Sample records for reading test performance

  1. Reliability of a standardized test in Swedish for evaluation of reading performance in healthy eyes. Interchart and test-retest analyses.

    PubMed

    Thaung, Jörgen; Olseke, Kjell; Ahl, Johan; Sjöstrand, Johan

    2014-09-01

    The purpose of our study was to establish a practical and quick test for assessing reading performance and to statistically analyse interchart and test-retest reliability of a new standardized Swedish reading chart system consisting of three charts constructed according to the principles available in the literature. Twenty-four subjects with healthy eyes, mean age 65 ± 10 years, were tested binocularly and the reading performance evaluated as reading acuity, critical print size and maximum reading speed. The test charts all consist of 12 short text sentences with a print size ranging from 0.9 to -0.2 logMAR in approximate steps of 0.1 logMAR. Two testing sessions, in two different groups (C1 and C2), were under strict control of luminance and lighting environment. Reading performance tests with chart T1, T2 and T3 were used for evaluation of interchart reliability and test data from a second session 1 month or more apart for the test-retest analysis. The testing of reading performance in adult observers with short sentences of continuous text was quick and practical. The agreement between the tests obtained with the three different test charts was high both within the same test session and at retest. This new Swedish variant of a standardized reading system based on short sentences and logarithmic progression of print size provides reliable measurements of reading performance and preliminary norms in an age group around 65 years. The reading test with three independent reading charts can be useful for clinical studies of reading ability before and after treatment. © 2013 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. The Interaction between Cognitive Test-Taking Strategies, Reading Ability, and Reading Comprehension Test Performance of Iranian EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ghafournia, Narjes; Afghari, Akbar

    2013-01-01

    The study scrutinized the probable interaction between using cognitive test-taking strategies, reading proficiency, and reading comprehension test performance of Iranian postgraduate students, who studied English as a foreign language. The study also probed the extent to which the participants' test performance was related to the use of certain…

  3. Chinese College Test Takers' Individual Differences and Reading Test Performance: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Limei

    2016-06-01

    This study reports on the relationships between test takers' individual differences and their performance on a reading comprehension test. A total of 518 Chinese college students (252 women and 256 men; M age = 19.26 year, SD = 0.98) answered a questionnaire and sit for a reading comprehension test. The study found that test takers' L2 language proficiency was closely linked to their test performance. Test takers' employment of strategies was significantly and positively associated with their performance on the test. Test takers' motivation was found to be significantly associated with reading test performance. Test anxiety was negatively related to their use of reading strategies and test performance. The results of the study lent support to the threshold hypothesis of language proficiency. The implications for classroom teaching were provided. © The Author(s) 2016.

  4. Do Content Area Passages Affect Student Performance on Reading Comprehension Tests?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peretz, Arna S.

    A study conducted in Israel investigated the relevance of subject-specific reading passages to performance on reading comprehension tests for advanced university students of English as a second language. The research specifically examined (1) whether students performed better when the reading test content was directly related to their field of…

  5. Test set readings predict clinical performance to a limited extent: preliminary findings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Soh, BaoLin P.; Lee, Warwick M.; Kench, Peter L.; Reed, Warren M.; McEntee, Mark F.; Brennan, Patrick C.

    2013-03-01

    Aim: To investigate the level of agreement between test sets and actual clinical reading Background: The performance of screen readers in detecting breast cancer is being assessed in some countries by using mammographic test sets. However, previous studies have provided little evidence that performance assessed by test sets strongly correlate to performance in clinical reading. Methods: Five clinicians from BreastScreen New South Wales participated in this study. Each clinician was asked to read 200 de-identified mammographic examinations gathered from their own case history within the BreastScreen NSW Digital Imaging Library. All test sets were designed with specific proportions of true positive, true negative, false positive and false negative examinations from the previous actual clinical reads of each reader. A prior mammogram examination for comparison (when available) was also provided for each case. Results: Preliminary analyses have shown that there is a moderate level of agreement (Kappa 0.42-0.56, p < 0.001) between laboratory test sets and actual clinical reading. In addition, a mean increase of 38% in sensitivity in the laboratory test sets as compared to their actual clinical readings was demonstrated. Specificity is similar between the laboratory test sets and actual clinical reading. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a moderate level of agreement between actual clinical reading and test set reading, which suggests that test sets have a role in reflecting clinical performance.

  6. Comparison of paragraph comprehension test scores with reading versus listening-reading and multiple-choice versus nominal recall administration techniques: justification for the bypass approach.

    PubMed

    Weinberg, W A; McLean, A; Snider, R L; Rintelmann, J W; Brumback, R A

    1989-12-01

    Eight groups of learning disabled children (N = 100), categorized by the clinical Lexical Paradigm as good readers or poor readers, were individually administered the Gilmore Oral Reading Test, Form D, by one of four input/retrieval methods: (1) the standardized method of administration in which the child reads each paragraph aloud and then answers five questions relating to the paragraph [read/recall method]; (2) the child reads each paragraph aloud and then for each question selects the correct answer from among three choices read by the examiner [read/choice method]; (3) the examiner reads each paragraph aloud and reads each of the five questions to the child to answer [listen/recall method]; and (4) the examiner reads each paragraph aloud and then for each question reads three multiple-choice answers from which the child selects the correct answer [listen/choice method]. The major difference in scores was between the groups tested by the recall versus the orally read multiple-choice methods. This study indicated that poor readers who listened to the material and were tested by orally read multiple-choice format could perform as well as good readers. The performance of good readers was not affected by listening or by the method of testing. The multiple-choice testing improved the performance of poor readers independent of the input method. This supports the arguments made previously that a "bypass approach" to education of poor readers in which testing is accomplished using an orally read multiple-choice format can enhance the child's school performance on reading-related tasks. Using a listening while reading input method may further enhance performance.

  7. Test anxiety and a high-stakes standardized reading comprehension test: A behavioral genetics perspective.

    PubMed

    Wood, Sarah G; Hart, Sara A; Little, Callie W; Phillips, Beth M

    2016-07-01

    Past research suggests that reading comprehension test performance does not rely solely on targeted cognitive processes such as word reading, but also on other non-target aspects such as test anxiety. Using a genetically sensitive design, we sought to understand the genetic and environmental etiology of the association between test anxiety and reading comprehension as measured by a high-stakes test. Mirroring the behavioral literature of test anxiety, three different dimensions of test anxiety were examined in relation to reading comprehension, namely intrusive thoughts, autonomic reactions, and off-task behaviors. Participants included 426 sets of twins from the Florida Twin Project on Reading. The results indicated test anxiety was negatively associated with reading comprehension test performance, specifically through common shared environmental influences. The significant contribution of test anxiety to reading comprehension on a high-stakes test supports the notion that non-targeted factors may be interfering with accurately assessing students' reading abilities.

  8. A Comparison of Performance on Cloze Tests, Group Reading Inventories and Standardized Reading Achievement in Grades Seven, Eight and Nine.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rakes, Thomas A.; McWilliams, Lana J.

    A random sample of 300 seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students participated in a comparative study of performance on social studies cloze tests, social studies group reading inventories (GRI), and a popular standardized test (Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, Survey E). It was found that cloze tests and GRIs constructed from social studies content…

  9. Computer-Detected Attention Affects Foreign Language Listening but Not Reading Performance.

    PubMed

    Lee, Shu-Ping

    2016-08-01

    No quantitative study has explored the influence of attention on learning English as a foreign language (EFL). This study investigated whether computer-detected attention is associated with EFL reading and listening and reading and listening anxiety. Traditional paper-based English tests used as entrance examinations and tests of general trait anxiety, reading, listening, reading test state anxiety, and listening test state anxiety were administered in 252 Taiwan EFL college students who were divided into High Attention (Conners' Continuous Performance Test, CPT < 50) and Low Attention (CPT ≥ 50) groups. No differences were found between the two groups for traditional paper-based English tests, trait anxieties, general English reading anxiety scales, and general English listening anxiety scales. The Low Attention group had higher test state anxiety and lower listening test scores than the High Attention group, but not in reading. State anxiety during listening tests for EFL students with computer-detected low attention tendency was elevated and their EFL listening performance was affected, but those differences were not found in reading. © The Author(s) 2016.

  10. A Comparison of Performance on a Silent Informal Reading Inventory and Achievement on a Standardized Reading Test.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Birger, Barbara

    A study compared performance on a silent informal reading inventory and achievement on a standardized reading test, focusing on students' individual skill needs and how effective tests were in identifying specific strengths and weaknesses in these skill areas. Subjects, 25 students entering fourth grade in a primarily middle class suburban…

  11. The Effects of Timed and Untimed Testing Conditions on the Reading Comprehension Performance of Adults with Reading Disabilities. Special Issue on Reading Comprehension ? Part II

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lesaux, Nonie K.; Pearson, M. Rufina; Siegel, Linda S.

    2006-01-01

    This study examined the effects of extra time on the reading comprehension performance of a heterogeneous group of adults with reading disabilities. Sixty-four adults participated. A clinic that assesses learning disabilities identified 22 as reading disabled, and 42 as normal readers. The 64 adults took a reading comprehension test under both…

  12. Dynamic Testing, Working Memory, and Reading Comprehension Growth in Children with Reading Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swanson, H. Lee

    2011-01-01

    This longitudinal study assessed (a) whether performance changes in working memory (WM) as a function of dynamic testing were related to growth in reading comprehension and (b) whether WM performance among subgroups of children with reading disabilities (RD; children with RD only, children with both reading and arithmetic deficits, and low verbal…

  13. Evaluation of a device for standardized measurements of reading performance in a prepresbyopic population.

    PubMed

    Arad, Tschingis; Baumeister, Martin; Bühren, Jens; Kohnen, Thomas

    2017-04-20

    Automated measurements of reading performance are required for clinical trials involving presbyopia-correcting surgery options. Repeatability of a testing device for reading (Salzburg Reading Desk) was evaluated in a prepresbyopic population. Subjective reading performance of 50 subjects divided into 2 age groups (23-30 years and 38-49 years) with distance-corrected eyes was investigated with different log-scaled reading charts. At study entry, refractive parameters were measured and distance visual acuity assessed. Two standardized binocular measurements were performed for each subject (32.24 ± 9.87 days apart [mean ± SD]). The repeatability of the tests was estimated using correlation coefficients, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Bland-Altman method. The test parameters at both maximum reading rate (MRR) measurements demonstrate a strong relationship of age group 2 subjects (correlation coefficient [r] = 0.74 p = 10-4) and of younger subjects (age group 1: r = 0.69, p = 10-4). Prepresbyopic subjects of age group 2 showed moderate results for near reading distance (r = 0.67, p = 10-4); by contrast, younger subjects had poorer results (r = 0.55, p = 10-3). The Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed agreement between measurements and Bland-Altman plots showed a wide data spread for MRR and near reading distance in both groups. The device measures repeatedly selected reading performance parameters of near real world conditions, such as MRR, in prepresbyopic populations if several factors are taken into account. The option to choose preferred distance leads to more variance in measuring repeated reading performance. German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) registration reference number: DRKS00000784.

  14. The time course of cancer detection performance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taylor-Phillips, Sian; Clarke, Aileen; Wallis, Matthew; Wheaton, Margot; Duncan, Alison; Gale, Alastair G.

    2011-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to measure how mammography readers' performance varies with time of day and time spent reading. This was investigated in screening practice and when reading an enriched case set. In screening practice records of time and date that each case was read, along with outcome (whether the woman was recalled for further tests, and biopsy results where performed) was extracted from records from one breast screening centre in UK (4 readers). Patterns of performance with time spent reading was also measured using an enriched test set (160 cases, 41% malignant, read three times by eight radiologists). Recall rates varied with time of day, with different patterns for each reader. Recall rates decreased as the reading session progressed both when reading the enriched test set and in screening practice. Further work is needed to expand this work to a greater number of breast screening centres, and to determine whether these patterns of performance over time can be used to optimize overall performance.

