Comprehension Assessments
Silent Reading
First Assessment – Consortium On Reading Excellence (CORE) Reading Maze Comprehension Test
Source: http://www.corelearn.com/backup/resources/new_products.html
The reading maze test was created by Dr. Michael Milone and it evaluates a learner’s comprehension of written texts read silently. In the texts provided, there are options to choose words for sentences that would make sense as opposed to other word options given called “distractors”. It was designed to test learners corresponding to grades 2-10. This test can be administered individually or in groups and it takes about 3 minutes, with passages ranging from 150-400 words depending on the level of the test. The CORE assessment evaluates the students understanding and application of syntax. It can be used as a formative or summative assessment, measuring changes in progress after instruction.
Click here for instructions and samples of the assessment.
Click here for CORE validity-reliability information.
Second Assessment – TOSREC
TOSREC is a test that evaluates silent reading of connected text. It can be used to identify poor readers, monitor progress of learners and to assist clinicians and researchers in evaluations based on silent reading. The test can be done individually or in groups, and it can be used with students between grades 1 and 12 as a formative or summative assessment.
According to the publisher, TOSREC requires “fluent recognition of printed words, ability to process grade-level appropriate sentence structure, knowledge of grade-level-appropriate vocabulary, adequate working memory capacity to process realistic sentences, the ability to make appropriate inferences, and possession of relevant background knowledge”. The assessment has been normed on a national-representation sample of over 3,500 individuals. The four test forms require individuals to read and answer as many questions related to the texts as possible in three minutes, evaluating speed and accuracy of reading and comprehension of text, making it a quick test to administer.
Click here for TOSREC's website.
Click here for validity research paper.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Oral Reading
First Assessment – Analytical Reading Inventory (ARI)
This assessment, created by Woods and Moe is designed to measure the progress of typical, gifted and remedial readers, helping educators to develop instruction plans for learners. It has levels ranging from pre-primer to nine, and it is administered individually. This formative assessment is criterion-based, and there are quantitative and qualitative standards that can be recorded based on the informational texts and literature given to the responder.
Part of the exam consists of Oral Reading accuracy tests, with varying levels of difficulty, where individuals read the passages aloud while the test administrator monitors the reading accuracy, based on a miscue analysis, as well as fluency, emotional status and ability to make predictions.
Click here for ARI's website.
Click here for assessment's chapter sample.
Second Assessment – Basic Reading Inventory (BRI)
The Basic Reading Inventory was created by Jerry L. Johns and is currently on its 10th edition, published by Kendall/ Hunt. It is a collection of early literacy assessments, in which four of the test’s sections/skills evaluated focus on student’s oral reading: Passage Reading, Oral Reading Accuracy, Oral Reading Fluency and Oral Reading Comprehension. A 2011 study on BRI’s validity shows a correlation between this assessment and DIBELS –ORF. The test is done individually and the administration time depends on how many sections of tests are applied.
The assessment has a detailed manual that provides information on how to administer the test and how to deal with special student cases, as well as an overall view of the importance of informal reading inventories, which makes BRI a good kit for beginning educators. It can be used as a formative or summative assessment.
Click here for assessment's website.
Click here for the technical standards.
Click here for Form A performance booklet.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Aloud
First Assessment - Early Reading Diagnostic Assessment (ERDA-2)
The ERDA exams were created to identify children from grades K to 3 at risk for reading difficulty or failure. The scores are done with percentiles based on grades collected in the Fall, Winter and Spring. The test is comprehensive and it takes 45-60 minutes to be administered, with 15-20 for screening. One of the subtests available is the Listening Comprehension, where a story is read aloud to the student, and the student has to answer questions related to comprehension of the story.
Since this is a subjective response subtest, a rubric is available to guide test administrators on the quality of the responses. According to a paper published by the Canadian Journal of School Psychology, the ERDA was considered a reliable instrument for the measurement of central skills related to reading proficiency, with positive reliability and validity scores, and it can be a helpful tool in planning and implementing remedial reading instruction.
Click here for ERDA-2 website.
Click here for assessment report.
Second Assessment - Brigance Diagnostic Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills (CIBS)
Source: http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/detail.aspx?title=BrigCIBSII
The CIBS tests assess the following reading areas (among other skills evaluated): Readiness, Speech, Listening, Reading and Spelling. For each subtest category, there is a Form A (pre-assessment) and a Form B (post-test) where test administrators can record student’s progress. According to the author, CIBS can help determine students’ placement, diagnostic of weaknesses and strengths, recordkeeping, and it can be used as a standardized testing instrument, as a formative or summative assessment.
In the listening comprehension section, there are five subtests: Auditory discrimination (phonology), sentence memory, following oral directions (language comprehension), listening vocabulary grade-placement test, listening comprehension grade-placement test, providing a more complete evaluation of a student’s listening comprehension skills. This part of the test is administered individually and it takes approximately one hour. The test-retest reliability for the listening comprehension part of the exam is .79 and its overall validity shows wide support for the validity and reliability of results.
Click here for test website.
Click here for reliability and validity information.
