Phonemic awareness is thought to be a causal factor predicting early reading acquisition while its influence diminishes as other reading skills develop. This is a descriptive study of 74, primarily African American, fifth- through eighth-grade students attending a small, inner-city school. The study sought to determine the relationship between phonemic awareness, developmental spelling, pseudoword reading, and sight word reading in adolescent students who struggle with reading. Correlation results showed statistically significant relations among all four variables with the largest between phonemic awareness and developmental spelling. Regression results revealed phonemic awareness predicted significant variance in developmental spelling (R2 = 0.51), but not pseudo- or sight word reading. A discontinuity test determined that the influence of phonemic awareness on developmental spelling was consistent across all levels of attainment. Results are discussed from a developmental perspective.