  15. An Analysis of Fourth and Sixth Grade Reader Performance Using Cloze Tests, Group Reading Inventories, an Informal Reading Inventory, and a Standardized Reading Test.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davidson, Emma Sue

    A study was conducted to explore the issue of testing to determine reading levels of students. A group of 624 fourth and sixth grade students from 13 schools participated in the study, which compared results from an informal reading inventory (IRI), a standardized achievement test, a group reading inventory (GRI), and a cloze test. Pupil…

  16. Measuring Reading Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blanton, William E., Ed.; And Others

    Designed to provide solutions to some of the problems related to measuring reading behavior, this publication explores some of the problems of test selection and usage which confront educators. Contents include "Reading Testing for Reading Evaluation" by Walter R. Hill, "Reading Tests and the Disadvantaged" by Thomas J. Fitzgibbon, "What Is…

  17. An Exploratory Study of Reading Comprehension in College Students After Acquired Brain Injury.

    PubMed

    Sohlberg, McKay Moore; Griffiths, Gina G; Fickas, Stephen

    2015-08-01

    This exploratory study builds on the small body of existing research investigating reading comprehension deficits in college students with acquired brain injury (ABI). Twenty-four community college students with ABI completed a battery of questionnaires and standardized tests to characterize self-perceptions of academic reading ability, performance on a standardized reading comprehension measure, and a variety of cognitive functions of this population. Half of the participants in the sample reported traumatic brain injury (n = 12) and half reported nontraumatic ABI (n = 12). College students with both traumatic and nontraumatic ABI cite problems with reading comprehension and academic performance postinjury. Mean performance on a standardized reading measure, the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (Brown, Fischo, & Hanna, 1993), was low to below average and was significantly correlated with performance on the Speed and Capacity of Language Processing Test (Baddeley, Emslie, & Nimmo-Smith, 1992). Injury status of traumatic versus nontraumatic ABI did not differentiate results. Regression analysis showed that measures of verbal attention and suppression obtained from the California Verbal Language Test-II (Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, & Ober, 2000) predicted total scores on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. College students with ABI are vulnerable to reading comprehension problems. Results align with other research suggesting that verbal attention and suppression problems may be contributing factors.

  18. Measurement properties of continuous text reading performance tests.

    PubMed

    Brussee, Tamara; van Nispen, Ruth M A; van Rens, Ger H M B

    2014-11-01

    Measurement properties of tests to assess reading acuity or reading performance have not been extensively evaluated. This study aims to provide an overview of the literature on available continuous text reading tests and their measurement properties. A literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase and PsycInfo. Subsequently, information on design and content of reading tests, study design and measurement properties were extracted using consensus-based standards for selection of health measurement instruments. Quality of studies, reading tests and measurement properties were systematically assessed using pre-specified criteria. From 2334 identified articles, 20 relevant articles were found on measurement properties of three reading tests in various languages: IReST, MNread Reading Test and Radner Reading Charts. All three reading tests scored high on content validity. Reproducibility studies (repeated measurements between different testing sessions) of the IReST and MNread of commercially available reading tests in different languages were missing. The IReST scored best on inter-language comparison, the MNread scored well in repeatability studies (repeated measurements under the same conditions) and the Radner showed good reproducibility in studies. Although in daily practice there are other continuous text reading tests available meeting the criteria of this review, measurement properties were described in scientific studies for only three of them. Of the few available studies, the quality and content of study design and methodology used varied. For testing existing reading tests and the development of new ones, for example in other languages, we make several recommendations, including careful description of patient characteristics, use of objective and subjective lighting levels, good control of working distance, documentation of the number of raters and their training, careful documentation of scoring rules and the use of Bland-Altman analyses or similar for reproducibility and repeatability studies. © 2014 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2014 The College of Optometrists.

  19. The Effect of Background Knowledge and Reading Comprehension Test Items on Male and Female Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yazdanpanah, Khatereh

    2007-01-01

    The present article reports on a study investigating the interaction of a reading comprehension test with gender in a formal testing context and the performance of males and females on reading test items with regard to demands on strategy use. Participants were 187 (59 = female and 128 = male) international students ranging from 17 to 20 years of…

  20. Association between fine motor skills and binocular visual function in children with reading difficulties.

    PubMed

    Niechwiej-Szwedo, Ewa; Alramis, Fatimah; Christian, Lisa W

    2017-12-01

    Performance of fine motor skills (FMS) assessed by a clinical test battery has been associated with reading achievement in school-age children. However, the nature of this association remains to be established. The aim of this study was to assess FMS in children with reading difficulties using two experimental tasks, and to determine if performance is associated with reduced binocular function. We hypothesized that in comparison to an age- and sex-matched control group, children identified with reading difficulties will perform worse only on a motor task that has been shown to rely on binocular input. To test this hypothesis, motor performance was assessed using two tasks: bead-threading and peg-board in 19 children who were reading below expected grade and age-level. Binocular vision assessment included tests for stereoacuity, fusional vergence, amplitude of accommodation, and accommodative facility. In comparison to the control group, children with reading difficulties performed significantly worse on the bead-threading task. In contrast, performance on the peg-board task was similar in both groups. Accommodative facility was the only measure of binocular function significantly associated with motor performance. Findings from our exploratory study suggest that normal binocular vision may provide an important sensory input for the optimal development of FMS and reading. Given the small sample size tested in the current study, further investigation to assess the contribution of binocular vision to the development and performance of FMS and reading is warranted. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Reading Incentives that Work: No-Cost Strategies to Motivate Kids to Read and Love It!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Small, Ruth V.

    2009-01-01

    In education, it is possible to find dozens of examples of "forced" reading incentive programs that categorize student reading levels, provide limited reading lists coordinated with those reading levels, assess student reading through computer-based tests, and award tangible prizes when they pass the test. Those who perform best get the most…

  2. Decomposing the relation between Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) and reading ability.

    PubMed

    Arnell, Karen M; Joanisse, Marc F; Klein, Raymond M; Busseri, Michael A; Tannock, Rosemary

    2009-09-01

    The Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) test involves rapidly naming sequences of items presented in a visual array. RAN has generated considerable interest because RAN performance predicts reading achievement. This study sought to determine what elements of RAN are responsible for the shared variance between RAN and reading performance using a series of cognitive tasks and a latent variable modelling approach. Participants performed RAN measures, a test of reading speed and comprehension, and six tasks, which tapped various hypothesised components of the RAN. RAN shared 10% of the variance with reading comprehension and 17% with reading rate. Together, the decomposition tasks explained 52% and 39% of the variance shared between RAN and reading comprehension and between RAN and reading rate, respectively. Significant predictors suggested that working memory encoding underlies part of the relationship between RAN and reading ability.

  3. How Strong and Weak Readers Perform on the Developmental Eye Movement Test (DEM): Norms for Latvian School-Aged Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Serdjukova, Jelena; Ekimane, Lasma; Valeinis, Janis; Skilters, Jurgis; Krumina, Gunta

    2017-01-01

    The aim of our study was to determine DEM test performance norms for school-aged children in Latvia, assess how DEM test results correlate with children's reading rates, compare test performance between strong and weak readers. A modified DEM test and a newly developed reading test were administered to 1487 children during a screening survey. Our…

  4. Reading Fluency as a Predictor of Reading Proficiency in Low-Performing, High-Poverty Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baker, Scott K.; Smolkowski, Keith; Katz, Rachell; Fien, Hank; Seeley, John R.; Kame'enui, Edward J.; Beck, Carrie Thomas

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine oral reading fluency (ORF) in the context of a large-scale federal reading initiative conducted in low performing, high poverty schools. The objectives were to (a) investigate the relation between ORF and comprehensive reading tests, (b) examine whether slope of performance over time on ORF predicted…

  5. A Closer Look at Chinese EFL Learners' Test-Wiseness Strategies in Reading Test

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haiyan, Miao; Rilong, Liu

    2016-01-01

    This paper reports on an investigation into the relationship of test-takers' use of test-wiseness strategies to Chinese EFL learners' reading test performance. A test-wiseness questionnaire was administered immediately after the final achievement test to probe into how learners thought while completing the reading section of the test. It was found…

  6. Comparison of reading and listening-reading techniques for administration of PIAT Reading Comprehension subtest: justification for the bypass approach.

    PubMed

    Weinberg, W A; McLean, A; Brumback, R A

    1988-04-01

    The Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) Reading Comprehension subtest was administered to a group of 23 learning disabled children in Grades 5 through 7 who had been classified by the clinical Lexical Paradigm as good readers or poor readers. Using standardized test administration, 14 poor readers scored substantially below the 9 good readers; however, when the child was allowed to listen and read silently while the test item was read aloud, poor readers showed marked improvement in performance compared to only moderate improvement shown by the good readers. This difference in improvement between the groups was significant and resulted in poor readers achieving performance similar to that of the good readers administered the test in the standard manner.

  7. Associations of motor and cardiovascular performance with academic skills in children.

    PubMed

    Haapala, Eero A; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija; Tompuri, Tuomo; Kukkonen-Harjula, Katriina; Leppänen, Paavo H T; Lindi, Virpi; Lakka, Timo A

    2014-01-01

    We investigated the associations of cardiovascular and motor performance in grade 1 with academic skills in grades 1-3. The participants were 6- to 8-yr-old children with complete data in grades 1-2 for 174 children and in grade 3 for 167 children. Maximal workload during exercise test was used as a measure of cardiovascular performance. The shuttle run test (SRT) time, the errors in balance test, and the number of cubes moved in box and block test (BBT) were measures of motor performance. Academic skills were assessed using reading fluency, reading comprehension, and arithmetic skill tests. Among boys, longer SRT time was associated with poorer reading fluency in grades 1-3 (β = -0.29 to -0.39, P < 0.01), reading comprehension in grades 1-2 (β = -0.25 to -0.29, P < 0.05), and arithmetic skills in grades 1-3 (β = -0.33 to -0.40, P < 0.003). Poorer balance was related to poorer reading comprehension (β = -0.20, P = 0.042). The smaller number of cubes moved in BBT was related to poorer reading fluency in grades 1-2 (β = 0.23-0.28, P < 0.03), reading comprehension in grade 3 (β = 0.23, P = 0.037), and arithmetic skills in grades 1-2 (β = 0.21-0.23, P < 0.043). Among girls, longer SRT time was related to poorer reading fluency in grade 3 (β = -0.27, P = 0.027) and arithmetic skills in grade 2 (β = -0.25, P = 0.040). The smaller number of cubes moved in BBT was associated with worse reading fluency in grade 2 (β = 0.26, P = 0.030). Cardiovascular performance was not related to academic skills. Poorer motor performance was associated with worse academic skills in children, especially among boys. These findings emphasize early identification of children with poor motor performance and actions to improve these children's motor performance and academic skills during the first school years.

  8. Forum For Reading: The Journal for College Reading Teachers. Volume 9, No. 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pinette, Clayton, Ed.; Smith, Kent, Ed.

    Five articles concerning college reading instruction are included in this special interest journal. Bill Fowler and Barry M. Kroll investigate hidden factors in tests of reading comprehension, revealing that most conventional tests have question-design weaknesses allowing students to perform successfully by the use of test wisdom alone. Imogene…

  9. Rapid Word Recognition as a Measure of Word-Level Automaticity and Its Relation to Other Measures of Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frye, Elizabeth M.; Gosky, Ross

    2012-01-01

    The present study investigated the relationship between rapid recognition of individual words (Word Recognition Test) and two measures of contextual reading: (1) grade-level Passage Reading Test (IRI passage) and (2) performance on standardized STAR Reading Test. To establish if time of presentation on the word recognition test was a factor in…

  10. An Exploration of Academic Reading Proficiency at the University Level: A Cross-Sectional Study of 848 Undergraduates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gorzycki, Meg; Howard, Pamela; Allen, Diane; Desa, Geoffrey; Rosegard, Erik

    2016-01-01

    Academic reading proficiently is characterized by the ability to perform cognitive tasks associated with interpreting text. Researchers developed an externally validated Informal Academic Reading Proficiency Test to gauge undergraduates' academic reading proficiency. A cross-sectional study of 23 classes completed the reading test in 2014. This…

  11. Development and Evaluation of Job Reading Task Tests.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sticht, Thomas G.; Caylor, John S.

