Reading Comprehension Subtest Research Articles

Identifying Children with Specific Reading Disabilities From Listening and Reading Discrepancy Scores

A method of identifying children with specific reading disabilities by identifying discrepancies between their reading and listening comprehension scores was validated with disabled and nondisabled readers in Grades 4, 5, and 6. The method is based on a modification of the reading comprehension subtest of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (Dunn & Markwardt, 1970). In this modification, even-numbered sentences are read by subjects, and odd-numbered sentences are read by the test administrator as subjects listen. The features of this test that reduce demands on working memory, thereby making it suitable for the detection of a discrepancy between reading and listening comprehension in readers with disabilities, are discussed. A significant group-by-modality interaction was obtained. Children with reading disabilities scored significantly lower on reading than on listening comprehension, while nondisabled readers scored slightly higher, but not significantly so, on reading than on listening comprehension. The appropriateness of this method as a substitute for the traditional method, which is based on the detection of a discrepancy between intelligence and reading and which has recently been proscribed in certain school districts, is discussed. Issues concerning the listening comprehension skills of disabled readers are also discussed.

Differences in Factor Structures of Cognitive Functioning of Learning Disabled (LD) and Emotionally Handicapped (EH) Children

Previous empirical studies have been inconsistent in the identification of cognitive differences between learning disabled (LD) and emotionally handicapped (EH) children on psychoeducational assessment batteries. Furthermore, studies using multivariate procedures such as discriminant analysis have failed to verify the basic underlying assumption of homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices of the groups. Homogeneity of covariance can be assessed by comparing factor structures of the groups. This study investigated the cognitive differences between LD and EH children on a psychoeducational assessment battery including the WISC-R, WRAT Arithmetic, and PIAT Reading Recognition, Comprehension, and Mathematics subtests, typically used to identify the two exceptionalities. Differences in factor structures were investigated in an effort to clarify group differences in cognitive functioning and to investigate the utility of multivariate analyses such as discriminant analysis with these two groups of children. The congruence coefficient was used to determine similarities between factors. The Verbal Conceptualization, Perceptual Organization, and Mathematics factors were found to be statistically similar in construct and interpretation. Differences were noted in the factor structures, however, involving the fourth factor, which for the LD group was Reading Achievement and for the EH group was Visual Motor Performance. As the results indicated the presence of heterogeneity in the matrices of LD and EH children, caution was suggested in the interpretation of multivariate statistical analyses with these children. Violation of the assumption of homogeneity can invalidate statistical findings and their application to the study of group differences.

Comparison of Reading and Listening-Reading Techniques for Administration of Sat Reading Comprehension Subtest: Justification for the Bypass Approach

The Advanced Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) Reading Comprehension subtest was administered to a group of 36 Caucasian learning disabled children (6 girls and 30 boys) in Grades 7 through 9 who were classified by the clinical Lexical Paradigm as either good readers or poor readers. Using the standardized (silent reading) method of administration, these learning disabled children all scored below the normative (50th percentile) level of performance and the poor readers scored substantially lower than good readers. When the child was allowed to listen and read silently, however, while the test material was read aloud, both poor readers and good readers showed significantly improved performance. This improvement which allowed the average of the poor readers to approach the normative level and the good readers to exceed it, supports the argument that a “bypass approach” to education of poor readers which includes listening-reading tasks might greatly enhance their learning and performance in school-related reading tasks.

Validity of school history as a diagnostic criterion for reading disability

In order to assess the validity of school history information as a diagnostic criterion for reading disability, reading performance data from 304 children with a positive history for reading problems were compared to those from 319 children with a negative school history. These children are members of twin pairs who are participants in the Colorado Reading Project (DeFries 1985). A multivariate analysis of variance of Reading Recognition, Reading Comprehension, and Spelling subtest scores from the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (Dunn and Markwardt 1970) yielded a highly significant (p <0.001) difference between groups for both the multivariate and univariate comparisons. The difference between the unweighted mean scores of the school-history positive and negative groups for Reading Recognition was 2.1 standard deviations. Moreover, when discriminant weights estimated from an independent sample of 140 reading-disabled and 140 control nontwin children were used to reclassify the sample of twins, 75% of those with a positive history for reading problems were classified as being reading disabled and 95% of those with a negative history were classified as unaffected. Thus, results of this study establish the validity of school history information and suggest that such information may have considerable utility for ascertaining samples of reading-disabled children.

Comparison of reading and listening-reading techniques for administration of PIAT Reading Comprehension subtest: justification for the bypass approach.

The Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) Reading Comprehension subtest was administered to a group of 23 learning disabled children in Grades 5 through 7 who had been classified by the clinical Lexical Paradigm as good readers or poor readers. Using standardized test administration, 14 poor readers scored substantially below the 9 good readers; however, when the child was allowed to listen and read silently while the test item was read aloud, poor readers showed marked improvement in performance compared to only moderate improvement shown by the good readers. This difference in improvement between the groups was significant and resulted in poor readers achieving performance similar to that of the good readers administered the test in the standard manner.

The Validity of Informal Reading Comprehension Measures

The purpose of this study was to assess the criterion, construct, and concurrent validity of four informal reading comprehension measures: question answering tests, recall measures, oral passage reading tests, and cloze techniques. Mildly and moderately handicapped middle and junior high school boys (N = 70) were administered the informal measures in one sitting, with four passages equally represented across the four measures and with the administration order of measures counterbalanced. Criterion tests, the Reading Comprehension and Word Study Skills subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test, also were administered in a separate sitting. Results indicated that the correct oral reading rate score demonstrated the strongest criterion validity, with adequate construct and concurrent validity. A second acceptable index was the written recall measure. Implications for designing reading comprehension monitoring procedures are discussed.

Measuring ESL readers’ ability to apply reasoning in reading: a validity study of the TOEFL reading comprehension subtest

ABSTRACTThis paper reports the results of an attempt to measure English as a Second Language (ESL) students’ability to apply reasoning in reading. The elicitation instrument was an experimental test which was developed from a model of reading comprehension based upon cognitive activities which Piaget referred to as concrete operations. The experimental test delineated Piaget's concrete operations in prose text and set them against difficulty criteria. The experimental test which measured the ability to apply reasoning in reading and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) were administered to a pool of adult ESL subjects. The results indicated that the TOEFL reading comprehension subtest does not measure the ability to apply reasoning in reading; thus, its validity as a measure of reading is in doubt. Significant effects were also shown for the paragraph types and the item types in the experimental test. The items based on the classification paragraphs were significantly more difficult than the items based on the serial paragraphs. In like manner, the items based on the multiplication paragraphs were significantly more difficult than the items based on the addition paragraphs. And finally, the intension questions which concerned the properties of a class were significantly more difficult than the extension questions which dealt with the members of classes.The results of this study indicate a need for further, increased attention to the measurement of reading to solve problems in ESL reading assessment and to the effects of the different structural organizations of ideas (e.g., addition, classification, multiplication, and series) and the interrelations of ideas on the comprehension process. The motivation for this line of research derives from the pragmatic interest of those researchers concerned with the communicative aspects of a text and the manner in which authors organize their ideas. Current research is beginning to explain the complex interaction between text structure and the reader's processing of such structure which further explicates the comprehension process.

Introduction and training of students to use separate answer sheets: Effects on standardized test scores

Previous research has found conflicting evidence regarding how early children can effectively use separate answer sheets with achievement tests. This study looked at the effects of separate answer sheets on the California Achievement Test (CAT) scores of third, fourth, and fifth graders. The Mathematics Computation and the Reading Comprehension subtests of the CAT were used. Seventy-one classrooms were randomly assigned to have students record their answers on either: (a) their test booklets, (b) separate answer sheets, or (c) separate answer sheets after being given training in the use of separate answer sheets. The results were consistent across both subtests and grades; no response mode treatment effect was found. Further, no evidence of a treatment by ability interaction was found, which was contrary to previously reported research. The results of this study suggest that students can, as early as grade three, effectively use separate answer sheets without prior training.

OPEN EDUCATION AND READING COMPREHENSION OF HIGH‐ABILITY AND LOW‐ABILITY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PUPILS

Summary.Effects of open education on reading comprehension assignments involving both high inference and low inference items were assessed. Seven hundred and thirty‐three primary school children stratified by instructional methods, grade levels, and cognitive ability participated in the study. Open education pupils of both higher and lower IQ levels manifested higher performance than students of traditional classes on all four reading comprehension subtests employed. Differences between instructional methods were more pronounced, the higher the level of inference required. However, no cumulative effects of more prolonged exposure to open education were found. The results are discussed in terms of implementation of open education methods.

