An analysis of teachers' rating scales as sources of evidence for a standardised Greek reading test

Abstract

Until recently there has been no nationally acceptable test for assessing reading for the higher grades (Five and Six) of the elementary schools in Greece. As part of an effort to validate such a test, evidence was gathered from teachers' rating scales. Seventy‐two teachers from Fifth and Sixth Grades all over Greece evaluated their 1377 students' reading ability prior to the administration of a standardised reading test. The teachers were instructed to rate each student's reading achievement, disregarding effort, intelligence, behaviour and attendance. Within class correlation coefficients were computed to determine whether teachers' personal judgement (ratings) and students' actual performance on the reading test were correlated. The standardised reading test and the teachers' ratings were found to have a strong correlation. The match between Greek teachers' assessments of student reading levels and the scores obtained using a newly standardised reading test is reported, in order to examine the extent to which teacher ratings and standardised test results of students yield the same information. The rationale of this study is to investigate whether a new standardised Greek reading test can provide an alternative tool for the assessment of Greek primary education.