    The use of readability formulae to estimate the difficulty levels of vocational reading materials, the determination of relationships of reading skills to job proficiency, and the relationship of general reading ability to performance on specially constructed job reading task tests (JRTT) are discussed to define the literacy skill demands (i.e.,…

  12. The Development of Reading and Spelling in Arabic Orthography: Two Parallel Processes?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taha, Haitham

    2016-01-01

    The parallels between reading and spelling skills in Arabic were tested. One-hundred forty-three native Arab students, with typical reading development, from second, fourth, and sixth grades were tested with reading, spelling and orthographic decision tasks. The results indicated a full parallel between the reading and spelling performances within…

  13. Structural Neural Substrates of Reading the Mind in the Eyes.

    PubMed

    Sato, Wataru; Kochiyama, Takanori; Uono, Shota; Sawada, Reiko; Kubota, Yasutaka; Yoshimura, Sayaka; Toichi, Motomi

    2016-01-01

    The ability to read the minds of others in their eyes plays an important role in human adaptation to social environments. Behavioral studies have resulted in the development of a test to measure this ability (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, revised version; Eyes Test), and have demonstrated that this ability is consistent over time. Although functional neuroimaging studies revealed brain activation while performing the Eyes Test, the structural neural substrates supporting consistent performance on the Eyes Test remain unclear. In this study, we assessed the Eyes Test and analyzed structural magnetic resonance images using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in healthy participants. Test performance was positively associated with the gray matter volumes of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule (temporoparietal junction), and precuneus in the left hemisphere. These results suggest that the fronto-temporoparietal network structures support the consistent ability to read the mind in the eyes.

  14. [The methodological assessment and qualitative evaluation of psychometric performance tests based on the example of modern tests that assess reading and spelling skills].

    PubMed

    Galuschka, Katharina; Rothe, Josefine; Schulte-Körne, Gerd

    2015-09-01

    This article looks at a means of objectively evaluating the quality of psychometric tests. This approach enables users to evaluate psychometric tests based on their methodological characteristics, in order to decide which instrument should be used. Reading and spelling assessment tools serve as examples. The paper also provides a review of German psychometric tests for the assessment of reading and spelling skills. This method facilitates the identification of psychometric tests.of high methodological quality which can be used for the assessment of reading and spelling skills. Reading performance should ideally be assessed with the following instruments: ELFE 1-6, LGVT 6-12, LESEN 6-7, LESEN 8-9, or WLLP-R. The tests to be used for the evaluation of spelling skills are DERET 1-2+, DERET 3-4+, WRT 1+, WRT 2+, WRT 3+, WRT 4+ or HSP 1-10.

  15. Ocular dominance stability and reading skill: a controversial relationship.

    PubMed

    Zeri, Fabrizio; De Luca, Maria; Spinelli, Donatella; Zoccolotti, Pierluigi

    2011-11-01

    Evidence is mixed concerning the relationship between stability of ocular dominance and reading deficits. Contrasting results may be due to the use of different tests of dominance, different samples of readers, and different scoring methods. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship among ocular dominance, general visual abilities, and reading performance, and to evaluate the consistency and reliability of different tests of ocular dominance and the effects of different types of eye dominance scoring. In a group of young adults, we measured: (a) main optometric parameters; (b) reading time and accuracy; and (c) ocular dominance in two sighting and four motor tests. Dominance was determined using different scoring methods (relative, absolute, and binary scores). All dominance tests showed good levels of internal reliability. Sighting tests were consistent regardless of the scoring method, and all participants had stable dominance. Three of four motor tests were moderately consistent when dominance was measured with relative scores but not when it was measured with absolute or binary scores. No relationship was found between stability of dominance and reading performance, regardless of the type of test or scoring method. No systematic pattern of correlation was found between binocular vision variables and dominance measures. Choosing the type of motor test to measure ocular dominance is crucial, because the level of consistency among tests is low to moderate. Furthermore, motor tests were not correlated with reading performances. Present results suggest caution when trying to link reading difficulties with specific profiles of ocular dominance.

  16. MI as a Predictor of Students' Performance in Reading Competency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hajhashemi, Karim

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine whether performance in MI could predict the performance in reading competency. The other objectives were to identify the components of MI which are correlated with the reading test scores, and to determine the relationship between the multiple intelligences and reading proficiency. A descriptive and ex post…

  17. The Relationship Between Academic Performance and Reading Ability of Pensacola Junior College Freshmen.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Einbecker, Polly Godwin

    The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relationship between reading ability and academic performance of junior college freshman and to what degree a measure of reading ability could predict academic performance. The 313 Pensacola Junior College freshman for whom 1970 Reading Index Scores on the Florida Twelfth Grade Test were…

  18. Impact of a weekly reading program on orthopedic surgery residents' in-training examination.

    PubMed

    Weglein, Daniel G; Gugala, Zbigniew; Simpson, Suzanne; Lindsey, Ronald W

    2015-05-01

    In response to a decline in individual residents' performance and overall program performance on the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE), the authors' department initiated a daily literature reading program coupled with weekly tests on the assigned material. The goal of this study was to assess the effect of the reading program on individual residents' scores and the training program's OITE scores. The reading program consisted of daily review articles from the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, followed by a weekly written examination consisting of multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions. All articles were selected and all questions were written by the departmental chair. A questionnaire was given to assess residents' perceptions of the weekly tests. As a result of implementing the reading program for a 10-month period, residents' subsequent performance on the OITE significantly improved (mean score increase, 4, P<.0001; percentile score increase, 11, P=.0007). The difference in mean score was significant for residents in postgraduate years 3, 4, and 5. A statistically significant correlation was found between weekly test scores and performance on the OITE, with a significant correlation between weekly test scores and OITE percentile ranking. The study results also showed a positive correlation between reading test attendance and weekly test scores. Residents' anonymous questionnaire responses also demonstrated the reading program to be a valuable addition to the residency training curriculum. In conclusion, the study strongly supports the benefits of a weekly reading and examination program in enhancing the core knowledge of orthopedic surgery residents. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

  19. The Impact of Online Reading Tasks and Reading Strategies on EFL Learners' Reading Test Scores

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Altay, Ismail Firat; Altay, Ayse

    2017-01-01

    Integration of technology in foreign language classes has long been a matter of interest for researchers. Yet, studies have often yielded indecisive and conflicting results. Besides, there have been few, if any, studies exploring the relationship between learners' use of metacognitive reading strategies and their performance in reading tests. The…

  20. Quality of Education Predicts Performance on the Wide Range Achievement Test-4th Edition Word Reading Subtest

    PubMed Central

    Sayegh, Philip; Arentoft, Alyssa; Thaler, Nicholas S.; Dean, Andy C.; Thames, April D.

    2014-01-01

    The current study examined whether self-rated education quality predicts Wide Range Achievement Test-4th Edition (WRAT-4) Word Reading subtest and neurocognitive performance, and aimed to establish this subtest's construct validity as an educational quality measure. In a community-based adult sample (N = 106), we tested whether education quality both increased the prediction of Word Reading scores beyond demographic variables and predicted global neurocognitive functioning after adjusting for WRAT-4. As expected, race/ethnicity and education predicted WRAT-4 reading performance. Hierarchical regression revealed that when including education quality, the amount of WRAT-4's explained variance increased significantly, with race/ethnicity and both education quality and years as significant predictors. Finally, WRAT-4 scores, but not education quality, predicted neurocognitive performance. Results support WRAT-4 Word Reading as a valid proxy measure for education quality and a key predictor of neurocognitive performance. Future research should examine these findings in larger, more diverse samples to determine their robust nature. PMID:25404004

  1. Measuring College Students' Reading Comprehension Ability Using Cloze Tests

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Rihana Shiri; Ari, Omer; Santamaria, Carmen Nicole

    2011-01-01

    Recent investigations challenge the construct validity of sustained silent reading tests. Performance of two groups of post-secondary students (e.g. struggling and non-struggling) on a sustained silent reading test and two types of cloze test (i.e. maze and open-ended) was compared in order to identify the test format that contributes greater…

  2. Test Anxiety and a High-Stakes Standardized Reading Comprehension Test: A Behavioral Genetics Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wood, Sarah G.; Hart, Sara A.; Little, Callie W.; Phillips, Beth M.

    2016-01-01

    Past research suggests that reading comprehension test performance does not rely solely on targeted cognitive processes such as word reading, but also on other nontarget aspects such as test anxiety. Using a genetically sensitive design, we sought to understand the genetic and environmental etiology of the association between test anxiety and…

  3. Comparing performance on the MNREAD iPad application with the MNREAD acuity chart.

    PubMed

    Calabrèse, Aurélie; To, Long; He, Yingchen; Berkholtz, Elizabeth; Rafian, Paymon; Legge, Gordon E

    2018-01-01

    Our purpose was to compare reading performance measured with the MNREAD Acuity Chart and an iPad application (app) version of the same test for both normally sighted and low-vision participants. Our methods included 165 participants with normal vision and 43 participants with low vision tested on the standard printed MNREAD and on the iPad app version of the test. Maximum Reading Speed, Critical Print Size, Reading Acuity, and Reading Accessibility Index were compared using linear mixed-effects models to identify any potential differences in test performance between the printed chart and the iPad app. Our results showed the following: For normal vision, chart and iPad yield similar estimates of Critical Print Size and Reading Acuity. The iPad provides significantly slower estimates of Maximum Reading Speed than the chart, with a greater difference for faster readers. The difference was on average 3% at 100 words per minute (wpm), 6% at 150 wpm, 9% at 200 wpm, and 12% at 250 wpm. For low vision, Maximum Reading Speed, Reading Accessibility Index, and Critical Print Size are equivalent on the iPad and chart. Only the Reading Acuity is significantly smaller (I. E., better) when measured on the digital version of the test, but by only 0.03 logMAR (p = 0.013). Our conclusions were that, overall, MNREAD parameters measured with the printed chart and the iPad app are very similar. The difference found in Maximum Reading Speed for the normally sighted participants can be explained by differences in the method for timing the reading trials.

  4. Comparing performance on the MNREAD iPad application with the MNREAD acuity chart

    PubMed Central

    Calabrèse, Aurélie; To, Long; He, Yingchen; Berkholtz, Elizabeth; Rafian, Paymon; Legge, Gordon E.

    2018-01-01

    Our purpose was to compare reading performance measured with the MNREAD Acuity Chart and an iPad application (app) version of the same test for both normally sighted and low-vision participants. Our methods included 165 participants with normal vision and 43 participants with low vision tested on the standard printed MNREAD and on the iPad app version of the test. Maximum Reading Speed, Critical Print Size, Reading Acuity, and Reading Accessibility Index were compared using linear mixed-effects models to identify any potential differences in test performance between the printed chart and the iPad app. Our results showed the following: For normal vision, chart and iPad yield similar estimates of Critical Print Size and Reading Acuity. The iPad provides significantly slower estimates of Maximum Reading Speed than the chart, with a greater difference for faster readers. The difference was on average 3% at 100 words per minute (wpm), 6% at 150 wpm, 9% at 200 wpm, and 12% at 250 wpm. For low vision, Maximum Reading Speed, Reading Accessibility Index, and Critical Print Size are equivalent on the iPad and chart. Only the Reading Acuity is significantly smaller (I. E., better) when measured on the digital version of the test, but by only 0.03 logMAR (p = 0.013). Our conclusions were that, overall, MNREAD parameters measured with the printed chart and the iPad app are very similar. The difference found in Maximum Reading Speed for the normally sighted participants can be explained by differences in the method for timing the reading trials. PMID:29351351

  5. [Localization of scotomas in AMD by reading test : Random series of words in standardized format].

