There is a lot of debate about the value of standardised testing in schools in general; and without a doubt, there are pros and cons associated with it. The upsides are that literacy difficulties may be identified early, providing a clearer baseline of ability (albeit at that point in time), and this in turn provides the basis for an individualised remedial path to be put in place for the child. Importantly, assessments can also help to identify those children that are eligible for learning support and language exemptions which will allow them to get the extra help they need.
Some downsides are:
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students can have good and bad days for a variety of reasons, and may well under-perform with a test on the day it was administered.
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some children just do not test well and succumb to test 'nerves'.
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others can become distracted in the presence of a large group (often other anxious peers).
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some of the tests don't test what they claim they test for!
Interestingly, there is NO group test for reading accuracy, (i.e. the ability to read each word correctly) and this applies worldwide. There are some very reliable individual reading tests used in Ireland that do test for accuracy, such as:
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the WIAT II (which is administered by psychologists only)
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the NARA II (for the 6 to 12-year band)
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the YARC (for the 11 to 16-year band)
Although these tests provide reliable results, keep in mind that they are rarely used in school unless a student is already showing signs of a problem - which might have been identified and reported either by the parent or the teacher. The student could then be recommended for further individual testing, with the learning support teacher.
Because children are not tested for reading accuracy, the results can be misleading. Although scoring well on the tests used for vocabulary knowledge and silent reading comprehension, in my clinical experience, this can result in students with a problem being missed entirely and slipping through the net. Consequently, many students that need intervention don’t get the learning supports they are eligible for in school. This is a big problem.
Note: More information about ‘group literacy tests’ versus ‘individual literacy tests’ for reading is available in my forthcoming book on dyslexia, that is scheduled to be published early 2017.
The two most popular group reading attainment tests used in Irish schools are the Micra T and the Drumcondra Reading test.
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The Micra T tests for reading ability, however from my clinical experience, I have found that the results obtained from this test tends to be anything from 12 to 18 months generous in comparison to other tests, such as the WIAT II, NARA II or the Drumcondra Reading Test.
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The Micra T is, or has been, the preferred test used in Gaelscoils and Foreign Language schools, where the teaching of English literacy normally starts at an older age (around 7 years). If the Drumcondra Reading test was to be administered instead, the students’ scores would tend to be below their peers in regular mainstream English schools, where the teaching of the English language begins in Junior Infants (if not in preschool). I have found that this 'differential' is often discovered at a much later stage in the child’s education, which does of course cause alarm for the child and parent.
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The Drumcondra Reading Test is, in my opinion, a misnomer. Although it is an excellent test of vocabulary knowledge and silent reading comprehension, it does not actually test for reading accuracy, (i.e. can the student read each word accurately).
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A strong score on the vocabulary knowledge sub-section reflects a good vocabulary repertoire, and a low score flags a possible language problem.
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Students that score a STen (score out of 10) of 4 or below should be considered for a Speech & Language Therapy (SLT) assessment, to rule out a language component to their difficulty.
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Students who score well on the reading comprehension section tend to have good overall language skills; and despite misreading words, they can piece the bits of the text jigsaw together to enable them to correctly answer the comprehension questions.
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Students who do not perform well on comprehension tasks tend to have underlying language difficulties and, again, a SLT assessment should be considered.
I have worked with many students over the years who, once they start in secondary education, are alarmed to discover they have an undiagnosed reading difficulty. How could this be, when they continuously scored well on the Drumcondra or Micra T class reading tests? The simple reason is that their strong language skills camouflaged their reading deficit, because the Drumcondra or Micra T did not actually test their reading accuracy skills.
It also baffles me that 'standardised' spelling tests tend not to be administered in many primary schools. There are several good group spelling tests available such as:
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the Drumcondra Spelling Test,
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the Vernon Graded Word Spelling Test
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the Schonell Spelling Test.
These tests are quick and easy to administer, and do give very accurate results. Instead, many schools assess spelling skills solely on the end-of-week spelling tests. Many of the parents I interview report that their child can do well on the Friday Spelling Test because they have worked hard on the words during the week; however, a short time later, these same words are ‘gone’ and subsequently are often mis-spelled when written in context. For many students, these 'target' words are held in short-term memory but are lost within days, as they have not been anchored visually in their long-term memory store.
There is a huge need for formal spelling tests to be administered at least once a year in school, to get an accurate baseline of students' spelling skills. Because this is not being done across the board, there are no accurate statistics available for spelling standards in Ireland.
So, as a parent, if your ‘gut’ feeling is that your child is not reading as well as you think they should be (perhaps compared to their siblings or peers), you should do something about it, e.g.:
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arrange to see the class teacher/ Learning Support teacher
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request that a 1:1 reading and spelling test is administered, to either allay or confirm your concerns
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if required, identify and plan an intervention strategy to remediate the literacy problem identified.
Remember: if reading and/or spelling problems are left untreated or undiagnosed, they don’t just go away; they only get worse over time, causing unnecessary grief for all concerned. Reading is a core skill, and the foundation for learning, across the curriculum, at school. When a student has difficulty reading their class text books, they fall further and further behind, underperforming, and don’t reach their true academic potential.
So, Mums and Dads; if you have the slightest inclination that there could be a problem looming, do something about it and make sure your child has every opportunity to reach their true academic potential and success in life.
In the next article, I will explore the 2017 changes to the Reasonable Accommodations at the Certificate Examinations (RACE scheme) and what that means for secondary school children and their parents.
