Comparison of Reading tests

Wilmington University

Nicole Hatcher

Practicum III SEA

	Purpose	Strengths	Weaknesses	Appropriateness
Slosson Intelligence Test	To give a quick screening of an individual’s general intelligence	It can be given to a large age range (4-65) and covers a variety of areas	It does not give an in-depth look at abilities	It may not be an appropriate tool to assess reading level since it is so general
Slosson Oral Reading Test	A quick look at word recognition	It can assess a student’s progress	It does not measure all aspects of reading	Should be used as a screening tool but not a definitive assessment
Basic Reading Inventory	To find a student’s instructional level for reading	Offers a variety of methods to insure accuracy	Can be time consuming	Gives a more detailed area of instruction to focus on
Wepman’s Auditory Discrimination Test	To test a child’s ability to discriminate small differences between phonemes	It hones in on a specific issue that a child may be having	It is intended for children ages 4-8, leaving a large population out of the testing range	A screening tool used to narrow down the possible reading issues a child is having
Test of Visual Perceptual Skills	Tests a student’s ability to decipher the black and white lines that make up text	Can determine if a student’s reading issue comes from a visual perceptual issue	Can be quite lengthy at 25 minutes	Would probably be used after ruling out other issues

            There are many different factors that go into a person’s ability to read. With each type of assessment the person giving the assessment has to decide if it is the right one for that particular student and their situation. Each assessment has their strengths and weaknesses for any given type of situation.

            Intelligence tests seem to be on the down side of popularity. The Slosson Intelligence Test does not give an in-depth look at a student’s abilities and the outcome can change drastically depending on a student’s mood and motivation for that day. When it is compared to the Basic Reading Inventory it seems a bit more stressful on the student as well. The Basic Reading Inventory is set up so that students are not pushed passed their frustration point. It is clearly written in the directions that once a student reaches their frustration level the test should be ended. The whole point of the BRI is to learn the student’s instructional level while the SIT could possibly be damaging to a student’s confidence.

            Wepman’s Auditory Discrimination Test seems to be a bit of a more intense screening than the Slosson Oral Reading Test. The SORT looks at a child’s general ability to recognize words while the WADT looks at the student’s ability to decipher small differences. SORT would be used to decipher if a child is having a problem in general while it seems like the WADT would be used to rule out a specific problem of deciphering phonemes.

            The Test of Visual Perceptual Skills is the most specific test on the list. It also seems like it is a conclusive test as in one that is given after one of the screening tests is given. Just as there are many factors that go into reading there are many factors that need to be tested when there is an issue with reading. By having so many tests ready and available schools can over their students the best chance at developing a plan to combat whichever issue the student is having.

Works Cited

Academic Therapy Publications. (2013). Retrieved from             http://www.academictherapy.com/detailATP.tpl?eqskudatarq=8409-5

Center For Psychological Studies. (2014). Slosson Intelligence Test. Retrieved from             http://www.cps.nova.edu/~cpphelp/SIT.html

---.(2014). Slosson Oral Reading Test. Retrieved from http://cps.nova.edu/~cpphelp/SORT.html

Encyclopedia of Children’s Health. (2014). Auditory Discrimination Test. Retrieved from    http://www.healthofchildren.com/A/Auditory-Discrimination-Test.html

Johns, Jerry L. (2012). Basic Reading Inventory. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.

Logan's graded word Lists

Page 99-111 in Basic Reading Inventory by Jerry L Johns: A Reflection

Logan seems to be a stellar student. He is only in third grade but he does not reach his frustration level until he reaches the sixth grade reading level when it comes to the word lists. When he is reading the passages his frustration level is at fifth grade. It seems that he is where he needs to be if not a little bit higher. He does not seem like a student that would need extra work such as a read 180 program. There should be some type of increased challenge in his daily school work though. Perhaps the Language Arts teacher could use newsELA to give him more articles that match his ability while keeping him on the same subject as the rest of the class.

Learning to Read form Birth

Nicole Hatcher

Wilmington University

Learning to Read

            There are five essential components of effective reading instruction that children experience from birth until they become experienced readers which is usually around the age of seven (DeBruin-Parecki). Those five components are “phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension” (Johns 3). Depending on how much emphasis is placed on these components there will be different results in how effective reading instruction is for a child.

            When babies are born they begin experiencing phonemic awareness and phonics even if it is not explicitly so. Babies are born knowing to cry as their form of communication. They quickly learn to smile and coo. It is difficult to find a person that will completely ignore a cooing baby. Those little responses from strangers and utterances of “Oh! How cute” help to introduce that baby to a variety of phonemes thus creating phonemic awareness. Most people read to their infants, the creation of bedtime stories being a major help to this component. Babies and toddlers ages 0-3 years begin to associate letters with words and sounds they also “Begin to pay attention to specific print such as the first letters of their names” (DeBruin-Parecki). As toddlers are read the alphabet they begin to associate the phonic sounds that are made when people read the word with the combination of letters.

            As children grow to the ages of three to four the number of components that goes into their reading instruction increases. Their vocabulary increases as they are learning new words every day from any source that is available. They want to know what each and every word they hear means and they will ask anyone that will answer them. Children are also incredible mimics. If they see people reading, whether it is a book, a tablet, computer, smart phone, or newspaper they will want to read too. Even children who do not know how to read will sit with a book and try to make sense of the print if they see others doing it. As the child’s vocabulary expands they begin to build on their phonemic awareness and connect the sounds that they associate with letters. They begin to recognize words on sight so that they do not need to sound out every letter. Children “Understand that print carries a message” (DeBruin-Parecki) and they want to know what that message is.

            When children reach the age of five they are for the most part emerging readers. They know their letters, they can read and write certain phrases without much help. Children really begin to understand the mechanics of reading as they “Understand print is read left to right and top to bottom” (DeBruin-Parecki) and they have been practicing flipping pages since they first got their hands on a book. For children who may be behind this is also when most kids enter into a school setting when they begin Kindergarten. For many this is the first time that students are evaluated on their abilities and exposed to structured reading instruction.

            For some kids that first time in a classroom is the only time they have someone focus on the components of reading instruction with them. Teachers will read a story to them and ask the students to repeat the story back to them or ask them questions that let the teacher know how much of the story the students have been able to comprehend. Many teachers also give students sight words so that the students can increase their vocabulary for words that they may be dropping when they are reading. Kindergarten is also a fun time because as the child’s vocabulary expands so does their ability to “Use descriptive language to explain or to ask questions” (DeBruin-Parecki) which helps with their ability to comprehend what is being said in a story.

            For the final stage of learning to read for most children the age is from six to seven years old. Now that most children have learned the basics of the other components this is where the component of fluency comes into play. As children increase their vocabulary, are familiar with phonemes, phonics and the idea of comprehension they can begin to have an increase in their reading fluency.  Since “Fluency is comprised of four components: rate, accuracy, expression, and comprehension” (Johns 87) it is a component that children of this age will need to work towards. In order to give the correct expression to the words they are reading they have to have the basic steps of comprehension in order to know what type of expression to put with the words. They also need to have a sufficient vocabulary that they recognize on sight so that they can read the words at a faster rate with a higher accuracy.

            All of the components of effective reading instruction work together in order to produce an ability within a child to read the print that is placed in front of them. Reading is the key to success in all other core content areas. If a child cannot read their science book, or even the instructions for a lab then they will struggle in that course. Not all children will like Science or Social Studies but they should not dislike those classes because they cannot read the material. By focusing on these five components young children are given the opportunity to become strong readers.

Works Cited

DeBruin-Parecki, Andrea. Literacy Milestones From Birth to Age Six. Helping Your Child   Become a Reader. U.S Department of Education. Retrieved from :             http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/articles/literacy-milestones-from-birth-to-age-   six.htm

Johns, Jerry L. (2012). Basic Reading Inventory: Pre-Primer Through Grade Twelve and Early        Literacy Assessments. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt.

A Prezi based on the article "A Planning Cycle For Integrating Digital Technology Into Literacy Instruction" by Amy Hutchison and Lindsay Woodward.


http://prezi.com/cw1b3ducw4w0/technology-in-literacy-instruction/