ABSTRACT
Dyslexia’s core phonological processing deficit underlies a distinct challenge in the written-language functions—decoding and spelling—that rely on phonemic awareness. The simple view of reading, under which reading competence is seen as the product of decoding competence and comprehension competence, both models successful reading and suggests an account of reading challenge: Skill deficit may lie in written-language decoding and/or in linguistic comprehension. The simple view of reading thus informs the construction of an evaluation battery to diagnose dyslexia. Both decoding skill and comprehension ability have diverse manifestations, such that neither is defined fully in a single reading behavior, but evaluation of the various decoding and comprehension assets and vulnerabilities can yield an individual reading profile indicating sites of reading breakdown and their sources. Component skill measures register the phonological processing and automaticity capacities that support reading achievements and predict future growth. Outcome skill measures register the results of instruction; the effects of learning experiences are reflected in achievement measures that, together, indicate decoding or comprehension competence. Performances on component and outcome skill measures define a learner’s reading profile; the contours of that profile illuminate relative asset/challenge balances and the interactions among component and outcome skills.
