Phonological skill and articulation time independently contribute to the development of memory span.

One hundred twenty 6- to 10-year-olds were administered three measures of speed of processing, three memory span tasks, three tasks assessing phonological skill, and three articulation tasks assessing the speed with which they could say familiar stimuli aloud. Regression analyses revealed that performance on the span tasks was predicted by performance on the phonology and articulation tasks but not by age or performance on the processing speed tasks. Results are discussed in terms of the processes responsible for age-related change in memory span.