The development of a handbook on primary and elementary reading tests for the classroom teacher

Abstract

This thesis was concerned with the development of a handbook which lists and describes a number of reading tests that can be utilized by primary and elementary teachers to help them diagnose the strengths and/or weaknesses of their students in reading. -- As part of a needs assessment, a questionnaire was designed to determine whether teachers in Newfoundland and Labrador were using reading tests, what types were used, e.g., diagnostic or achievement, and the purpose of using them. The questionnaire was sent to a random sampling of 201 teachers working in grades one to six and employed in different schools across the province. This limited survey showed that many teachers were not using published reading tests. In some schools, tests were used, but were not administered by the classroom teachers. Testing was usually done by a guidance counsellor or a consultant from the school board central office staff. -- Tests included in the handbook were selected on the basis of their recommendation by reading specialists as gathered from professional literature, and also on the basis of their usability by the classroom teacher who does not necessarily have a background in testing. The tests are divided into eight categories: Group Diagnostic Tests, Group Survey Tests, Individual Achievement Tests, Individual Diagnostic Reading Tests, Oral Reading Tests, Reading Inventories, Reading Readiness Tests, and Tests of Word Analysis and Phonics Skills. Publication data is given for each test, along with a description of the test, and comments on its strengths and/or weaknesses according to Buros' Mental Measurements Yearbooks. -- The resulting "Handbook of Reading Tests for the Classroom Teacher" appears in Appendix C of this thesis. It includes a table of contents, an introduction, a list of references, a glossary, an index and a descriptive list of thirty eight reading tests.