COVID-19 infection and Hong Kong elementary children’s Chinese and English reading proficiencies: Parent-reported proficiency versus performance-based reading tests
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- 2Department of Social Sciences, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China
- 3Department of Physiotherapy, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, China
- 4Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Abstract
Previous studies investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s language development. This study explored the association between different COVID-19 infection statuses (children with no history of infection, children with a history of infection, and children with long COVID symptoms) and Hong Kong elementary children’s Chinese and English reading performance. Participants were 195 dyads of parents and elementary children from Grades 1–6 (Mage = 8;8, SDage = 1;7, 89 boys and 106 girls) in 2022−2023. We adopted a 3 x 3 between-participant design. The two independent variables were COVID-19 status and grade levels. The dependent variables were parents’ ratings of reading proficiencies, reading proficiencies in Chinese and English, and the differences between the parents’ ratings and reading proficiencies. All measures (the language experience and proficiency questionnaire for parents’ ratings, Chinese word reading battery, and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – Third Edition) were adapted from published works and showed high reliability in our sample. Using Multivariate Analysis of Covariates (MANCOVA) and Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), we examined the links of infection with covariates, including parents’ education level, number of children in the family, and monthly household income. We found that long COVID status was associated with lower parent-rated Chinese reading in the upper grades and lower Chinese spelling performance. Grade-specific differences in parent–performance discrepancy scores were also observed. These findings highlight the need for further longitudinal investigations and needs-based monitoring using both caregiver reports and performance-based assessments for children experiencing persistent health and learning difficulties.
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BibTeX
@article{kyaw2026covid19,
title = {{COVID-19 infection and Hong Kong elementary children’s Chinese and English reading proficiencies: Parent-reported proficiency versus performance-based reading tests}},
author = {Hay Mar Myat Kyaw and Yixun Li and Derwin King Chung Chan and Catherine Mamaid Capio and Winnie Wan Yee Tso},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0359793},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359793},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - COVID-19 infection and Hong Kong elementary children’s Chinese and English reading proficiencies: Parent-reported proficiency versus performance-based reading tests
AU - Hay Mar Myat Kyaw
AU - Yixun Li
AU - Derwin King Chung Chan
AU - Catherine Mamaid Capio
AU - Winnie Wan Yee Tso
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0359793
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359793
AB - Previous studies investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s language development. This study explored the association between different COVID-19 infection statuses (children with no history of infection, children with a history of infection, and children with long COVID symptoms) and Hong Kong elementary children’s Chinese and English reading performance. Participants were 195 dyads of parents and elementary children from Grades 1–6 (Mage = 8;8, SDage = 1;7, 89 boys and 106 girls) in 2022−2023. We adopted a 3 x 3 between-participant design. The two independent variables were COVID-19 status and grade levels. The dependent variables were parents’ ratings of reading proficiencies, reading proficiencies in Chinese and English, and the differences between the parents’ ratings and reading proficiencies. All measures (the language experience and proficiency questionnaire for parents’ ratings, Chinese word reading battery, and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – Third Edition) were adapted from published works and showed high reliability in our sample. Using Multivariate Analysis of Covariates (MANCOVA) and Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), we examined the links of infection with covariates, including parents’ education level, number of children in the family, and monthly household income. We found that long COVID status was associated with lower parent-rated Chinese reading in the upper grades and lower Chinese spelling performance. Grade-specific differences in parent–performance discrepancy scores were also observed. These findings highlight the need for further longitudinal investigations and needs-based monitoring using both caregiver reports and performance-based assessments for children experiencing persistent health and learning difficulties.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -