The Validity of Using a Content-Specific Reading Comprehension Test for College Placement

Abstract

This study provides empirical evidence to support the validity of using a content-specific reading test for college placement decisions. A content-specific reading test presents passages exclusively from the subject area for which the placement decision is intended. Forty-nine students in a human anatomy class were administered a content-specific reading test, a content-general reading test, and a test of prior domain knowledge on the first day of class. In a forward-solution multiple regression, the content-specific reading test was a significant predictor (p <. 01) of course grades, but neither the content-general reading test nor the knowledge test added significantly to the prediction. Thus, neither domain knowledge nor generic reading ability provided an independent contribution to the prediction, after partialing out the effects of content-specific reading ability.