    PubMed

    Eisenbarth, W; Pado, U; Schriever, S; Schötschel, D; Feucht, N; MacKeben, M

    2016-09-01

    Reading performance that can be measured by reading tests depends on whether reading material with or without contextual continuity is used. The goal of this study was to create a German version of the SKread test and to evaluate it in a clinical setting. The evaluation of the SKread test was first performed on two groups of visually healthy subjects of different ages: a junior group of 25 persons with ages between 20 and 30 years (mean = 25.84 years, SD ± 2.41 years) and a senior group of 25 persons with ages between 51 and 84 years (mean = 62.40 ± 8.46 years). The same measurements were also performed on a group of 18 patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with ages between 75 and 95 years (mean = 81.89 ± 5.48 years). The reading performance was also measured using Radner charts. Using reading material without syntactic continuity considerably slowed down the reading speed and increased the error rate. Median reading rates of 11.53 characters/s (CPS) for the junior group and 8.96 CPS for the senior group were clearly lower than those for the Radner charts (22.02 CPS and 18.48 CPS, respectively). In the AMD patients, a statistical analysis of the error rates showed a highly significant difference between the Radner charts and the SKread test (p = 0.00014). Furthermore, by analyzing the errors made in the SKread test information could be obtained about the position of central scotomas. The test-retest reliability of the SKread was very good. Information about the position of a central scotoma can be acquired by using the SKread test and an analysis of reading errors, which can augment effective clinical monitoring in AMD and subsequent visual rehabilitation.

  6. Accuracy of the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency Measure for Predicting Third Grade Reading Comprehension Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roehrig, Alysia D.; Petscher, Yaacov; Nettles, Stephen M.; Hudson, Roxanne F.; Torgesen, Joseph K.

    2008-01-01

    We evaluated the validity of DIBELS ("Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills") ORF ("Oral Reading Fluency") for predicting performance on the "Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test" (FCAT-SSS) and "Stanford Achievement Test" (SAT-10) reading comprehension measures. The usefulness of previously…

  7. Comments on Jeong-Won Lee and Diane Lemonnier Schallert's "The Relative Contribution of L2 Language Proficiency and L1 Reading Ability to L2 Reading Performance: A Test of the Threshold Hypothesis in an EFL Context."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bamford, Julian; Day, Richard R.; Schallert, Diane Lemonnier; Lee, Jeong-Won

    1998-01-01

    Provides reactions to an article, "The Relative Contribution of L2 Language Proficiency and L1 Reading Ability to L2 Reading Performance: A Test of the Threshold Hypothesis in an EFL Context" published in an earlier issue of this journal (v31 n4). The authors of the article respond to these reactions. (Author/VWL)

  8. The Effects of Different Levels of Performance Feedback on "TOEFL iBT"® Reading Practice Test Performance. TOEFL iBT Research Report. TOEFL iBT-29. ETS Research Report. RR-17-31

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawaki, Yasuyo

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the present study is to examine whether performance on the "TOEFL iBT"® Reading practice test is affected by 3 different levels of feedback provided to learners upon completion of reading exercises: (a) correctness of learner response (the knowledge of correct results [KCR] feedback), (b) KCR feedback and rationales for…

  9. The Types and Nature of Questions vis-à-vis Students' Test-Taking Skills as Significant Indicators of Second Language Examinees? Performance on the TOEFL-ITP Reading Comprehension Sub-Test

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perez-Amurao, Analiza

    2011-01-01

    This study examines the reading performance of selected students at the Pre-College program of the Mahidol University International College (PC-MUIC) as they are required to attain a score of 520 in the TOEFL-ITP (or equivalent performance in IELTS) to enter MUIC. Specifically, this research aims to evaluate whether the reading skills that…

  10. Comparability of Conventional and Computerized Tests of Reading in a Second Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawaki, Yasuyo

    2001-01-01

    Addresses issues surrounding the effect of mode of presentation on second language (L2) reading test performance, reviewing the literature in cognitive ability testing in educational and psychological measurement and the non-assessment literature in ergonomics, education, psychology, and first language reading research. Generalization of the…

  11. Test Performance Vis a Vis Test-Taking Strategies in Reading Comprehension of English as a Second Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roizen, Merle A.

    A study of students' self-expressed test-taking strategies for reading comprehension tests in English as a second language (ESL) had as subjects 86 Hebrew-speaking university students in Israel. The students were given a reading comprehension test, half with open-ended questions and half with multiple choice. Half the responses were anonymous and…

  12. An Empirical Examination of the Permanence of Performance and Response Patterns Generated by a CRM-Reading Produced by Expert Judgment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hess, Richard Wayne

    Stability of performance on a criterion referenced reading test was examined for 413 students in grades one through six. The test, which measures 367 behavioral reading objectives, was administered twice to each student, with an interval of at least three weeks between the first and second administrations. Three statistical indices of permanence…

  13. Effects of a Read-Aloud Modification on a Standardized Reading Test

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crawford, Lindy; Tindal, Gerald

    2004-01-01

    Researchers investigated the effects of a read-aloud modification on students' performance on a reading comprehension test. A total of 338 students in Grades 4 and 5 participated; 76 of these students (22%) received special education services, the majority of whom were labeled learning disabled. Students completed a standardized reading…

  14. Reading comprehension of deaf students in regular education.

    PubMed

    Luccas, Marcia Regina Zemella; Chiari, Brasília Maria; Goulart, Bárbara Niegia Garcia de

    2012-01-01

    To evaluate and compare the reading comprehension of deaf students included in regular classrooms of public schools with and without specialized educational support. Observational analytic study with 35 students with sensorineural hearing loss, with and without educational support. All subjects were assessed with the Word Reading Competence Test (WRCT), the Picture-Print Matching Test by Choice (PPMT-C), and the Sentence Reading Comprehension Test (SRCT). In the tests regarding comprehension of words (WRCT and PPMT-C), the results showed no difference in the performance of deaf students who attend and do not attend educational support. Regarding reading comprehension of sentences, the application of the SRCT also did not show differences between the groups of deaf students. A significant correlation was found between age and grade, indicating that the older the students and the higher their educational level, the better their performance in reading sentences. The results indicate that deaf students, regardless of attending educational support, read words better than sentences. There is no difference in reading comprehension between deaf students who receive and do not receive specialized pedagogical monitoring.

  15. Predicting reading and mathematics from neural activity for feedback learning.

    PubMed

    Peters, Sabine; Van der Meulen, Mara; Zanolie, Kiki; Crone, Eveline A

    2017-01-01

    Although many studies use feedback learning paradigms to study the process of learning in laboratory settings, little is known about their relevance for real-world learning settings such as school. In a large developmental sample (N = 228, 8-25 years), we investigated whether performance and neural activity during a feedback learning task predicted reading and mathematics performance 2 years later. The results indicated that feedback learning performance predicted both reading and mathematics performance. Activity during feedback learning in left superior dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) predicted reading performance, whereas activity in presupplementary motor area/anterior cingulate cortex (pre-SMA/ACC) predicted mathematical performance. Moreover, left superior DLPFC and pre-SMA/ACC activity predicted unique variance in reading and mathematics ability over behavioral testing of feedback learning performance alone. These results provide valuable insights into the relationship between laboratory-based learning tasks and learning in school settings, and the value of neural assessments for prediction of school performance over behavioral testing alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Motivational Components of Underachievement.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carr, Martha; And Others

    1991-01-01

    Achievers and underachievers were tested on multiple measures of ability, attributions, self-esteem, reading awareness, and reading performance. Achievers differed from underachievers in beliefs about utility of effort, self-esteem, enhanced reading awareness, and strategic performance. Achievers, but not underachievers, associated their skills…

  17. Development of a battery of functional tests for low vision.

    PubMed

    Dougherty, Bradley E; Martin, Scott R; Kelly, Corey B; Jones, Lisa A; Raasch, Thomas W; Bullimore, Mark A

    2009-08-01

    We describe the development and evaluation of a battery of tests of functional visual performance of everyday tasks intended to be suitable for assessment of low vision patients. The functional test battery comprises-Reading rate: reading aloud 20 unrelated words for each of four print sizes (8, 4, 2, & 1 M); Telephone book: finding a name and reading the telephone number; Medicine bottle label: reading the name and dosing; Utility bill: reading the due date and amount due; Cooking instructions: reading cooking time on a food package; Coin sorting: making a specified amount from coins placed on a table; Playing card recognition: identifying denomination and suit; and Face recognition: identifying expressions of printed, life-size faces at 1 and 3 m. All tests were timed except face and playing card recognition. Fourteen normally sighted and 24 low vision subjects were assessed with the functional test battery. Visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and quality of life (National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire 25 [NEI-VFQ 25]) were measured and the functional tests repeated. Subsequently, 23 low vision patients participated in a pilot randomized clinical trial with half receiving low vision rehabilitation and half a delayed intervention. The functional tests were administered at enrollment and 3 months later. Normally sighted subjects could perform all tasks but the proportion of trials performed correctly by the low vision subjects ranged from 35% for face recognition at 3 m, to 95% for the playing card identification. On average, low vision subjects performed three times slower than the normally sighted subjects. Timed tasks with a visual search component showed poorer repeatability. In the pilot clinical trial, low vision rehabilitation produced the greatest improvement for the medicine bottle and cooking instruction tasks. Performance of patients on these functional tests has been assessed. Some appear responsive to low vision rehabilitation.

  18. The Effects of Surface Structure Variables on Performance in Reading Comprehension Tests.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Drum, Priscilla; And Others

    1981-01-01

    Concludes that reading comprehension tests that are valid for beginning readers should incorporate different factors than tests appropriate for upper elementary readers, since word recognition and word meaning are prime sources of difficulty for younger readers while content density depresses the performance of readers in upper elementary grades.…

  19. Reading and writing performances of children 7-8 years of age with developmental coordination disorder in Taiwan.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Hsiang-Chun; Chen, Jenn-Yeu; Tsai, Chia-Liang; Shen, Miau-Lin; Cherng, Rong-Ju

    2011-01-01

    Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) refers to a delay in motor development that does not have any known medical cause. Studies conducted in English speaking societies have found that children with DCD display a higher co-occurrence rate of learning difficulties (e.g., problems in reading and writing) than typically developing (TD) children. The present study examined the reading and writing performance of school-aged children with DCD and TD children in Taiwan to determine whether reading and writing difficulties also co-occur with DCD in a non-English speaking society. The Chinese Reading Achievement Test and the Basic Reading and Writing Test were administered to 37 children with DCD (7.8 ± 0.6 years) and 93 TD children (8.0 ± 0.7 years). Children with DCD had significantly lower writing composite scores than TD children on the Basic Reading and Writing Test (105.9 ± 20.0 vs. 114.4 ± 19.9). However, there were no significant differences between children with DCD and TD children in their scores on the Chinese Reading Achievement Test and in their reading composite scores on the Basic Reading and Writing Test. These results contrasted interestingly with those obtained from English-speaking children: English-speaking DCD children showed poorer reading and poorer writing than English-speaking TD children. The possibility that the logographic nature of the Chinese script might have protected the DCD children against additional reading difficulty is discussed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Does Humor Have an Effect on the Performance of College Freshmen in Improving Scores on the Nelson Denny Reading Post Test?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schiller, Maryann F.

