The Effects of Timed and Untimed Testing Conditions on the Reading Comprehension Performance of Adults with Reading Disabilities

Abstract

This study examined the effects of extra time on the reading comprehension performance of a heterogeneous group of adults with reading disabilities. Sixty-four adults participated. A clinic that assesses learning disabilities identified 22 as reading disabled, and 42 as normal readers. The 64 adults took a reading comprehension test under both timed and untimed conditions. Other skills measured included vocabulary, word reading, non-word reading, spelling, arithmetic, and short-term memory. Under timed conditions, there were significant differences between the participants with reading disabilities and the normally achieving participants. All of the reading disabled participants in the present study benefited from extra time, but the normally achieving readers performed similarly under the timed and untimed conditions. Further, in the untimed condition, the performance of the individuals with a less severe reading disability was not significantly different that of the Average readers. The study suggests that extra time during testing is an appropriate accommodation to help individuals begin to compensate for reading disabilities.