Details the steps followed in the development of the Basic Skills Word List. (FL)

Argues that giving students a reading test that is above or below their levels of achievement will yield inaccurate information. (FL)

Finds the revised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test an improvement over the original edition. (AEA)

Reviews five commercially available tests of functional literacy and discusses two concerns related to the testing of functional literacy. (MKM)

Examines the incremental validity of Differential Ability Scales (DAS) factor scores in predicting standardized achievement scores in Word Reading, Basic Number Skills, and Spelling by using a nationally representative sample stratified on gender, ethnicity, geographic region, parental education, and educational classification. Results show that…

Defining calibration of comprehension as the correlation between subjective assessments of knowledge gained from reading and performance on an objective test, this paper draws from literature, as well as the findings of original experiments, to examine issues related to the subject . The paper first documents the claim that poor calibration is the…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the assessment procedures initiated and used by most Canadian provinces during the past decade to describe public school reading achievement, to identify commonalities and differences among those procedures, and to comment on the significance of the identified trends. The stated purposes of evaluation…

The Nelson Denny Reading Test (NDRT) is probably the most widely used test of reading comprehension at the college level in the nation. However, reviews of the test, as well as recent reports of its failure to adequately measure gain or lack of gain of college students enrolled in reading improvement courses, do not support the popularity it has…

Noting that in recent years testing has fallen into disrepute, this paper demonstrates how the construction, use, and validation of tests, if adequately conceived, can increase the level of knowledge about the intricate nature of the reading processes. The first section of the paper discusses the measurement process and the process of test…

The relevance of psycholinguistic and educational research on passage structure and processing for the design of reading achievement tests is discussed. This research would provide a more objective basis for the writing of passages and items. Two aspects of content validity are distinguished and the relevance of psycholinguistic research to them…

Drawing from an overview of cloze research, this paper sets forth the thesis that the validity of the cloze technique and its usefulness as a measuring device have been clearly established, but its usefulness as a teaching device has not been so determined. Salient points of research are summarized as follows: (1) if rates of developing…

A study was conducted to compare two methodologies for establishing hierarchical relationships--the Dayton and Macready model and the White and Clark procedure--using criterion referenced test data. Several phonics and structural analysis skills were selected from a reading skills battery. The opinions of reading "experts" were solicited in order…

Examines studies of literacy instruction in American schools during the past 10 years both in terms of the notions that guide current practice and in terms of recent conceptions of literacy. Concludes that current literacy instruction limits students. Proposes an alternative view of instruction grounded in the concept of instructional scaffolding.…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) seeks to include all students in the United States in the sampling frame from which students are selected to participate in the assessment. However, some students with disabilities (SWD) are either unable to take NAEP tests under standard testing conditions or are unable to perform at their…

The relationship of Bannatyne's Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) recategorized factor profiles to reading was analyzed. Subjects were grouped by reading achievement, age, and intelligence quotient. The relationship of spatial, conceptual, and sequential factors to reading achievement was explored, and the factor profiles…