Resumen:
The simple view of reading (SVR) is a model that explains reading comprehension on the basis of two components: decoding and linguistic comprehension. The SVR model strongly influences current education practices, although its validity is still questioned. This review identified 56 studies on the three components of the SVR model in English-speaking children attending elementary school. A meta-analysis on these data showed that decoding and linguistic comprehension are moderately correlated, and that both decoding and linguistic comprehension are highly correlated with reading comprehension. Decoding and linguistic comprehension explain 50% of the variance of reading comprehension, and measurement error explains an additional 22%. Further research is needed to identify other variables that could predict reading comprehension after controlling for decoding and linguistic comprehension. Word reading accuracy was the assessment approach to decoding that best relates to reading comprehension. Various approaches to the assessment of linguistic comprehension produced similar results. In conclusion, reading comprehension is a more complex phenomenon than that described by the SVR model. However, decoding and linguistic comprehension, two variables that are simple to evaluate, provide a good approximation to reading comprehension measures for children in elementary school.
