Behavioral

Reading Battery

We use a variety of standardized measures of reading aptitude as a part of our work in the BDE Lab. Below is a list of the measures we utilize, a description of their use, and details of their administration.

Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ-IV)
Test of Word Reading Efficiency-2 (TOWRE-2)
Weschler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI)
Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing-2 (CTOPP-2)

WJ-IV

The WJ-IV Tests of Achievement contains 20 tests measuring reading, mathematics, written language, and academic knowledge. As a part of the study, only four tests were used, all focusing on basic reading skills and fluency.

• Letter-Word Identification: Letter-Word Identification measures the examinee’s word identification skills, a reading-writing (Grw) ability. The initial items require the individual to identify letters that appear in large type on the examinee’s side of the Test Book. The remaining items require the person to read aloud individual words correctly. The examinee is not required to know the meaning of any word. The items become increasingly difficult as the selected words appear less frequently in written English.
• Word Attack: Word Attack measures a person’s ability to apply phonic and structural analysis skills to the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words, a reading-writing (Grw) ability. The initial items require the individual to produce the sounds for single letters. The remaining items require the person to read aloud letter combinations that are phonically consistent or are regular patterns in English orthography but are nonsense or low-frequency words. The items become more difficult as the complexity of the nonsense words increases.
• Oral Reading: Oral Reading is a measure of story reading accuracy and prosody, a reading-writing (Grw) ability. The individual reads aloud sentences that gradually increase in difficulty. Performance is scored for both accuracy and fluency of expression.
• Sentence Reading Fluency: Sentence Reading Fluency measures reading rate, requiring both reading-writing (Grw) and cognitive processing speed (Gs) abilities. The task involves reading simple sentences silently and quickly in the Response Booklet, deciding if the statement is true or false, and then circling Yes or No. The difficulty level of the sentences gradually increases to a moderate level. The individual attempts to complete as many items as possible within a 3-minute time limit.

TOWRE-2

The TOWRE-2 contains two subsets, each of which has four alternate forms.

• The Sight Word Efficiency subtest assesses the number of real words printed in vertical lists that an individual can accurately identify within 45 seconds.
• Phonemic Decoding Efficiency subtest measures the number of pronounceable nonwords presented in vertical lists than an individual can accurately decode within 45 seconds.

WASI

The WASI is a shortened test of general cognitive ability, both verbal and non-verbal.

• Vocabulary: The vocabulary subtest has 31 items, including 3 picture items and 28 verbal items. For picture items, the examinee names the object presented visually. For verbal items, the examinee defines words that are presented visually and orally. Vocabulary is designed to measure an examinee’s word knowledge and verbal concept formation.
• Matrix Reasoning: The Matrix Reasoning subtest has 30 items. The examinee views a series of incomplete matrices and completes each one by selecting the correct response option. The subtest taps … classification and spatial ability, knowledge of part-whole relationships, simultaneous processing, and perceptual organization.

CTOPP-2

The CTOPP-2 is multi-part test that measures phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming skills. We utilized the following tests:

• Elision: This 34-item subtest measures the extent to which an individual can say a word and then say what is left after dropping out designated sounds. For the first two items, the examiner says compound words and asks the examinee to say that word and then say the word that remains after dropping one of the compound words. For the remaining items, the individual listens to a word and repeats that word and then is asked to say the word without a specific sound. For example, the examinee is instructed, “Say bold.” After repeating “bold,” the examinee is told, “Now say ‘bold’ without saying /b/.” The correct response is “old.”
• Memory for Digits: This 28-item subtest measures the extent to which an individual can repeat a series of numbers ranging in length from two to eight digits. After the individual has listened to a series of audio-recorded numbers presented at a rate of 2 per second, he or she is asked to repeat the numbers in the same order in which they were heard.
• Rapid Digit Naming: This 36-item subtest measures the speed with which an individual can name numbers. The Picture Book contains one page for this subtest, which consists of four rows and nine columns of six randomly arranged numbers (i.e., 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8). The examinee is instructed to name the numbers on the top row from left to right, and then name the numbers on the next row from left to right, and so on, until all of the numbers have been named. The individual’s score is the total number of seconds taken to name all of the numbers on the page.
• Rapid Letter Naming: This 36-item subtest measures the speed with which an individual can name letters. The Picture Book contains one page for this subtest, which consists of four rows and nine columns of six randomly arranged letters (i.e., a, c, k, n, s, t). The examinee is instructed to name the letters on the top row from left to right, and then name the letters on the next row from left to right, and so on, until all of the letters have been named. The individual’s score is the total number of seconds taken to name all of the letters.