Adaptation of the word subtest of the Reading Decision Test (RDT) for Brazilian Portuguese

Abstract

Screening tests for reading skills are essential instruments for teachers and professionals in educational settings. This study examines an adaptation of the lexical decision subtest of the Reading Decision Test (RDT), which has two equally weighted forms, each containing words and pseudo-words, to Brazilian Portuguese. The adaptation followed standards recommended by the international literature and was applied to a sample of 230 schoolchildren from 1 st to 5 th grades in order to analyze its initial psychometric properties. Item analysis and reading speed showed signifi cant school-year effect (p < .05). Scores on the two forms of the subtest were closely correlated. In conclusion, the RDT word decision subtest showed appropriate initial psychometric properties. Keywords: Reading disability, reading test, adaptation. ResumoTestes rápidos (screenings) de avaliação de leitura são instrumentos essenciais para professores e profi ssionais no âmbito educacional. Este estudo adaptou para o português o subteste de leitura de palavras do Reading Decision Test (RDT), o qual tem duas formas equivalentes, compostas por palavras e pseudopalavras. O processo de adaptação seguiu as regras recomendadas pela literatura internacional e foi aplicado em uma amostra de 230 escolares, do 1º ao 5º ano do ensino fundamental para analisar as propriedades psicométricas iniciais. Observou-se que as análises de itens e da velocidade de leitura mostraram efeito signifi cativo do ano escolar (p < 0,05). Verifi cou-se também forte correlação entre as duas formas do subteste. Conclui-se que o subteste de palavras do RDT apresenta propriedades psicométricas iniciais adequadas. Palavras-chave: Difi culdade de desenvolvimento de leitura, teste de leitura, adaptação.

Adapting the reading decision test: Establishing construct validity across sex and type of school.

“…The Letter Decision and Word Decision tests were used in this study, and each test contains two forms, 1 and 2, and include a different set of stimuli (see Pinheiro, 2011; Pinheiro et al, 2015 for details).…”

“…All children answered both Forms 1 and 2 of the Letter and Word Decision tests from the RDT-Brazilian version (Pinheiro et al, 2015), administered at an interval of 1 week. In the first session, half of the group responded to Form 1 of the test, while the others took Form 2.…”

“…The instructions followed when administering the tests were taken from the English version of the RDT manual, translated and adapted by Pinheiro (see Pinheiro, 2011; Pinheiro et al, 2015 for details). Each test was preceded by a training stage to the test to ensure that children understood the task.…”

“…The Brazilian version of the RDT was developed by Pinheiro (Pinheiro, 2011; Pinheiro et al, 2015) after pilot studies establishing the adequacy of its adaptation. To retain the instrument’s initial psychometric properties, the final version was administered to 230 pupils from elementary Grades 1 to 5 in the city of São Paulo.…”

On applying cognitive psychology

“…We had good comments on it from teachers, but no sales; our test was published at a time when the government had just imposed extensive national testing demands; the last thing teachers wanted was more tests! But, hope springs eternal and we are currently exploring its applicability to Brazilian Portuguese, a regular language for which far fewer tests of reading are available, with currently encouraging results (Pinheiro, Bueno, & Baddeley, in preparation).…”