The Effects of Altering the Ceiling Criterion on the Passage Comprehension Test of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests

Abstract

Forty adolescent subjects were administered the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests. The Passage Comprehension Test for each subject was rescored using three different ceiling criteria: (a) five errors in six consecutive responses, (b) five errors in seven consecutive responses and (c) three consecutive errors. The three scoring methods were found to be equivalent to the scoring method recommended in the Woodcock Manual in terms of internal consistency reliability. Strong positive correlations were found between raw scores obtained by the four scoring methods and between each group of raw scores and an external measure. Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences between the raw score means. Bivariate regression equations were provided to allow raw scores obtained with each of the three scoring methods to be adjusted so they can be used to obtain percentile ranks and equivalent scores. Two alternative scoring methods reduced to a statistically significant degree the mean number of items administered with no loss in reliability or validity. Practical recommendations for diagnosticians are provided.