No abstract

An effective reading comprehension measurement demands robust psychometric tools that allow teachers and researchers to evaluate the educational practices and track changes in students' performance. In this study, we illustrate how Rasch model can be used to attend such demands and improve reading comprehension measurement. We discuss the construction of two reading comprehension tests: TRC-n, with narrative texts, and TRC-e, with expository texts. Three vertically scaled forms were generated for each test (TRC-n-2, TRC-n-3, TRC-n-4; TRC-e-2, TRC-e-3 and TRC-e-4), each meant to assess Portuguese students in second, third and fourth grade of elementary school. The tests were constructed according to a nonequivalent groups with anchor test design and data were analyzed using the Rasch model. The results provided evidence for good psychometric qualities for each test form, including unidimensionality and local independence and adequate reliability. A critical view of this study and future researches are discussed.

The aim of this study was twofold. In Study 1, we described the development of four forms of a test of word reading (TLP -Teste de Leitura de Palavras) for elementary school children (grades 1 to 4), using the Rasch model. An initial pool of 142 words was selected and tested on 905 Portuguese students. Rasch analyses allowed the development of a shorter version of the test for each grade with adjusted values concerning reliability coefficients and item local independence. In Study 2 (n = 325), the classification accuracy of the TLP to identify at-risk students for reading problems was examined based on several indices. Results indicated that each test form of the TLP presented overall satisfactory classification accuracy in identifying at-risk readers with a criterion of 0.80 to set the sensitivity levels.

Reading comprehension assessment should rely on valid instruments that enable adequate conclusions to be taken regarding students' reading comprehension performance. In this article, two studies were conducted to collect validity evidence for the vertically scaled forms of two Tests of Reading Comprehension for Portuguese elementary school students in the second to fourth grades, one with narrative texts (TRC-n) and another with expository ones (TRC-e). Two samples of 950 and 990 students participated in Study 1, the study of the dimensionality of the TRC-n and TRC-e forms, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence of an acceptable fit for the one-factor solution for all test forms. Study 2 included 218 students to collect criterion-related validity. The scores obtained in each of the test forms were significantly correlated with the ones obtained in other reading comprehension measures and with the results obtained in oral reading fluency, vocabulary and working memory tests. Evidence suggests that the test forms are valid measures of reading comprehension.

Abstract. This article presents data concerning the validity evidence of a test of word reading (TLP – Teste de Leitura de Palavras) that assesses single-word reading accuracy in Portuguese students from Grades 1 to 4. The test is composed of four vertically scaled forms, one for each grade, allowing for the evaluation of students’ word reading progression. In the internal structure-related evidence validity study, administration of the TLP to 905 Portuguese elementary students confirmed its one-dimensional structure. In the evidence based on the relationship with other variables’ study, 280 Portuguese elementary students were assessed with each TLP test form and criterion measures (reading tests, digit span, and vocabulary measures). Significant correlations were observed between results from the TLP test forms, reading instruments, short-term memory, and vocabulary measures. These results revealed adequate evidence based on internal structure and evidence based on the relationship to other variables of the TLP for the assessment of word reading accuracy in Portuguese elementary students.