Effectiveness of a Partial Read-Aloud Test Accommodation to Assess Reading Comprehension in Students With a Reading...

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Special Education

Background:

• Reading comprehension is crucial for academic success.
• Decoding difficulties significantly impact reading comprehension.
• Effective accommodations are needed for struggling readers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of a partial read-aloud accommodation with pacing (PRAP) on reading comprehension.
• To determine if PRAP benefits poor decoders more than average decoders.
• To compare PRAP with standard testing and pacing-only conditions.

Main Methods:

• Eighty-two third-grade students (28 poor decoders, 54 average decoders) with average listening comprehension participated.
• The Gates MacGinitie reading comprehension test was administered under three conditions: PRAP, pacing only, and standard testing.
• In PRAP, examiners read aloud directions, proper nouns, and multiple-choice questions; students read passages independently.

Main Results:

• Poor decoders demonstrated significantly higher reading comprehension scores under PRAP compared to pacing-only or standard testing (p < .01).
• Average decoders did not show significant improvement in reading comprehension with the PRAP procedure.
• Results align with the simple view of reading, emphasizing decoding's role.

Conclusions:

• PRAP is a valid and effective test accommodation for students with decoding deficits but adequate listening comprehension.
• The findings support the targeted use of accommodations based on specific reading skill profiles.
• This research highlights the importance of considering decoding ability when designing reading assessments and interventions.