Improving the Test-Taking Skills of Behaviorally Disordered and Learning Disabled Children

Seventy-six third- and fourth-grade children classified as learning disabled or behaviorally disordered were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Students assigned to the treatment condition were taught test-taking skills pertinent to reading achievement tests. Students were taught, in small groups over a 2-week period, such strategies as attending to appropriate stimuli, marking answers carefully, using time well, and avoiding errors. Following the training procedures, students were administered standardized achievement tests in their normal classroom assignments. Results indicated that trained students scored significantly higher on the Word Study Skills subtest of the Stanford Achievement Test. Scores on the Reading Comprehension subtest were not affected by training. The relevance of these findings to assessment in special education is discussed.

Predictive Validity of the Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students for Gifted Children from Three Sociocultural Groups

AbstractThe predictive validity of a recently published behavioral rating scale for identifying gifted and creative students (Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students [SRBCSS]) was investigated for three ethnic by socioeconomic groups. Regression analyses were computed between the SRBCSS and both the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) and a standardized intelligence test. The results indicated low to moderate relationships between the variables for Anglos from mid-high and low socioeconomic backgrounds. Correlations were higher for a group of low socioeconomic Hispanics, with the highest correlations being between the Reading Comprehension subtest of the SAT and the Creative scales of the SRBCSS. Implications for practice and future investigations are discussed.

Vision and academic performance of learning disabled children.

The purpose of this study was to assess difference in academic performance among myopic, hyperopic, and emmetropic children who were learning disabled. More specifically, myopic children were expected to perform better on mathematical and spatial tasks than would hyperopic ones and that hyperopic and emmetropic children would perform better on verbal measures than would myopic ones. For 439 learning disabled students visual anomalies were determined via a Generated Retinal Reflex Image Screening System. Test data were obtained from school files. Partial support for the hypothesis was obtained. Myopic learning disabled children outperformed hyperopic and emmetropic children on the Key Math test. Myopic children scored better than hyperopic children on the WRAT Reading subtest and on the Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty Oral Reading Comprehension, Oral Rate, Flashword, and Spelling subtests, and on the Key Math Measurement and Total Scores. Severity of refractive error significantly affected the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised Full Scale, Performance Scale, Verbal Scale, and Digit Span scores but did not affect any academic test scores. Several other findings were also reported. Those with nonametropic problems scored higher than those without problems on the Key Math Time subtest. Implications supportive of the theories of Benbow and Benbow and Geschwind and Behan were stated.

Convergent and discriminant validity of the mental processing scales of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children

Convergent and discriminant validity of the Mental Processing Scales of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) were examined using 51 first-grade children. Convergent validity was assessed using the Reading Recognition and Comprehension subtests of the Peabody Individual Achievement Test. Discriminant validity was assessed using a measure of anxiety/self-esteem, the Child Anxiety Scale, and a measure of hyperactive behavior, the Hyperactivity scale of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist. Results supported the convergent validity of the K-ABC; correlations with reading achievement were fairly large. The discriminant validity received only partial support. The K-ABC did not correlate with the Child Anxiety Scale, but did show rather large correlations with the measure of hyperactive behavior. Implications for understanding what the K-ABC Mental Processing Scales are measuring are discussed.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF GRE GENERAL TEST ITEM‐TYPE PART SCORES TO UNDERGRADUATE GRADES

ABSTRACTThis study was undertaken (a) to assess the relative contribution of a vocabulary score made up of GRE General Test antonyms and analogies and a reading comprehension score made up of GRE sentence completions and reading comprehension sets to prediction of an academic criterion (self‐reported undergraduate grade point average) and (b) to assess patterns of criterion‐related validity for item‐type part scores on the GRE quantitative and analytical measures as well.The study was based on data from GRE files for 9,375 examinees in 12 fields of study representing 437 undergraduate departments from 149 colleges and universities. All data were standardized within each undergraduate department and then pooled for analysis by field.There were differences by major field in average performance on the various item‐type part scores within each test. The reading comprehension subtest was found to carry most of the predictive load in the GRE verbal measure (consistent with findings for the reading comprehension subscore on the SAT verbal measure). Item‐type part scores on the other measures also exhibited differential patterns of relationships with the self‐reported undergraduate grade point average.The findings suggest that the different item types within the respective broad ability measures may be tapping somewhat unique skills and abilities and that further exploration of their potential contribution is in order.

