Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Apr;75(1):1-18.
doi: 10.1007/s11881-024-00312-z. Epub 2024 Jul 30.

Rapid automatized naming: what it is, what it is not, and why it matters

Jacob S Gray  1 , Kelly A Powell-Smith  2
Affiliations

Rapid automatized naming: what it is, what it is not, and why it matters

Jacob S Gray et al. Ann Dyslexia. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

Rapid automatized naming (RAN) has surged in popularity recently as an important indicator of reading difficulties, including dyslexia. Despite an extensive history of research on RAN, including recent meta-analyses indicating a unique contribution of RAN to reading above and beyond phonemic awareness, questions remain regarding RAN's relationship to reading. Specific questions exist regarding how PA mediates that relationship and how best to use data from RAN measures to identify risk for reading failure. Through multiple studies, we demonstrate that RAN is not merely subsumed by skills typically assessed when conducting universal screening for reading difficulties (i.e., phonemic segmentation fluency and letter naming fluency), but contributes unique information above and beyond these measures. Additionally, we discuss the process for the development of cut points for risk for Acadience RAN, along with guidance regarding how educators can interpret RAN scores as an indicator of risk for future reading difficulties. The results presented here support the idea that difficulties associated with RAN are not merely reflections of difficulties with other early literacy skills typically assessed during universal screening, but constitute separate and distinct difficulties that may precipitate later reading problems.

Keywords: Dyslexia; Phonemic awareness; RAN; Reading.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Akgün, Ö., & Akçamete, G. (2023). The efficacy of the reading intervention programme (OKU-GEL) in developing the fluent reading skills of students with dyslexia. Reading & Writing Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2023.2214157 - DOI
    1. Araújo, S., Reis, A., Petersson, K. M., & Faísca, L. (2015). Rapid automatized naming and reading performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(3), 868–883.
    1. Bates, D., Mächler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S. (2014). Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. arXiv preprint arXiv:1406.5823 . Accessed 23 June 2023
    1. Bowey, J. A. (2005). Predicting individual differences in learning to read. In M. J. Snowling & C. Hulme (Eds.), The science of reading: A handbook (pp. 155–172). Blackwell.
    1. Compton, D. L. (2003). The influence of item composition on RAN letter performance in first-grade children. The Journal of Special Education, 37(2), 81–94.

LinkOut - more resources