    A study was conducted to investigate the effects of humor on the performance of college freshmen on the Nelson Denny Reading Post Test. The subjects, 36 college freshmen from two developmental reading improvement classes, were randomly assigned to experimental A or B or control sample groups. Students had previously taken forms F and C of the test…

  1. Performance-based tests versus behavioral ratings in the assessment of executive functioning in preschoolers: associations with ADHD symptoms and reading achievement.

    PubMed

    Miranda, Ana; Colomer, Carla; Mercader, Jessica; Fernández, M Inmaculada; Presentación, M Jesús

    2015-01-01

    The early assessment of the executive processes using ecologically valid instruments is essential for identifying deficits and planning actions to deal with possible adverse consequences. The present study has two different objectives. The first objective is to analyze the relationship between preschoolers' performance on tests of Working Memory and Inhibition and parents' and teachers' ratings of these executive functions (EFs) using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The second objective consists of studying the predictive value of the different EF measures (performance-based test and rating scales) on Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity behaviors and on indicators of word reading performance. The participants in the study were 209 children in the last year of preschool, their teachers and their families. Performance-based tests of Working Memory and Inhibition were administered, as well as word reading measures (accuracy and speed). The parents and teachers filled out rating scales of the EF and typical behaviors of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology. Moderate correlation values were found between the different EF assessments procedures, although the results varied depending on the different domains. Metacognition Index from the BRIEF presented stronger correlations with verbal working memory tests than with inhibition tests. Both the rating scales and the performance-based tests were significant predictors of Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity behaviors and the reading achievement measures. However, the BRIEF explained a greater percentage of variance in the case of the ADHD symptomatology, while the performance-based tests explained reading achievement to a greater degree. The implications of the findings for research and clinical practice are discussed.

  2. Performance-based tests versus behavioral ratings in the assessment of executive functioning in preschoolers: associations with ADHD symptoms and reading achievement

    PubMed Central

    Miranda, Ana; Colomer, Carla; Mercader, Jessica; Fernández, M. Inmaculada; Presentación, M. Jesús

    2015-01-01

    The early assessment of the executive processes using ecologically valid instruments is essential for identifying deficits and planning actions to deal with possible adverse consequences. The present study has two different objectives. The first objective is to analyze the relationship between preschoolers’ performance on tests of Working Memory and Inhibition and parents’ and teachers’ ratings of these executive functions (EFs) using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The second objective consists of studying the predictive value of the different EF measures (performance-based test and rating scales) on Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity behaviors and on indicators of word reading performance. The participants in the study were 209 children in the last year of preschool, their teachers and their families. Performance-based tests of Working Memory and Inhibition were administered, as well as word reading measures (accuracy and speed). The parents and teachers filled out rating scales of the EF and typical behaviors of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptomatology. Moderate correlation values were found between the different EF assessments procedures, although the results varied depending on the different domains. Metacognition Index from the BRIEF presented stronger correlations with verbal working memory tests than with inhibition tests. Both the rating scales and the performance-based tests were significant predictors of Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity behaviors and the reading achievement measures. However, the BRIEF explained a greater percentage of variance in the case of the ADHD symptomatology, while the performance-based tests explained reading achievement to a greater degree. The implications of the findings for research and clinical practice are discussed. PMID:25972833

  3. Performance of School Age Reading Disabled Students on the Phonological Awareness Subtests of the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marshall, Dorothy; Christo, Catherine; Davis, John

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the performance of reading disabled children on the two Phonological Awareness Subtests of the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP). Participants performed significantly different on these two subtests with a poorer performance on the Elision subtest than Blending Words. In addition, the two subtests were not…

  4. The effects of interaction with the device described by procedural text on recall, true/false, and task performance.

    PubMed

    Diehl, V A; Mills, C B

    1995-11-01

    In two experiments, subjects interacted to different extents with relevant devices while reading two complex multistep procedural texts and were then tested with task performance time, true/false, and recall measures. While reading, subjects performed the task (read and do), saw the experimenter perform the task (read and see experimenter do), imagined doing the task (read and imagine), looked at the device while reading (read and see), or only read (read only). Van Dijk and Kintsch's (1983) text representation theory led to the prediction that exposure to the task device (in the read-and-do, read-and-see, and read-and-see-experimenter-do conditions) would lead to the development of a stronger situation model and therefore faster task performance, whereas the read-only and read-and-see conditions would lead to a better textbase, and therefore better performance on the true/false and recall tasks. Paivio's (1991) dual coding theory led to the opposite prediction for recall. The results supported the text representation theory with task performance and recall. The read-and-see condition produced consistently good performance on the true/false measure. Amount of text study time contributed to recall performance. These findings support the notion that information available while reading leads to differential development of representations in memory, which, in turn, causes differences in performance on various measures.

  5. Reading skills in Persian deaf children with cochlear implants and hearing aids.

    PubMed

    Rezaei, Mohammad; Rashedi, Vahid; Morasae, Esmaeil Khedmati

    2016-10-01

    Reading skills are necessary for educational development in children. Many studies have shown that children with hearing loss often experience delays in reading. This study aimed to examine reading skills of Persian deaf children with cochlear implant and hearing aid and compare them with normal hearing counterparts. The sample consisted of 72 s and third grade Persian-speaking children aged 8-12 years. They were divided into three equal groups including 24 children with cochlear implant (CI), 24 children with hearing aid (HA), and 24 children with normal hearing (NH). Reading performance of participants was evaluated by the "Nama" reading test. "Nama" provides normative data for hearing and deaf children and consists of 10 subtests and the sum of the scores is regarded as reading performance score. Results of ANOVA on reading test showed that NH children had significantly better reading performance than deaf children with CI and HA in both grades (P < 0.001). Post-hoc analysis, using Tukey test, indicated that there was no significant difference between HA and CI groups in terms of non-word reading, word reading, and word comprehension skills (respectively, P = 0.976, P = 0.988, P = 0.998). Considering the findings, cochlear implantation is not significantly more effective than hearing aid for improvement of reading abilities. It is clear that even with considerable advances in hearing aid technology, many deaf children continue to find literacy a challenging struggle. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Mediating effects of motor performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour on the associations of adiposity and other cardiometabolic risk factors with academic achievement in children.

    PubMed

    Haapala, Eero A; Lintu, Niina; Eloranta, Aino-Maija; Venäläinen, Taisa; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija; Ahonen, Timo; Lindi, Virpi; Lakka, Timo A

    2018-03-09

    We investigated the associations of cardiometabolic risk factors with academic achievement and whether motor performance, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, or sedentary behaviour mediated these associations. Altogether 175 children 6-8 years-of-age participated in the study. We assessed body fat percentage (BF%), waist circumference, insulin, glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, leptin, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). Reading fluency, reading comprehension, and arithmetic skills were assessed using standardized tests. Speed/agility, balance, and manual dexterity test results were used to calculate motor performance score and physical activity was assessed by combined heart rate and movement sensor and cardiorespiratory fitness by maximal cycle ergometer test. In boys, BF% was inversely associated with reading fluency (β = -0.262, P = 0.007) and reading comprehension (β = -0.216, P = 0.025). Motor performance mediated these associations. Leptin was inversely related to reading fluency (β = -0.272, P = 0.006) and reading comprehension (β = -0.287, P = 0.003). The inverse association of leptin with reading fluency was mediated by motor performance. In girls, GGT was inversely associated with reading fluency independent of confounders (β = -0.325, P = 0.007). The inverse association of BF% with academic achievement among boys was largely explained by motor performance. Leptin in boys and GGT in girls were inversely associated with academic achievement independent of confounding factors.

  7. Improving text comprehension strategies in upper primary school children: a design experiment.

    PubMed

    De Corte, E; Verschaffel, L; Van De Ven, A

    2001-12-01

    With respect to the acquisition of competence in reading, new standards for primary education stress more than before the importance of learning and teaching cognitive and metacognitive strategies that facilitate text comprehension. Therefore, there is a need to design a research-based instructional approach to strategic reading comprehension. The design experiment aimed at developing, implementing and evaluating a research-based, but also practically applicable learning environment for enhancing skilled strategy use in upper primary school children when reading a text. Four text comprehension strategies (activating prior knowledge, clarifying difficult words, making a schematic representation of the text, and formulating the main idea) and a metacognitive strategy (regulating one's own reading process) were trained through a variety of highly interactive instructional techniques, namely modelling, whole class discussion, and small group work in the format of reciprocal teaching. Participants in the study were four experimental 5th grade classes (79 children) and eight comparable control classes (149 pupils). The effects of the learning environment were measured using a pretest-post-test-retention design. Multilevel hierarchical linear regression models were used to analyse the quantitative data of a Reading Strategy Test, a standardised Reading Comprehension Test, a Reading Attitude Scale, a Transfer Test and an interview about strategy use during reading. The data of the Reading Strategy Test, the Transfer Test and the interviews about strategy use showed that the experimental group out-performed the control group in terms of the strategy adoption and application during text reading. Whilst the experimental group also scored higher on the Reading Comprehension Test than the control group, the difference was not significant. This design experiment shows that it is possible to foster pupils' use and transfer of strategic reading comprehension skills in regular classrooms by immersing them in a powerful learning environment. But this intervention does not automatically result in improvement of performance on a standardised reading comprehension test.

  8. Do Test Scores of Students Who Have Been Retained Predict Future Performance?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bonnaig, Joy

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative correlational research was to investigate to what extent 2007 performance of third grade students who had been retained in 2006 for failing to attain proficiency on the Reading and Mathematics Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) predicted their performance in 2010 on the sixth grade Reading and Mathematics…

  9. Assessment without Testing: Using Performance Measures Embedded in a Technology-Based Instructional Program as Indicators of Reading Ability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchell, Alison; Baron, Lauren; Macaruso, Paul

    2018-01-01

    Screening and monitoring student reading progress can be costly and time consuming. Assessment embedded within the context of online instructional programs can capture ongoing student performance data while limiting testing time outside of instruction. This paper presents two studies that examined the validity of using performance measures from a…

  10. [Predictive power of working memory task for reading comprehension: an investigation using reading span test].

    PubMed

    Morishita, Masanao; Kondo, Hirohito; Ashida, Kayo; Otsuka, Yuki; Osaka, Naoyuki

    2007-02-01

    This study investigated the crucial factor mediating a correlation between performance of reading span test (RST) and reading comprehension. In the research literature on this issue, one of the remaining controversial points is whether the similarity of sentence processing between RST and comprehension contributes to the correlation. In this study, four RST conditions were created by the combination of two factors: relatedness of stimulus sentences (related or unrelated with each other) and focus of target words (focus or non-focus with respect to sentence meaning). If the correlation is mediated by the similarity of sentence processing, RST performance of related and focus condition, which was most akin to comprehension, would have higher correlation with reading comprehension than other conditions. However, as a result of correlation analysis based on data from ninety-six participants, no such evidence was obtained. On the other hand, RST performance of unrelated conditions that were supposed to strongly require attention control showed significant correlation with reading comprehension. These findings are discussed in terms of the contribution of attention control and short-term memory to performing RST and reading comprehension.

  11. The relevance of receptive vocabulary in reading comprehension.

    PubMed

    Nalom, Ana Flávia de Oliveira; Soares, Aparecido José Couto; Cárnio, Maria Silvia

    2015-01-01

    To characterize the performance of students from the 5th year of primary school, with and without indicatives of reading and writing disorders, in receptive vocabulary and reading comprehension of sentences and texts, and to verify possible correlations between both. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the institution (no. 098/13). Fifty-two students in the 5th year from primary school, with and without indicatives of reading and writing disorders, and from two public schools participated in this study. After signing the informed consent and having a speech therapy assessment for the application of inclusion criteria, the students were submitted to a specific test for standardized evaluation of receptive vocabulary and reading comprehension. The data were studied using statistical analysis through the Kruskal-Wallis test, analysis of variance techniques, and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient with level of significance to be 0.05. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (was constructed in which reading comprehension was considered as gold standard. The students without indicatives of reading and writing disorders presented a better performance in all tests. No significant correlation was found between the tests that evaluated reading comprehension in either group. A correlation was found between reading comprehension of texts and receptive vocabulary in the group without indicatives. In the absence of indicatives of reading and writing disorders, the presence of a good range of vocabulary highly contributes to a proficient reading comprehension of texts.

