Examines phonemic-awareness ability of reading-disabled children and normally-achieving children in both a traditional design and a pseudoword reading-level-match design. Results show that a group of reading-disabled children who show typical pseudoword reading and phonemic-awareness deficits in the traditional reading-level-match design…

Reading comprehension scores from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Tests, the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test, and the Gray Oral Reading Test were examined in relation to measures of reading, language, and other cognitive skills that have been hypothesized to contribute to comprehension and account for comprehension differences. In a sample of 97…

This document contains a detailed listing of topics covered in the mathematics and reading portions of the 1973 Form S and the 1981 Form U of the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS). Chages in the overall structure of the CTBS, new topics included in Form U and old topics not covered, and changes in the arrangement of topics across the…

The third in a series of studies to assess the reading achievement of Indiana students, a study compared the reading achievement of sixth and tenth graders in 1944-45, 1976, and 1986. The same edition of the Iowa Silent Reading Test (ISRT) was administered to sixth- and tenth-graders in 1944-45, 1976, and 1986. The 1944-45 sample consisted of 25%…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate seven reading comprehension tests according to the construct of comprehension which they claimed to measure. The 367 items from these tests were classified by two judges according to the following four levels indicated on a reading comprehension taxonomy: recognition and recall, inference, evaluation, and…

Rather than abandon reading expectancy formulae because they produce different reading expectancy scores, educators should attempt to improve such formulae in order to make appropriate decisions about students. Potential reading levels derived from the use of various expectancy formulae may be compared after converting the scores to stanines,…

Reports on a study that found an alternative cloze test format both valid and practical when compared to the conventional cloze format. (HOD)

This paper compares modified Guttman and item response theory (IRT) based procedures for classifying examinees in ordered levels when each level is represented by several multiple choice test items. In the modified Guttman procedure, within-level number correct scores are mapped to binary level mastery scores. Examinees are then assigned to levels…

Groups of good and poor readers were tested on free recall of 10-word lists. The poor readers demonstrated as strong a recency effect as the good readers, but showed inferiority in immediate memory span. The results demonstrate a degree of dissociation between the recency effect and memory span. (Author/KC)

Different indices can be used to measure an individual's pattern of responses on an achievement test as usual or consistent with the norm. The relationships among eight of these indices are investigated for a math and reading test given to approximately 2,100 fourth-grade students. (Author/BW)

Determines whether three groups of readers (normally achieving, poor comprehenders, and reading disabled) differed in their ability to cope with reading comprehension task demands. Finds that the groups differed with respect to their performance on specific question-answer types and their standardized reading comprehension scores. Suggests that…

Identifying low-progress readers easily and quickly is an essential prerequisite for effective literacy intervention in schools. In this study, teacher judgment of reading performance is compared with a curriculum-based measurement procedure. This study involved 33 teachers and their Year 3 to Year 5 classes. Twelve students were randomly selected…

This study investigated the equivalence of scores from computerized and paper-and-pencil formats of a series of K-3 reading screening tests. Concerns about score equivalence on the computerized formats were warranted because of the use of reading passages, computer unfamiliarity of primary school students, and teacher versus computer…

There is an acknowledged difficulty in demonstrating that the standard of school exams remains constant over the years. It is a source of debate every summer when exam results come out. There is some evidence that foreign language exams, and French in particular, have declined in standard since the 1980s, but empirical measures to demonstrate this…

PIRLS 2006 provides countries with the unique opportunity to obtain internationally comparative data about how well their children can read. Countries also will obtain detailed information about home supports for literacy as well as school instruction. For the 35 countries that participated in PIRLS 2001, PIRLS 2006 will provide information on…