Relationship Between Children’s Lexical Diversity in Written Narratives and Performance on a Standardized Reading Vocabulary Measure

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine construct validity of methods of calculating lexical diversity in written narrative samples relative to children’s performance on a reading vocabulary measure. For 234 children in first to fifth grade, written narratives were examined and compared between grades for number of different words (NDW), total number of words (TNW), NDW in a truncated 50 word sample, and type token ratio (TTR). The relationship between lexical diversity in written narratives and a standardized reading vocabulary measure ( Gates–McGinitie Reading Test–Fourth Edition [GMRT-4]) was analyzed by comparing correlations. Grade differences were observed in measures of lexical diversity and productivity. Lexical diversity showed a significant moderate correlation with the GMRT-4. NDW had a stronger relationship to GMRT-4 scores than TTR for participants in first and second grade. Considering length (TNW, NDW constrained to 50 words, or TTR) did not result in a stronger relationship with reading vocabulary. Following additional study establishing probe equivalence, NDW in written narratives may be an efficient, educationally relevant, marker of language maturity, and a good predictor of performance on a standardized reading vocabulary measure.