive
• Lervåg, Arne (2021). Editorial: Is there a core deficit in specific learning disabilities? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ISSN 0021-9630. 62(6), p. 677–679. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13434. Full text in Research Archive
• Lervåg, Arne (2020). Some roads less travelled—different routes to understanding the causes of child psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ISSN 0021-9630. 61(6), p. 625–627. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13274. Full text in Research Archive
• Lervåg, Arne; Fylling, Ingrid; Løken, Katrine Vellesen & Stoltenberg, Camilla (2019). Dyktig gutt-læreplassen. Full text in Research Archive
• Sjøstrand, Åse; Kefalianos, Elaina; Hofslundsengen, Hilde Christine; Guttormsen, Linn Stokke; Kirmess, Melanie & Lervåg, Arne [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2019). Non-pharmacological interventions for stuttering in children aged between birth and six years. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2019:CD013489(11), p. 1–36. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013489. Full text in Research Archive
• Sjøstrand, Åse; Kefalianos, Elaina; Hofslundsengen, Hilde Christine; Guttormsen, Linn Stokke; Kirmess, Melanie & Lervåg, Arne [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2019). Protocol: Non-pharmacological interventions for stuttering in children aged between birth and six years. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013489. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: Primary objective To assess the immediate and long‐term effects of non‐pharmacological interventions for stuttering on speech outcomes in children aged between birth and six years. Secondary objective To describe the relationship between intervention effects and participant characteristics (i.e. child age, child’s communication attitudes and the impact stuttering has on the child’s QoL).

• Lervåg, Arne (2019). Editorial: Correlation and causation: to study causality in psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ISSN 0021-9630. 60(6), p. 603–605. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13074. Full text in Research Archive
• Flatø, Martin; Stoltenberg, Camilla; Lervåg, Arne; Løken, Katrine Vellesen & Ogden, Terje (2019). Vi vil vite mer om barna. Full text in Research Archive
• Nordahl-Hansen, Anders; Lervåg, Arne; Norbury, Courtenay & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2018). Language-based interventions for improving oral Language outcomes in children With ASD and other Neurodevelopmental disorders. Full text in Research Archive
• Hofslundsengen, Hilde; Hagtvet, Bente Eriksen & Lervåg, Arne (2018). Longitudinal effects of an invented writing intervention in preschool on fifth grade reading comprehension. Full text in Research Archive
• Aadland, Katrine Nyvoll; Aadland, Eivind; Andersen, John Roger; Lervåg, Arne; Moe, Vegard Fusche & Resaland, Geir Kåre [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2018). Did executive function, behavioral self-regulation, and school related well-being mediate the effect of school-based physical activity on academic performance in numeracy in ten-year-old children? The Active Smarter Kids (ASK) study. Full text in Research Archive
• Hjetland, Hanne Næss; Lervåg, Arne; Lyster, Solveig-Alma Halaas; Hagtvet, Bente Eriksen; Hulme, Charles & Melby-Lervåg, Monica (2017). Pathways to Reading Comprehension: A Longitudinal Study from 4 to 9 Years of Age. Full text in Research Archive

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