  12. Effects of Explicit Instruction in Cognitive and Metacognitive Reading Strategies on Iranian EFL Students' Reading Performance and Strategy Transfer

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aghaie, Reza; Zhang, Lawrence Jun

    2012-01-01

    This study explored the impact of explicit teaching of reading strategies on English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students' reading performance in Iran. The study employed a questionnaire adapted from Chamot and O'Malley's (1994) cognitive and metacognitive strategies framework. To test the effects of explicit teaching of cognitive and…

  13. Instructional Strategies for Enhancing Learning Disabled Students' Reading Comprehension and Comprehension Test Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wong, Bernice Y. L.

    1986-01-01

    Successful instructional strategies for enhancing the reading comprehension and comprehension test performance of learning disabled students are described. Students are taught to self-monitor their comprehension of expository materials and stories through recognition and analysis of recurrent elements and problem passages, content summarization,…

  14. A Comparison of Piagetian Conservation Concepts with Reading Achievement.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caballero, Jane Alexis

    This study involved a comparison of first and second grade students' performance on the Piagetian Task Administration Instrument (PTAI), the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT), and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) with actual reading achievement measured by placement on the Indiviudally Paced Instruction (IPI) Tracking Card in Reading, which was…

  15. The Impact of Metacognition Strategies on Reading Comprehension Levels of Nonproficient High School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Manderville, Tonya Butler

    2012-01-01

    At one high school, the goal for nonproficient reading students was to score at or above the 50th percentile to meet adequate yearly progress objectives. In 2010, the performance levels of nonproficient reading students tested with the state reading test in Grades 9 and 10 declined from the 47th to the 46th percentile. The purpose of this research…

  16. PISA Mathematics and Reading Performance Differences of Mainstream European and Turkish Immigrant Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arikan, Serkan; van de Vijver, Fons J. R.; Yagmur, Kutlay

    2017-01-01

    Lower reading and mathematics performance of Turkish immigrant students as compared to mainstream European students could reflect differential learning outcomes, differential socioeconomic backgrounds of the groups, differential mainstream language proficiency, and/or test bias. Using PISA reading and mathematics scores of these groups, we…

  17. Does Content Knowledge Affect TOEFL iBT[TM] Reading Performance? A Confirmatory Approach to Differential Item Functioning. TOEFL iBT Research Report. RR-09-29

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Ou Lydia; Schedl, Mary; Malloy, Jeanne; Kong, Nan

    2009-01-01

    The TOEFL iBT[TM] has increased the length of the reading passages in the reading section compared to the passages on the TOEFL[R] computer-based test (CBT) to better approximate academic reading in North American universities, resulting in a reduced number of passages in the reading test. A concern arising from this change is whether the decrease…

  18. Microbial load monitor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Caplin, R. S.; Royer, E. R.

    1978-01-01

    Attempts are made to provide a total design of a Microbial Load Monitor (MLM) system flight engineering model. Activities include assembly and testing of Sample Receiving and Card Loading Devices (SRCLDs), operator related software, and testing of biological samples in the MLM. Progress was made in assembling SRCLDs with minimal leaks and which operate reliably in the Sample Loading System. Seven operator commands are used to control various aspects of the MLM such as calibrating and reading the incubating reading head, setting the clock and reading time, and status of Card. Testing of the instrument, both in hardware and biologically, was performed. Hardware testing concentrated on SRCLDs. Biological testing covered 66 clinical and seeded samples. Tentative thresholds were set and media performance listed.

  19. JAN transistor and diode characterization test program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Takeda, H.

    1977-01-01

    A statistical summary of electrical characterization was performed on JAN diodes and transistors. Parameters are presented with test conditions, mean, standard deviation, lowest reading, 10% point, 90% point and highest reading.

  20. Speech-language pathology program for reading comprehension and orthography: effects on the spelling of dyslexic individuals.

    PubMed

    Nogueira, Débora Manzano; Cárnio, Maria Silvia

    2018-01-01

    Purpose Prepare a Speech-language Pathology Program for Reading Comprehension and Orthography and verify its effects on the reading comprehension and spelling of students with Developmental Dyslexia. Methods The study sample was composed of eleven individuals (eight males), diagnosed with Developmental Dyslexia, aged 09-11 years. All participants underwent a Speech-language Pathology Program in Reading Comprehension and Orthography comprising 16 individual weekly sessions. In each session, tasks of reading comprehension of texts and orthography were developed. At the beginning and end of the Program, the participants were submitted to a specific assessment (pre- and post-test). Results The individuals presented difficulty in reading comprehension, but the Cloze technique proved to be a useful remediation tool, and significant improvement in their performance was observed in the post-test evaluation. The dyslexic individuals showed poor performance for their educational level in the spelling assessment. At the end of the program, their performance evolved, but it remained below the expected, showing the same error pattern at the pre- and post-tests, with errors in both natural and arbitrary spelling. Conclusion The proposed Speech-language Pathology Program for Reading Comprehension and Orthography produced positive effects on the reading comprehension, spelling, and motivation to reading and writing of the participants. This study presents an unprecedented contribution by proposing joint stimulation of reading and writing by means of a program easy to apply and analyze in individuals with Developmental Dyslexia.

  1. Effects of Intensive Fluency Instruction on the Reading Proficiency of Third-Grade Struggling Readers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rasinski, Timothy; Paige, David; Rains, Cameron; Stewart, Fran; Julovich, Brenda; Prenkert, Deb; Rupley, William H.; Nichols, William Dee

    2017-01-01

    The present study examined the impact of an intensive reading fluency intervention on the overall reading performance of 37 struggling readers in 3rd grade. Students' 3rd-grade classroom teachers and/or their performance on a state-mandated reading achievement test given toward the end of the 3rd-grade school year identified them for the study.…

  2. Test differences in diagnosing reading comprehension deficits.

    PubMed

    Keenan, Janice M; Meenan, Chelsea E

    2014-01-01

    The authors examined the implications of test differences for defining and diagnosing comprehension deficits using reading comprehension tests. They had 995 children complete the Gray Oral Reading Test-3, the Qualitative Reading Inventory-3, the Woodcock-Johnson Passage Comprehension-3, and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test and compared which children were identified by each test as being in the lowest 10%. Although a child who performs so poorly might be expected to do poorly on all tests, the authors found that the average overlap between tests in diagnosing comprehension difficulties was only 43%. Consistency in diagnosis was greater for younger children, when comprehension deficits are the result of weaker decoding skills, than for older children. Inconsistencies between tests were just as evident when identifying the top performers. The different children identified as having a comprehension deficit by each test were compared on four profile variables-word decoding skill, IQ, ADHD symptoms, and working memory skill-to understand the nature of the different deficits assessed by each test. Theoretical and practical implications of these test differences in defining and diagnosing comprehension deficits are discussed.

  3. Test Differences in Diagnosing Reading Comprehension Deficits

    PubMed Central

    Keenan, Janice M.; Meenan, Chelsea E.

    2012-01-01

    We examined the implications of test differences for defining and diagnosing comprehension deficits using reading comprehension tests. We had 995 children complete the Gray Oral Reading Test-3, the Qualitative Reading Inventory-3, the Woodcock-Johnson Passage Comprehension-3, and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test, and compared which children were identified by each test as being in the lowest 10%. Although a child who performs so poorly might be expected to do poorly on all tests, we found that the average overlap between tests in diagnosing comprehension difficulties was only 43%. Consistency in diagnosis was greater for younger children, when comprehension deficits are due to weaker decoding skills, than for older children. Inconsistencies between tests were just as evident when identifying the top performers. The different children identified as having a comprehension deficit by each test were compared on four profile variables - word decoding skill, IQ, ADHD symptoms, and working memory skill – to understand the nature of the different deficits assessed by each test. Theoretical and practical implications of these test differences in defining and diagnosing comprehension deficits are discussed. PMID:22442251

  4. Descriptive and Criterion-Referenced Self-Assessment with L2 Readers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brantmeier, Cindy; Vanderplank, Robert

    2008-01-01

    Brantmeier [Brantmeier, C., 2006. "Advanced L2 learners and reading placement: self-assessment, computer-based testing, and subsequent performance." 'System 34" (1), 15-35] found that self-assessment (SA) of second language (L2) reading ability is not an accurate predictor for computer-based testing or subsequent classroom performance. With 359…

  5. Reading of kana (phonetic symbols for syllables) in Japanese children with spastic diplegia and periventricular leukomalacia.

    PubMed

    Yokochi, K

    2000-01-01

    In 31 Japanese children with spastic diplegia and periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), the age at which they could read Hiragana (phonetic symbols for syllables) and psychometric data were examined. Reading of Hiragana was achieved between 2 and 8 years of age in all subjects except one. Four children could read Hiragana at 2 to 3 years of age, an age which is considered early among Japanese children. Performance IQs of the Wechsler Scale were lower than Verbal IQs in 18 of 19 children who were administered this test, and DQs of the cognitive adaptive (C-A) area of the K-form developmental test (a popular test in Japan) were lower than those of the language social area in all 12 children taking this test. Among eight children having performance IQs or DQs of C-A less than 50, seven acquired reading ability of Hiragana at 8 years of age or below. A visuoperceptual disorder manifested by diplegic children with PVL does not affect the acquisition of Kana-reading ability.

  6. The Relationship between Students' Performance on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the Fourth and Fifth Grade Reading and Math Achievement Tests in Ohio

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warnimont, Chad S.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between students' performance on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the fourth and fifth grade Reading and Math Achievement Tests in Ohio. The sample utilized students from a suburban school district in Northwest Ohio. Third grade CogAT scores (2006-2007 school year), 4th…

  7. A new technique for measuring listening and reading literacy in developing countries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Greene, Barbara A.; Royer, James M.; Anzalone, Stephen

    1990-03-01

    One problem in evaluating educational interventions in developing countries is the absence of tests that adequately reflect the culture and curriculum. The Sentence Verification Technique is a new procedure for measuring reading and listening comprehension that allows for the development of tests based on materials indigenous to a given culture. The validity of using the Sentence Verification Technique to measure reading comprehension in Grenada was evaluated in the present study. The study involved 786 students at standards 3, 4 and 5. The tests for each standard consisted of passages that varied in difficulty. The students identified as high ability students in all three standards performed better than those identified as low ability. All students performed better with easier passages. Additionally, students in higher standards performed bettter than students in lower standards on a given passage. These results supported the claim that the Sentence Verification Technique is a valid measure of reading comprehension in Grenada.

  8. The association between arithmetic and reading performance in school: A meta-analytic study.

    PubMed

    Singer, Vivian; Strasser, Kathernie

    2017-12-01

    Many studies of school achievement find a significant association between reading and arithmetic achievement. The magnitude of the association varies widely across the studies, but the sources of this variation have not been identified. The purpose of this paper is to examine the magnitude and determinants of the relation between arithmetic and reading performance during elementary and middle school years. We meta-analyzed 210 correlations between math and reading measures, coming from 68 independent samples (the overall sample size was 58923 participants). The meta-analysis yielded an average correlation of 0.55 between math and reading measures. Among the moderators tested, only transparency of orthography and use of timed or untimed tests were significant in explaining the size of the correlation, with the largest correlations observed between timed measures of arithmetic and reading and between math and reading in opaque orthographies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  9. Mental juggling: when does multitasking impair reading comprehension?

