NAEP Scores Fall; Now What?
Assessing the Strands of Skilled Reading | Science of Reading Assessment by Capti
Hollis Scarborough's conceptualization of the Reading Rope illustrates the interconnected skills students must master to read proficiently. Being able to measure the various skills is important in identifying reading difficulties. So, how do you assess each strand? Continue reading to learn how Capti Assess measures foundational reading skills that contribute to reading success.
In this article
Download this article in PDF
Learn how Capti Assess measures foundational reading skills that contribute to reading success
WR / Phonological and Orthographic Awareness
Phonological and Orthographic Awareness is measured by evaluating students’ accuracy and awareness of the alphabetic principle and print concepts (phonemes, syllables, word stress, and letter-to-sound relationships), and orthographic patterns (letter-to-meaning relationships). Phonological and orthographic awareness assessments are primarily for readers in Kindergarten to Grade 2 and are typically delivered one-on-one. Therefore, these skills are precursors to skilled decoding.
WR / Decoding
Decoding can be measured by assessing a student’s ability to produce the sound-to-letter correspondence using real and nonsense words. ReadBasix™ uses real, nonsense, and pseudohomophones (words that sound like real words when decoded) to measure students in Grades 3+ decoding skills.
WR / Sight Recognition
Sight recognition tests ask students to identify real vs. nonsense words. ReadBasix™ does this by asking students to classify individual words as a real word, not a real word, or sounds like a real word.
LC / Background knowledge
Background Knowledge is difficult to measure because it relies on the text’s context. If students read about volcanoes, background knowledge will be specific to volcanoes. ETS ReadAuthentix™, a scenario-based assessment of higher-level reading skills, measures background knowledge to provide meaningful data on what students know about the topic before taking part in authentic reading tasks.
LC / Word-level skills
Word-Level Skills include vocabulary and morphology. To measure these skills, students rely on their knowledge of words and the morphemes that comprise them. ReadBasix™ measures a student’s vocabulary and morphology knowledge by identifying synonyms and closely related words and word parts or morphemes.
LC / Sentence Processing
Sentence Processing refers to the skill of making meaning across a sentence based on the various discourse markers that signal relationships. ReadBasix™ uniquely measures a student’s understanding of syntax and semantics through sentence processing tasks that identify the relationships inherent in a sentence.
LC / Verbal Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning relies on the ability to make inferences and unlock the meaning of figurative language. ReadBasix™ measures verbal reasoning through text-based reading comprehension questions that ask students to integrate text information in order to make inferences and draw conclusions.
LC / Literacy Knowledge
Literacy Knowledge is a skill that is often measured in younger grades. Reading assessments for older readers assume that the test taker will know how to read using print concepts, such as reading a text from top to bottom and left to right. ReadBasix™ uses nonfiction genres on each subtest.
Assessing the woven strands
Reading Fluency is often measured silently for readers beyond Grade 2. Older readers are expected to process more complex texts in school and on reading assessments. ReadBasix™ measures reading fluency using a timed passage.
Skilled Reading requires readers to execute various skills at different times while monitoring for understanding of the text. This means skilled readers are able to recognize when to rely on various skills, such as decoding unfamiliar words or analyzing the meaning of a morpheme. ReadBasix™ measures skilled reading by asking students to read non-fiction passages and answer questions that require basic reading comprehension.
