Consistent with the model's treatment of language as a central, or common, component in the cognitive content of an individual despite the mode of information reception (ie., auding or reading), four hypotheses were derived. These are:

  1. Performance on measures of ability to comprehend language by auding will surpass performance on measures of ability to comprehend language by reading during the early years of schooling, until reading skill is learned, following which time the ability to comprehend by auding and reading will become equal.
  2. Performance on measures of ability to comprehend language by auding will be predictive of performance on measures of ability to comprehend language by reading, after reading decoding skill is acquired.
  3. Performance on measures of rate of reading and rate of auding will show comparable maximal rates of languaging and conceptualizing, after reading decoding has been developed.
  4. Training in comprehending by auding will transfer to comprehending by reading, once the reading skill has been acquired.

A review of relevant experimental data provided support for each of the four hypotheses. Confirmation of the hypotheses furnishes evidence for the developmental model of reading-that reading is based upon, and utilizes, the same conceptualizing and languaging competencies that are used in auding (plus the additional competencies necessary to convert the visual display into an internal auditory display).

These findings give rise to the following implications: