This report examines the current use of standardized reading tests in British schools seven years after a critical government report. Included in the review is a discussion of the variables affecting test development and use, as well as four recommendations for future testing policy. (AM)

Addresses problems in the interpretation of standardized reading test scores. Focuses on reading age (or reading grade) and demonstrates that converting test scores to a scale of reading ages is essentially meaningless and potentially dangerous. (AEA)

Cautions against using standardized tests to make simplistic judgments about students' reading comprehension. Suggests two approaches to testing that teachers might use to devise testing procedures that represent their own views of the important reading strategies and skills that students need to acquire. (AEA)

A sampling methodology is proposed for determining lengths of tests designed to assess the comprehension of written discourse. It is based on Bormuth's transformational analysis, within a domain-referenced framework. Guidelines are provided for computing sample size and selecting sentences to which the transformational rules can be applied.…

The median correlation of Nelson-Denny scores with first unit examination and semester point total was 0.56. When standardized aptitude scores are not available, the Nelson-Denny would be a useful predictor of performance in an introductory psychology class. (Author/CP)

The feasibility of administering the Woodcock Passage Comprehension Test in written rather than oral form was examined. The written test was found to be a quick and valid assessment of students' reading achievement. (MKM)

The reliability and validity of the Durrell Listening-Reading Series (DLRS) were investigated with 71 intermediate students in residential schools for the blind. Ss were tested according to their primary mode of learning (large print or braille). A comparison of DRLS scores with scores of the Stanford Achievement Test demonstrated external…

Describes how to measure whether students are making significant gains in reading. (JM)

Provides a critical and comparative analysis of the major commercially produced informal reading inventories. Offers recommendations for those who are considering purchasing or using one of the inventories. (FL)

Reports that tenth-grade students far exceeded chance mean scores on the Stanford Test of Academic Skills when given passage-out components (the publisher's questions without the accompanying reading passages); concludes that the results lend support to concerns regarding the valid measurement of reading comprehension. (GT)

Reports findings of a study that compared the scores on the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests with information from an informal reading inventory, from the Spache Diagnostic Reading Scales, and from the Slosson Oral Reading Test. (FL)

Provides information concerning a procedure for estimating the probability of placement error on a criterion referenced multiple choice test. (TJ)

Presents achievement data for the years 1970-71 through 1978-79 for elementary school children enrolled in the Northern Cheyenne Behavior Analysis Model of Follow Through. (FL)

A computer-assisted developmental reading program is described. Text is presented to the student leaving each phrase on the screen for a specified time interval. Multiple-choice questions follow. (MP)

Summarizes the results of a series of factor analyses of a new test of literal comprehension using a multiple-choice cloze format. (JM)