A Comparison of Certain Oral Reading Tests

Abstract

We have attempted to reduce the various types of norms given for several oral reading tests to a common denominator. If the results of these tests can be expressed in comparable terms, it may be pos sible to discover whether there is any great similarity among them, whether there are any biases caused by variations in difficulty o r other factors and perhaps, whether certain of the tests may be used interchangeably in successive testings during the course of remedial work. It will also be possible to detect trends in the norms of any particular test which would lead the examiner to make unsound inter pretations of a pupil's oral reading skill. The norms for the Oral Reading Test and the Oral Reading, Un aided Oral R ecall Test of the Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty Kit*, and Gray 's Oral Check Test^ were those selected for this study. These are used extensively for diagnostic purposes particularly i n elementary school testing and information concerning their validity and comparability should be useful to diagnosticians and remedial teachers. Durrell's Oral Reading Test is composed of eight para graphs roughly corresponding in difficulty to reading materials used in each grade of the elementary school. Each child is expected to read at least three paragraphs beginning with the paragraph equal to his estimated reading level or his grade placement. Norms are giv en in terms of number of seconds for reading each paragraph. These standards correspond to the second, fifth, and eighth months of the school year. The child's performance on each of the three para graphs is graded according to these norms and the median score of the three ratings used as an estimate of the child's oral reading level. The child's comprehension is checked by a series of four to seven