Dartmouth researchers have analyzed elementary students’ brain waves and have concluded that the word processing of fourth graders does not automatically change at that time. “Automatic word processing is the brain’s ability to determine whether a group of symbols constitutes a word within milliseconds, without the brain’s owner realizing the process is taking place.” Actually, the researchers found that some of the word processing becomes automatic before fourth grade while others happen after the fifth grade. That means that fifth and sixth grade students are continuing to develop their “neurological reading system.”
Lead researcher, Donna Coch, found evidence that “…at least through the fifth grade, even children who read well are letting stimuli into the neural word processing system that more mature readers do not.” She asserts “teachers and parents should not expect their fourth-graders, or even their fifth graders, to be completely automatic, adult-like readers.”
Many states and localities use this time in children’s education to establish policy and interventions. This video speaks to the issue and provides some tips for parents to help their children read better:
