Reading Diagnostic Paper
The
Evaluation of Reading Diagnostic Tests
Summary
The important role of a teacher is being able to know
their students by determining their strengths and weaknesses. This is an ongoing process where the teacher
wants to see their students to show progress.
The best way is to be aware of the best reading diagnostic assessments
available that will test students in all aspects of reading. The teacher needs to make sure the student is
assigned to right reading level, so they can thrive without frustration. Each school usually has several diagnostic
tests they use for the students. You
need to look at all aspects of reading and make sure the test will properly
measure the student’s reading level and be to diagnose any reading problems. The best strategy would be not to rely on one
assessment for accuracy and reliability, but take a look at several. Additionally, the students need to be tested
on a regular basis because a test only measures the student’s ability at that
point in time. Most tests are quick
screening tools that help the teacher identify problems and confirm reading
levels for students. The test can
measure vocabulary, reading word lists, phonics, oral and silent reading,
reading comprehension, visual cues, reading fluency, etc. A teacher wants to
look at the best assessments for their class in order to make effective
decisions. The students look at their
assessment results as a way to confirm their skills by being able to their
progress.
The table will below
will describe in detail the purpose, appropriateness, strengths, and weaknesses
of five widely used reading assessments.
The Basic Reading Inventory is a quick assessment that provides a solid
base for a teacher to create a reading plan from testing the student on sight
words and word passages. Slosson Intelligence Test Primary (SIT-P) is used in
early education to identify any problems students may have in reading. The Slosson Oral Reading Test and Wepman’s
Auditory Discrimination Test are quick screening tools that should be used with
other assessments. Visual Motor
Integration Test helps diagnose students with visual discrimination issues that
can cause problems in reading. Gray’s
Diagnostic Reading Test is very reliable and the result would stand on its own;
however, you should always look at more than one assessment.
Reading Diagnostic Assessment Table
|
Test
|
Purpose
|
Strengths
|
Weaknesses
|
Appropriateness
|
|
Basic
Reading Inventory (BRI) Test
|
BRI
is an easy assessment to administer to determine the level of the reader by
evaluating their reading fluency by measuring accuracy, rate, and prosody.
The
BRI test the student on grade level sight words and passages with
comprehension questions, timed reading to determine a student’s rate of how
many words per minute they can read.
Both silent and oral reading is measured.
The
assessment can measure how many words they got right, substitute or get
wrong. This helps create a reading
plan based on the student’s reading level.
|
A
valuable diagnostic tool
to
find the instructional level and evaluate the student on right grade leveled
word lists or reading passages.
The
teacher can individually evaluate the students and place the students in
reading groups and provide reading materials based on their instructional
level.
The
teacher can quickly measure reading fluency and comprehension and determine
what direction to take his/her instruction.
|
There
is no clear separation narrative or expository passages lacking a good
balance between the two
Most
passages are drawn from textbooks instead of stories
Differences
in passage lengths
Variability
in measures based on the type of BRI assessment used on student
Comprehension
questions are informal and can affect the normal classification scheme of
reading comprehension
|
This
a good assessment tools to help group students and developing reading plans
to help them grow and improve.
This
is a good starting point and the teacher can conduct other assessments to
confirm the BRI results.
The
BRI provides consistent results that help the students enhance reading skills
with less frustration.
|
|
Gray
Diagnostic Reading Test (Psychological Reading Test)
|
GORT-4
measures the growth in oral reading and an aid in diagnosing reading
difficulties. It is for 6-18 yr. olds
The
assessment has five scores that reflects rate, accuracy, fluency,
comprehension and overall reading ability
It
has developmentally sequenced reading passages with five comprehension
questions following each passage.
Identifies
students who are below their peers in oral reading proficiency, diagnose
specific reading strengths and weaknesses, and document student reading
growth as a result of special intervention.
|
The
test is takes in account in its passages the differences of key demographic
variables such as race, gender, ethnicity, and geographic region
Provide
reliable and consistent measures of students where teachers can develop
appropriate lessons and have the students groups in the appropriate reading
leveled groups
The
results help diagnose reading problems with students
|
Even
though the assessment takes in accounts for key demographic variables there
is not research to back it up
|
The
highly reliable assessment with a scientific base where the teacher can be
confident about the results.
This
assessment is appropriate to group the students in the right reading groups
and know where they stand with reading
The
results on first test and retest can reflect growth in reading
This
test has history to accurately measure students, but you should always look
at other assessments to correctly diagnose the children with reading
difficulties.
|
|
Slosson
Intelligence Test Primary (SIT-P)
|
Assessment
for 2-7 yr. olds
Covers
121 verbal questions covering vocabulary, comprehension, auditory sentence memory
and short-term memory numbers and 90 nonverbal covering nonverbal spatial
reasoning, visual motor integration and speed of visual processing
Early
screening that allows to identify individual needs and determine if further
assessment or special services are required for the student
|
Quick
assessment that takes less time to administer, score and interpret the
results.
Can
make efficient decision about the student
A
qualified master level educator counselor gives the assessment and they are qualified
to administer, score, and interpret the results to lead to consistent,
accurate decisions
|
The
test for the 2-3 yr. olds is less stable when their environment and responses
are changing drastically
Ignores
the differences and consistencies with gifted students, students with special
needs, lower socioeconomic and at risk populations
Ignores
individual differences and unfair to categorized to get reasonable fit for
educational needs.
|
The
test is more appropriate for the 4-7 yr. old where the results are
consistence where they have the developed knowledge by school age to complete
the test and results are reliable
The
test is less appropriate for 2-3 yr. olds where results are inconsistent
based on their learning experiences
The
test is a helpful tool for getting quick results to provide the student any
additional services they may need
Finally,
you should always look at other assessment to accurately place the student
because you cannot rely on one assessment alone
|
|
Slosson
Oral Reading Test (SORT)
|
A
quick screening test that looks at oral word recognition and determines a
student’s reading level
A
list of 200 word arranged in order of difficulty. This can be given to students 4 and older
It
can be used to assess a student’s progress, determine grade reading level,
and see if further diagnostic testing is needed
|
Satisfactory
reliability in the results and it test oral reading skills
The
content has been reviewed by experts, textbook authors and compared to
various curriculum guides where the lists have validity
Words
are selected to show reading progress
|
Not
an assessment that measures all aspects of reading such as word knowledge and
comprehension
The
assessment sample has not proven results to show norm data from all
demographic groups or students with special needs to gifted students
|
This
is a quick assessment for screening only you cannot use the results to
determine a student’s reading level without further assessments
This
test is meant for initial screening or research where pair with other tests
and a teacher’s judgment the student can be confidentially classified in the
right reading level
|
|
Visual
Motor Integration Test (Visual Discrimination Test)
|
There
are two main VMITs : Beery-Buktenica
Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration
(DTVMI) and the Full Range Test of Visual Motor Integration
(FRTVMI) both measure similar visual motor integration constructs
This
help determine if there will be learning disabilities that can be addressed
by measuring visual motor skills
|
This
a quick test that takes 5-15 minutes and is easy to score
Reliable
and unbiased measure of visual motor ability
Can
help diagnose learning disabilities that visual discrimination problems
|
There
can a difference in results based on sex because of maturity
This
cannot be used as a repeated assessment on a student to measure progress
You
only can see assessment at that point in time
|
This
is appropriate as a helpful tool to assess students with visual
discrimination problems that can affect their reading level to determine a
reading plan for them
This
assessment is good for an initial measure and diagnosis, but when looking at
long-term growth a teacher needs to look at other assessment tools
|
|
Wepman’s
Auditory Discrimination Test
|
Individual
test where the test involves instructing the child to indicate if the word
pairs read aloud are the same or different from 40 pairs of words in five
minutes
An
assessment of student's ability to discriminate between commonly used
phonemes through the measure of the ability hear spoken language
|
Easy
test to administer and score
Can
help identify children who have delayed speech or difficulty with reading
|
Examiner
reliability and background noise for this test can produce results that not
accurately measure the students ability
Not
clear if poor auditory discrimination is significant factor for articulation
problems
Should
be a screening test where major decisions are made about the student
Variation
may result based on rate of presentation and emphasis on word pairs
|
This
test should be use with other assessments and this test can be the initial
measurement to classify students
Again,
should be used to make decisions on determining reading levels
This
is a quick assessment along with the teacher’s judgment can help the students
who are having difficulties with reading
|
References
Erfold, B. and Paulette, D. (2005). Psychometric Analysis of Young
Children's Responses to the Slosson Intelligence Test-Primary (SIT-P). Journal of Measurement and Evaluation in
Counseling and Development. 38(10), 130-140.
Nilsson, N.L.
(2008). A Critical Analysis of Eight Informal Reading Inventories. The Reading Teacher, 61(7), pp. 526-536.
Ruddell, R.
Teaching Children to Read and
Write 4th edition. United States. Pearson.
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