Comparison of Question-Response-Feedback Interactions During Basal Reader Instruction

This study was designed to explore differences in interactions between two sets of fourth-grade teachers and their average reading groups during the period of time following the reading of a basal story. The researchers sought to add depth to the question-response-feedback pattern of interaction that is already considered to be effective by process-product investigators and to formulate hypotheses for future experimental studies. The teachers in this study were chosen as a result of their class' adjusted mean score on the Reading Comprehension subtest of the SRA Achievement Series. The two teachers with the highest adjusted mean score (HM) and the two teachers with the lowest adjusted mean score (LM) provided audiotapes of basal reading lessons. These were transcribed and comparisons were made. The results revealed that HM teachers tended to ask more text-based questions, provided more positive feedback, probed more often, and used more probe types than did LM teachers. Further, they tended to stick more closely to the gist of the story when asking reader-based questions. By combining several of the results and examining transcripts, four hypotheses for future research were generated. These are: (1) Effective questioning behaviors tend to focus on depth rather than breadth of response; (2) Effective questioning is explicit and precise rather than vague; (3) Effective questioning is cohesive; and (4) Effective questioners clarify misconceptions following an incorrect response. Future directions for research in this area were also provided.

The Effects of Fluctuations in Blood Glucose Level on Reading Test Performance

This study examined the effect of fluctuations in blood glucose on the reading performance of diabetic school children. Nine diabetic children between the ages of 9 and 12 years were compared with a group of non-diabetics of the same ages and sex, who were matched on academic potential (by teacher judgement). The dependent variables were the vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests of the Canadian Test of Basic Skills. Although no achievement differences were found, differences were demonstrated in the time required to complete the subtests. The intercorrelations of achievement measures with blood glucose levels were also examined. The implications of these results, together with the limited existing literature, are discussed in terms of the directions needed in future research and the possible impact they might have on classroom practice.

Validity of the Slosson and Otis-Lennon in Predicting Achievement of Gifted Students

The efficacy of the Slosson Intelligence Test and the Otis-Lennon Mental Ability Test to predict academic achievement as measured by selected subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) was examined. Subjects consisted of children referred, evaluated, and subsequently placed in a program for intellectually gifted students. The results of a multivariate multiple regression analysis indicated that the Slosson and Otis-Lennon significantly predict SAT Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and Mathematical Concepts subtests, with the Otis-Lennon in comparison with the Slosson accounting for a significantly higher proportion of the variance with SAT scores. Regression equations are provided for determining expected SAT scores based upon observed Otis-Lennon and Slosson IQs. Implications of the findings with regard to the screening of students for gifted programs are delineated.

IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION THROUGH PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN

The reading comprehension achievement of two groups of fifth grade students, 80 experimental and 20 control, was compared on pre and post measures using the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, reading comprehension subtest. The experimental group was exposed once each week to materials from the Philosophy for Children program as a supplement to their regular reading program for eight months of the school year. The reading comprehension achievement of two subsets of the experimentals, those above grade level and those below grade level on the pre‐test, was also analyzed. Results with above grade level students support previous studies indicating that including philosophical skills in the reading program leads to greater achievement than would be expected in normal development. Further, the results of the low level students reveal that such skills may also lead to improved reading comprehension achievement.

Investigations into the relationships of the WRAT, the PIAT, the SORT, and the WISC-R in low-functioning referrals

Research involving standardized reading achievement tests has been widespread, but there has been little investigation into the relationships among the more widely used tests of reading achievement. In the present study, the Reading subtest of the WRAT, the Reading Comprehension subtest of the PIAT, and the SORT were compared with each other and with the WISC-R. Results showed a high correlation between the WRAT and the PIAT, a moderately high correlation between the SORT and the PIAT, and a very low correlation between the SORT and the WRAT. The WRAT and the PIAT had higher correlations with the various components of the WISC-R than did the SORT. These findings imply that the WRAT and the PIAT measure essentially the same dimension of reading achievement, possibly verbal fluency, but that the SORT is measuring a different dimension, one that is also tapped to some extent by the PIAT.

An investigation of the Iowa tests of basic skills for sex bias: A developmental look

Results of the Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and Mathematics Concepts subtests for third-, sixth-, and eighth-grade students who took Form 5 of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills in the 1976 school year were analyzed for sex bias. Statistical significance was found for each subtest for all of the grade levels. Follow-up analyses considered skill classification, sex-stereotypicalness, and item location of the items contributing to the statistical significance. No trends for these factors were found within each grade level for the four subtests considered. For all subtests, fewer items are identified at the third-grade level than for sixth or eighth grade, and these items, in general, favored boys. For the older students, when items are found to function differently for boys and girls, nearly half favor each sex. On the whole, little evidence for sex bias was found for the four subtests and three grade levels examined.