Capti ReadBasix Tests
ReadBasix assesses 5 foundational reading skills and basic reading comprehension. Each skill can be assessed together or individually; the entire battery of 6 subtests takes students 45-60 minutes on average and up to 84 minutes if timed. The assessment time can be reduced by focusing on specific skills, most of which can be assessed in 5-10 minutes each. Each subtest has 3 levels of difficulty that are automatically personalized to students' levels based on the results of the previous administration of the ReadBasix diagnostic assessment or the ReadRoutix screener.
Word Recognition and Decoding
Sight word recognition concerns the ability to accurately and efficiently recognize known words in printed text. Phonological decoding is the process of linking letters with their sounds to read new words. Both are needed to support vocabulary acquisition and fluent reading. Low accuracy or low automaticity of decoding is the primary symptom of a reading disability or dyslexia.
The word recognition and decoding subtest uses three item types: real words, nonsense words, and pseudohomophones.
Real word items ask students to identify actual words encountered in school.
Nonsense word items ask students to identify made up words.
Pseudohomophone items ask students to identify special kinds of nonsense words that, when pronounced, sound exactly like real English words.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary knowledge helps derive the meaning of words and their associations to related words (“forest” to “trees”). Some estimates indicate that successful reading comprehension requires knowing the meaning of 95-98 percent of the words in text; thus, students with poor knowledge of grade-level vocabulary will struggle to understand disciplinary content.
The vocabulary subtest uses two types of items to measure vocabulary knowledge: synonyms and topical associates.
Synonym items ask students to identify words that mean the same thing.
Topical association items ask students to identify words that are connected to the same topic.
Morphology
Morphological awareness is the ability to identify and use various word parts. The subtest measures derivational morphology—those words that have prefixes and suffixes attached to a root to recognize words, comprehend sentences, and learn the meaning of new words. Morphology is important for developing new vocabulary and differentiating nuances in a word’s meaning. Below grade-level performance could indicate poor vocabulary knowledge and/or a lack of understanding of how words are constructed.
The morphology subtest uses two types of items to measure morphological knowledge: prefixes and suffixes.
Prefix items ask students to select the prefix that fits the context.
Suffix items ask students to select the suffix that fits the context.
Sentence Processing
Skilled Sentence Processing is the ability to comprehend sentences of varying complexity using cues, such as temporal (before, second), referential (him, her, this, that), relational (less than, larger than), and causal (because, therefore) connectors and conjunctions. The ability to understand the nuanced meaning of sentences is important for grasping the overall meaning of text. Lower sentence processing skill can be due to weaknesses in the preceding skills and/or a lack of familiarity with cues.
The sentence processing subtest uses two types of items to measure sentence processing knowledge: discourse markers and internal logic.
Discourse marker items ask students to select the words that manage the flow and structure of the sentence.
Internal logic items ask students to select adjectives, pronouns, or adverbs that complete the sentence and match the context and syntax.
Reading Efficiency
Reading Efficiency concerns the ability to silently read text accurately and at an appropriate rate for understanding. Below grade performance in fluency indicates weaknesses in one or more of the preceding foundational skills and/or a lack of stamina for sustained silent reading.
The reading efficiency subtest uses the MAZE format to measure silent reading comprehension.
MAZE items build a passage sentence by sentence and ask students to select the appropriate word in context to complete the sentence.
This subtest takes into account both comprehension and fluency of silent reading.
Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension is the ability to understand text by building an accurate mental model. This skill includes understanding the literal meaning, as well as making cross sentence or passage inferences. Below grade level performance indicates that the student is lacking in one or more foundational reading skills. Since reading comprehension is the overall goal of reading, it is imperative for any diagnostic reading assessment to include an overall comprehension measure.
The reading comprehension subtest uses three types of items to measure basic reading comprehension: literal comprehension, making inferences, and understanding vocabulary in context.
Literal comprehension items ask students to go back in the passage and connect the text to the question.
Making inferences items ask students to make connections across the text.
Understanding vocabulary in context items ask students to construct word meaning based on words within given sentences.