    PubMed

    Cho, Kit W; Altarriba, Jeanette; Popiel, Maximilian

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigated the conditions under which multitasking impairs reading comprehension. Participants read prose passages (the primary task), some of which required them to perform a secondary task. In Experiment 1, we compared two different types of secondary tasks (answering trivia questions and solving math problems). Reading comprehension was assessed using a multiple-choice test that measured both factual and conceptual knowledge. The results showed no observable detrimental effects associated with multitasking. In Experiment 2, the secondary task was a cognitive load task that required participants to remember a string of numbers while reading the passages. Performance on the reading comprehension test was lower in the cognitive load conditions relative to the no-load condition. The present study delineates the conditions under which multitasking can impair or have no effect on reading comprehension. These results further our understanding of our capacity to multitask and have practical implications in our technologically advanced society in which multitasking has become commonplace.

  10. [Level of reading skills as a measure of cognitive reserve in elderly adults].

    PubMed

    Soto-Añari, Marcio; Flores-Valdivia, Gilda; Fernández-Guinea, Sara

    2013-01-16

    Cognitive reserve modulates between neurodegenerative processes and the clinical manifestations of cognitive impairment and dementia. This construct is associated with the capacity to optimise the execution of tasks by recruiting neuronal networks and with the use of alternative cognitive strategies that would be mediated by formal educational processes. To analyse the level of reading skills as a measure of cognitive reserve and as a reliable predictor of performance in tests for evaluating different cognitive domains. The sample consisted of 87 healthy subjects who were asked to complete the Word Naming test as an indicator of the level of reading skills; this allowed us to divide the sample into subjects with a low and a high level of reading ability. A broad neuropsychological battery was then applied. The subjects with a low level of reading skills displayed lower general cognitive performance, reduced processing speed and cognitive deficits. Furthermore, the level of reading skills is a better predictor of performance in executive functions and general cognitive performance than the variables age, years of schooling and education. The level of reading skills has shown itself to be a good measure of cognitive reserve and a reliable predictor of executive and cognitive functioning in ageing.

  11. Assessing children's inference generation: what do tests of reading comprehension measure?

    PubMed

    Bowyer-Crane, Claudine; Snowling, Margaret J

    2005-06-01

    Previous research suggests that children with specific comprehension difficulties have problems with the generation of inferences. This raises important questions as to whether poor comprehenders have poor comprehension skills generally, or whether their problems are confined to specific inference types. The main aims of the study were (a) using two commonly used tests of reading comprehension to classify the questions requiring the generation of inferences, and (b) to investigate the relative performance of skilled and less-skilled comprehenders on questions tapping different inference types. The performance of 10 poor comprehenders (mean age 110.06 months) was compared with the performance of 10 normal readers (mean age 112.78 months) on two tests of reading comprehension. A qualitative analysis of the NARA II (form 1) and the WORD comprehension subtest was carried out. Participants were then administered the NARA II, WORD comprehension subtest and a test of non-word reading. The NARA II was heavily reliant on the generation of knowledge-based inferences, while the WORD comprehension subtest was biased towards the retention of literal information. Children identified by the NARA II as having comprehension difficulties performed in the normal range on the WORD comprehension subtests. Further, children with comprehension difficulties performed poorly on questions requiring the generation of knowledge-based and elaborative inferences. However, they were able to answer questions requiring attention to literal information or use of cohesive devices at a level comparable to normal readers. Different reading tests tap different types of inferencing skills. Lessskilled comprehenders have particular difficulty applying real-world knowledge to a text during reading, and this has implications for the formulation of effective intervention strategies.

  12. How the Brain's Performance during Mathematics and Reading Fluency Tests Compare

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ortiz, Enrique

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to analyze how participants' levels of hemoglobin as they performed mathematics fluency and reading fluency (reading comprehension) compare. We used Optical Topography (OT, helmet type brain-scanning system, also known as Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy or fNIRS) to measure levels of brain activity. A central…

  13. Low power test architecture for dynamic read destructive fault detection in SRAM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Takher, Vikram Singh; Choudhary, Rahul Raj

    2018-06-01

    Dynamic Read Destructive Fault (dRDF) is the outcome of resistive open defects in the core cells of static random-access memories (SRAMs). The sensitisation of dRDF involves either performing multiple read operations or creation of number of read equivalent stress (RES), on the core cell under test. Though the creation of RES is preferred over the performing multiple read operation on the core cell, cell dissipates more power during RES than during the read or write operation. This paper focuses on the reduction in power dissipation by optimisation of number of RESs, which are required to sensitise the dRDF during test mode of operation of SRAM. The novel pre-charge architecture has been proposed in order to reduce the power dissipation by limiting the number of RESs to an optimised number of two. The proposed low power architecture is simulated and analysed which shows reduction in power dissipation by reducing the number of RESs up to 18.18%.

  14. [Attempt for development of rapid word reading test for children--evaluation of reliability and validity].

    PubMed

    Hashimoto, Ryusaku; Kashiwagi, Mitsuru; Suzuki, Shuhei

    2008-09-01

    We developed a rapid word reading test for examining the phonological processing ability of Japanese children. We prepared two versions of the test, version A and B. Each test has word and non-word tasks. Twenty-two healthy boys of third grade in primary schools participated in this validation study. For criterion related validity, we performed the serial Hiragana reading test, the sentence reading test, Raven's coloured progressive matrices (RCPM), the Token test for children, the Kana word dictation test, the standardized comprehension test of abstract words (SCTAW), and Trail Circle test. The reading times of the newly developed test correlated moderately or highly with those of the serial Hiragana reading test and the sentence reading test. However, the scores of the other tests (RCPM, Token test for children, Kana word dictation test, SCTAW, Trail Circle test) did not correlated with the reading time of the rapid word reading test. Test-retest reliabilities in the word tasks were more than moderate: 0.52 and 0.76 in versions A and B, while those in the non-word tasks were high: 0.91 and 0.88 in versions A and B. The correlation coefficient between versions A and B was 0.7 for the word tasks and 0.92 for the non-word tasks. This study showed that the rapid word reading test has substantial validity and reliability for testing the phonological processing ability of Japanese children. In addition, the non-word tasks were more suitable for selectively examining the speed of the grapheme to phoneme conversion process.

  15. Binocularity and Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brod, Nathan; Hamilton, David

    1973-01-01

    A sample of 162 fifth grade students were grouped as good, average, and poor readers on the basis of a standardized reading test to determine whether a relationship existed between binocularity and reading performance. (Author/MC)

  16. Using Performance Methods to Enhance Students' Reading Fluency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Chase; Valadez, Corinne; Gandara, Cori

    2016-01-01

    The quasi-experimental study examined the effects of pairing Rock and Read with Readers Theater and only Rock and Read on second grade students' reading fluency scores. The 51 subjects were pre- and post-tested on five different reading fluency measures. A series of 3 × 2 repeated measures ANOVAs revealed statistically significant interaction…

  17. Metalinguistic awareness and reading performance: a cross language comparison.

    PubMed

    Ibrahim, Raphiq; Eviatar, Zohar; Aharon-Peretz, Judith

    2007-07-01

    The study examined two questions: (1) do the greater phonological awareness skills of billinguals affect reading performance; (2) to what extent do the orthographic characteristics of a language influence reading performance and how does this interact with the effects of phonological awareness. We estimated phonological metalinguistic abilities and reading measures in three groups of first graders: monolingual Hebrew speakers, bilingual Russian-Hebrew speakers, and Arabic-speaking children. We found that language experience affects phonological awareness, as both Russian-Hebrew bilinguals and the Arabic speakers achieved higher scores on metalinguistic tests than Hebrew speakers. Orthography affected reading measures and their correlation with phonological abilitites. Children reading Hebrew showed better text reading ability and significant correlations between phonological awareness and reading scores. Children reading Arabic showed a slight advantage in single word and nonword reading over the two Hebrew reading groups, and very weak relationships between phonological abilities and reading performance. We conclude that native Arabic speakers have more difficulty in processing Arabic orthography than Hebrew monolinguals and bilinguals have in processing Hebrew orthography, and suggest that this is due to the additional visual complexity of Arabic orthography.

  18. Who's on First? Gender Differences in Performance on the "SAT"® Test on Critical Reading Items with Sports and Science Content. Research Report. ETS RR-16-26

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chubbuck, Kay; Curley, W. Edward; King, Teresa C.

    2016-01-01

    This study gathered quantitative and qualitative evidence concerning gender differences in performance by using critical reading material on the "SAT"® test with sports and science content. The fundamental research questions guiding the study were: If sports and science are to be included in a skills test, what kinds of material are…

  19. Does Topic Familiarity Affect Assessed Difficulty and Actual Performance on Reading Comprehension Tests in LSP?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peretz, Arna S.; Shoham, Miriam

    A study investigated the hypothesis that topic familiarity and assessed difficulty of a second language text correlated positively with performance on reading comprehension tests in languages for special purposes (LSP). Subjects were 177 advanced students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at Ben Gurion University (Israel). Faculty from the…

  20. Developing Local Oral Reading Fluency Cut Scores for Predicting High-Stakes Test Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grapin, Sally L.; Kranzler, John H.; Waldron, Nancy; Joyce-Beaulieu, Diana; Algina, James

    2017-01-01

    This study evaluated the classification accuracy of a second grade oral reading fluency curriculum-based measure (R-CBM) in predicting third grade state test performance. It also compared the long-term classification accuracy of local and publisher-recommended R-CBM cut scores. Participants were 266 students who were divided into a calibration…

  1. Reading Test Performance of English-Language Learners Using an English Dictionary.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Albus, Debra; Thurlow, Martha; Liu, Kristin; Bielinski, John

    2005-01-01

    The authors examined the effects of a simplified English dictionary accommodation on the reading-test performance of Hmong English-language learners (ELLs). Participants included a control group of 69 non-ELL students and an experimental group of 133 Hmong ELLs from 3 urban middle schools in Minnesota. In a randomized counterbalanced design, all…

  2. READING PERFORMANCE OF ELEMENTARY STUDENT TEACHERS IN A DEVELOPING INSTITUTION.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ADAMS, EFFIE KAYE

    A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED AT BISHOP COLLEGE, DALLAS, TEXAS, TO EXAMINE THE READING NEEDS OF PROSPECTIVE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS. SCORES ON THE NELSON DENNY READING TESTS, ADVANCED FORM A, ON THE OTIS QUICK SCORING TESTS OF MENTAL ABILITY, GAMMA FORM BM, AND GRADE POINT AVERAGES COVERING 4 YEARS OF COLLEGE WORK WERE ANALYZED FOR 29 NEGRO ELEMENTARY STUDENT…

  3. A Longitudinal Investigation of Reading in High-Stakes Tests for Adolescent English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lim, Hyo Jin

    2010-01-01

    The present study investigated longitudinal changes of the reading achievement among schools populated with English learners. It also examined the heterogeneity in the English learners group in terms of students' performance in high stakes reading tests. Historically, English learners have often been considered the students who are in the process…

  4. The Influence of Reading Literacy on Mathematics and Science Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caponera, Elisa; Sestito, Paolo; Russo, Paolo M.

