Abstract
Our goal is to specify the term - poor reader, describe partial deficits in cognitive, linguistic and meta-cognitive aspects, with emphasis on reading comprehension level. Our conception is pattern on the simple view of reading (Gough & Tunmer, 1986).
In many empirical studies (Foorman, 1998; Snowling, 2009) there is about a fifth of pupils with reading problems. Concurrently, only a part of these students are diagnosed with SLD or SLI.
Within a wider sample (n = 517) we studied the performances of pupils aged 10-11 years (n = 134) in a battery of tests focusing on linguistic comprehension, decoding, cognitive skills, phonology, etc.. We combine quantitative and qualitative methodology and the standardized tests and newly created test stimuli as well.
Based on correlation analysis, we identified three subgroups of poor readers - dyslexics (n = 16), garden variety poor readers (n = 10) and poor comprehenders (n = 9). The results show that poor readers have significantly lower performances across the full spectrum of tests and the newly created tests reliably detect particular subgroup of poor readers.
We would like to transform the current perception of poor readers and suggest a model of diagnosis and intervention in the Czech Republic.