Silent Reading
First Assessment – Consortium On Reading Excellence (CORE) Reading Maze Comprehension Test
Source: http://www.corelearn.com/backup/resources/new_products.html
The reading maze test was created by Dr. Michael Milone and it evaluates a learner’s comprehension of written texts read silently. In the texts provided, there are options to choose words for sentences that would make sense as opposed to other word options given called “distractors”. It was designed to test learners corresponding to grades 2-10. This test can be administered individually or in groups and it takes about 3 minutes, with passages ranging from 150-400 words depending on the level of the test. The CORE assessment evaluates the students understanding and application of syntax. It can be used as a formative or summative assessment, measuring changes in progress after instruction.
Click here for instructions and samples of the assessment.
Click here for CORE validity-reliability information.
Second Assessment – TOSREC
TOSREC is a test that evaluates silent reading of connected text. It can be used to identify poor readers, monitor progress of learners and to assist clinicians and researchers in evaluations based on silent reading. The test can be done individually or in groups, and it can be used with students between grades 1 and 12 as a formative or summative assessment.
According to the publisher, TOSREC requires “fluent recognition of printed words, ability to process grade-level appropriate sentence structure, knowledge of grade-level-appropriate vocabulary, adequate working memory capacity to process realistic sentences, the ability to make appropriate inferences, and possession of relevant background knowledge”. The assessment has been normed on a national-representation sample of over 3,500 individuals. The four test forms require individuals to read and answer as many questions related to the texts as possible in three minutes, evaluating speed and accuracy of reading and comprehension of text, making it a quick test to administer.
Click here for TOSREC's website.
Click here for validity research paper.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Oral Reading
First Assessment – Analytical Reading Inventory (ARI)
This assessment, created by Woods and Moe is designed to measure the progress of typical, gifted and remedial readers, helping educators to develop instruction plans for learners. It has levels ranging from pre-primer to nine, and it is administered individually. This formative assessment is criterion-based, and there are quantitative and qualitative standards that can be recorded based on the informational texts and literature given to the responder.
Part of the exam consists of Oral Reading accuracy tests, with varying levels of difficulty, where individuals read the passages aloud while the test administrator monitors the reading accuracy, based on a miscue analysis, as well as fluency, emotional status and ability to make predictions.
Click here for ARI's website.
Click here for assessment's chapter sample.
Second Assessment – Basic Reading Inventory (BRI)
The Basic Reading Inventory was created by Jerry L. Johns and is currently on its 10th edition, published by Kendall/ Hunt. It is a collection of early literacy assessments, in which four of the test’s sections/skills evaluated focus on student’s oral reading: Passage Reading, Oral Reading Accuracy, Oral Reading Fluency and Oral Reading Comprehension. A 2011 study on BRI’s validity shows a correlation between this assessment and DIBELS –ORF. The test is done individually and the administration time depends on how many sections of tests are applied.
The assessment has a detailed manual that provides information on how to administer the test and how to deal with special student cases, as well as an overall view of the importance of informal reading inventories, which makes BRI a good kit for beginning educators. It can be used as a formative or summative assessment.
Click here for assessment's website.
Click here for the technical standards.
Click here for Form A performance booklet.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Aloud
First Assessment - Early Reading Diagnostic Assessment (ERDA-2)
The ERDA exams were created to identify children from grades K to 3 at risk for reading difficulty or failure. The scores are done with percentiles based on grades collected in the Fall, Winter and Spring. The test is comprehensive and it takes 45-60 minutes to be administered, with 15-20 for screening. One of the subtests available is the Listening Comprehension, where a story is read aloud to the student, and the student has to answer questions related to comprehension of the story.
Since this is a subjective response subtest, a rubric is available to guide test administrators on the quality of the responses. According to a paper published by the Canadian Journal of School Psychology, the ERDA was considered a reliable instrument for the measurement of central skills related to reading proficiency, with positive reliability and validity scores, and it can be a helpful tool in planning and implementing remedial reading instruction.
Click here for ERDA-2 website.
Click here for assessment report.
Second Assessment - Brigance Diagnostic Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills (CIBS)
Source: http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/detail.aspx?title=BrigCIBSII
The CIBS tests assess the following reading areas (among other skills evaluated): Readiness, Speech, Listening, Reading and Spelling. For each subtest category, there is a Form A (pre-assessment) and a Form B (post-test) where test administrators can record student’s progress. According to the author, CIBS can help determine students’ placement, diagnostic of weaknesses and strengths, recordkeeping, and it can be used as a standardized testing instrument, as a formative or summative assessment.
In the listening comprehension section, there are five subtests: Auditory discrimination (phonology), sentence memory, following oral directions (language comprehension), listening vocabulary grade-placement test, listening comprehension grade-placement test, providing a more complete evaluation of a student’s listening comprehension skills. This part of the test is administered individually and it takes approximately one hour. The test-retest reliability for the listening comprehension part of the exam is .79 and its overall validity shows wide support for the validity and reliability of results.
Click here for test website.
Click here for reliability and validity information.