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of students' reading literacy, measured by the PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) test, on their performance in the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) mathematics and science tests. The data on 4,125 Italian students from 199 schools were analyzed:…

  5. Certain performance values arising from mammographic test set readings correlate well with clinical audit.

    PubMed

    Soh, BaoLin Pauline; Lee, Warwick Bruce; Mello-Thoms, Claudia; Tapia, Kriscia; Ryan, John; Hung, Wai Tak; Thompson, Graham; Heard, Rob; Brennan, Patrick

    2015-08-01

    Test sets have been increasingly utilised to augment clinical audit in breast screening programmes; however, their relationship has never been satisfactorily understood. This study examined the relationship between mammographic test set performance and clinical audit data. Clinical audit data over a 2-year period was generated for each of 20 radiologists. Sixty mammographic examinations, consisting of 40 normal and 20 cancer cases, formed the test set. Readers located any identifiable cancer, and levels of confidence were scored from 2 to 5, where a score of 3 and above is considered a recall rating. Jackknifing free response operating characteristic (JAFROC) figure-of-merit (FOM), location sensitivity and specificity were calculated for individual readers and then compared with clinical audit values using Spearman's rho. JAFROC FOM showed significant correlations to: recall rate at a first round of screening (r = 0.51; P = 0.02); rate of small invasive cancers per 10 000 reads (r = 0.5; P = 0.02); percentage of all cancers read that were not recalled (r = -0.51; P = 0.02); and sensitivity (r = 0.51; P = 0.02). Location sensitivity demonstrated significant correlations with: rate of small invasive cancers per 10 000 reads (r = 0.46; P = 0.04); rate of DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) per 10 000 reads (r = 0.44; P = 0.05); detection rate of all invasive cancers and DCIS per 10 000 reads (r = 0.54; P = 0.01); percentage of all cancers read that were not recalled (r = -0.57; P = 0.009); and sensitivity (r = 0.57; P = 0.009). No other significant relationships were noted. Performance indicators from test set demonstrate significant correlations with specific aspects of clinical performance, although caution needs to be exercised when generalising test set specificity to the clinical situation. © 2015 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

  6. JAN transistor and diode characterization test program, JANTX diode 1N5619

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Takeda, H.

    1977-01-01

    A statistical summary of electrical characterization was performed on JANTX 1N5619 silicon diodes. Parameters are presented with test conditions, mean, standard deviation, lowest reading, 10% point, 90% point, and highest reading.

  7. [Application of the Salzburg reading desk in accommodation and presbyopic research].

    PubMed

    Dexl, A K

    2011-08-01

    The determination of reading acuity is still the most important clinical examination, whenever the potential benefits of "presbyopic surgery" are compared. Reading distance--the by far most critical parameter in testing reading acuity--seems to be quite variable for every patient tested, whenever patients are allowed to freely choose a subjectively convenient reading distance. Therefore, measuring reading acuity with a fixed reading distance does not allow conclusions to be drawn on the "every-day reading ability" of individual patients. Since 2004, the Eye Clinic of Salzburg University has been continuously working on the development of a standardised device that enables clinicians and researchers to systematically evaluate every patient's individual reading performance under standardised conditions. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  8. 40 CFR 89.407 - Engine dynamometer test run.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ...) Perform the pre-test procedure as specified in § 89.406. (3) Read and record the general test data as... (c)(5)(i) through (iii) of this section. (6) Read and record all pre-test data specified in § 89.405... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Engine dynamometer test run. 89.407...

  9. 40 CFR 89.407 - Engine dynamometer test run.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ...) Perform the pre-test procedure as specified in § 89.406. (3) Read and record the general test data as... (c)(5)(i) through (iii) of this section. (6) Read and record all pre-test data specified in § 89.405... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Engine dynamometer test run. 89.407...

  10. 40 CFR 89.407 - Engine dynamometer test run.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ...) Perform the pre-test procedure as specified in § 89.406. (3) Read and record the general test data as... (c)(5)(i) through (iii) of this section. (6) Read and record all pre-test data specified in § 89.405... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Engine dynamometer test run. 89.407...

  11. 40 CFR 89.407 - Engine dynamometer test run.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ...) Perform the pre-test procedure as specified in § 89.406. (3) Read and record the general test data as... (c)(5)(i) through (iii) of this section. (6) Read and record all pre-test data specified in § 89.405... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Engine dynamometer test run. 89.407...

  12. 40 CFR 89.407 - Engine dynamometer test run.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ...) Perform the pre-test procedure as specified in § 89.406. (3) Read and record the general test data as... (c)(5)(i) through (iii) of this section. (6) Read and record all pre-test data specified in § 89.405... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Engine dynamometer test run. 89.407...

  13. Rapid naming, reading and comprehension in students with learning difficulties.

    PubMed

    Silva, Cláudia da; Cunha, Vera Lúcia Orlandi; Pinheiro, Fábio Henrique; Capellini, Simone Aparecida

    2012-01-01

    To compare and correlate the performance of students with learning difficulties in rapid naming, reading and comprehension. Participants were 32 students from 4th grade of elementary school of both genders, with ages between 11 years and 4 months and 12 years and 7 months. The first and second oral reading of a text selected based on the indication of 4th grade teachers were conducted, as well as the first and second reading comprehension task composed by four questions presented right after the reading, to which students should answered orally, and the rapid naming task from the Test of Cognitive-Linguistic Performance, individual version. Differences were found between the first and the second comprehension scores, and between rapid naming, first and second reading. There was a strong correlation between comprehension and reading, suggesting that the performance in the first reading significantly influenced the performance in the second reading, which also occurred for comprehension. The delay in the activities of naming, reading and comprehension in the first evaluation provoked failures in the phoneme-grapheme conversion that may be enough to cause learning difficulties in reading.

  14. Private Room as a Test Accommodation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewandowski, Lawrence; Wood, Whitney; Lambert, Tonya

    2015-01-01

    The effects of a private vs. group test setting were examined on a reading comprehension test for a sample of typical college students. Participants took Forms G and H of the Nelson Denny Reading Comprehension Test in both private and group (classroom) settings. Contrary to expectations, performance was slightly better in the group setting.…

  15. Reading in developmental prosopagnosia: Evidence for a dissociation between word and face recognition.

    PubMed

    Starrfelt, Randi; Klargaard, Solja K; Petersen, Anders; Gerlach, Christian

    2018-02-01

    Recent models suggest that face and word recognition may rely on overlapping cognitive processes and neural regions. In support of this notion, face recognition deficits have been demonstrated in developmental dyslexia. Here we test whether the opposite association can also be found, that is, impaired reading in developmental prosopagnosia. We tested 10 adults with developmental prosopagnosia and 20 matched controls. All participants completed the Cambridge Face Memory Test, the Cambridge Face Perception test and a Face recognition questionnaire used to quantify everyday face recognition experience. Reading was measured in four experimental tasks, testing different levels of letter, word, and text reading: (a) single word reading with words of varying length,(b) vocal response times in single letter and short word naming, (c) recognition of single letters and short words at brief exposure durations (targeting the word superiority effect), and d) text reading. Participants with developmental prosopagnosia performed strikingly similar to controls across the four reading tasks. Formal analysis revealed a significant dissociation between word and face recognition, as the difference in performance with faces and words was significantly greater for participants with developmental prosopagnosia than for controls. Adult developmental prosopagnosics read as quickly and fluently as controls, while they are seemingly unable to learn efficient strategies for recognizing faces. We suggest that this is due to the differing demands that face and word recognition put on the perceptual system. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. The Short Circuit Hypothesis of ESL Reading--Or when Language Competence Interferes with Reading Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clarke, Mark A.

    1980-01-01

    Examines a sampling of current ESL reading instruction practices, addressing the concern that the lack of a generally accepted theory of L2 reading constitutes a major obstacle to teaching and testing ESL reading skills. Summarizes the results of two studies and discusses their implications for ESL teachers. (MES)

  17. After-School Tutoring for Reading Achievement and Urban Middle School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelson-Royes, Andrea M.; Reglin, Gary L.

    2011-01-01

    This research study's purpose or theme was to qualitatively investigate the reading component of a private after-school tutoring program that offered academic assistance to eighth-grade students. The problem with reading is many urban middle school students have poor reading skills and do not perform well on reading standardized tests. Relative to…

  18. Working Memory in L2 Reading: Does Capacity Predict Performance?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrington, Michael; Sawyer, Mark

    A study was conducted at the International University of Japan to see if second language (L2) working capacity correlates with L2 reading ability in advanced English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners. The study consisted of a set of memory tests (Simple Digit, Simple Word, and Complex Span Test) and a set of measures of reading skills given to…

  19. The Effect of a Reading Accommodation on Standardized Test Scores of Learning Disabled and Non Learning Disabled Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meloy, Linda L.; Deville, Craig; Frisbie, David

    The effect of the Read Aloud accommodation on the performances of learning disabled in reading (LD-R) and non-learning disabled (non LD) middle school students was studied using selected texts from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) achievement battery. Science, Usage and Expression, Math Problem Solving and Data Interpretation, and Reading…

  20. ESL Readers' Comprehension Performance: The Chinese Secondary Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chau, Juliana; Wu, Winnie; Chen, Julia; Lughmani, Shari

    2012-01-01

    Recent research in reading comprehension in Western settings has focused on collecting evidence from reading tests that would measure relevant ESL reading constructs to inform reading instruction and assessment. Similar studies in non-Western contexts, however, remain under-reported. This study involved 958 senior secondary Hong Kong (Chinese)…

  1. Conceptualizing and Assessing Higher-Order Thinking in Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Afflerbach, Peter; Cho, Byeong-Young; Kim, Jong-Yun

    2015-01-01

    Students engage in higher-order thinking as they read complex texts and perform complex reading-related tasks. However, the most consequential assessments, high-stakes tests, are currently limited in providing information about students' higher-order thinking. In this article, we describe higher-order thinking in relation to reading. We provide a…

  2. Reading Rate and Comprehension for Text Presented on Tablet and Paper: Evidence from Arabic.

    PubMed

    Hermena, Ehab W; Sheen, Mercedes; AlJassmi, Maryam; AlFalasi, Khulood; AlMatroushi, Maha; Jordan, Timothy R

    2017-01-01

    The effectiveness of tablet computers to supplement or replace paper-based text in everyday life has yet to be fully revealed. Previous investigations comparing reading performance using tablets and paper have, however, reported inconsistent results. Furthermore, the interpretability of some previous findings is limited by lack of experimental control over variables like text display conditions. In the current study, we investigated reading performance for text presented on tablet and paper. Crucially, the levels of luminance and contrast were matched precisely across tablet and paper. The study used Arabic text which differs substantially from the languages used previously to investigate effects of tablet and paper on reading, thus offering a distinctive test of the influence of these two media on reading performance. The results suggest that when text display conditions are well-matched, there is no reliable difference in reading performance between the two media. Also, neither the order of medium (reading from tablet or paper first), nor familiarity with using a tablet significantly influence reading performance. These results call into question previous suggestions that reading from tablets is linked to poorer reading performance, and demonstrate the benefits of controlling text display conditions. These findings are of interest to reading scientists and educators.

  3. Reading Rate and Comprehension for Text Presented on Tablet and Paper: Evidence from Arabic

    PubMed Central

    Hermena, Ehab W.; Sheen, Mercedes; AlJassmi, Maryam; AlFalasi, Khulood; AlMatroushi, Maha; Jordan, Timothy R.

    2017-01-01

    The effectiveness of tablet computers to supplement or replace paper-based text in everyday life has yet to be fully revealed. Previous investigations comparing reading performance using tablets and paper have, however, reported inconsistent results. Furthermore, the interpretability of some previous findings is limited by lack of experimental control over variables like text display conditions. In the current study, we investigated reading performance for text presented on tablet and paper. Crucially, the levels of luminance and contrast were matched precisely across tablet and paper. The study used Arabic text which differs substantially from the languages used previously to investigate effects of tablet and paper on reading, thus offering a distinctive test of the influence of these two media on reading performance. The results suggest that when text display conditions are well-matched, there is no reliable difference in reading performance between the two media. Also, neither the order of medium (reading from tablet or paper first), nor familiarity with using a tablet significantly influence reading performance. These results call into question previous suggestions that reading from tablets is linked to poorer reading performance, and demonstrate the benefits of controlling text display conditions. These findings are of interest to reading scientists and educators. PMID:28270791

  4. Verbal Learning and Memory Functions in Adolescents with Reading Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oyler, James D.; Obrzut, John E.; Asbjornsen, Arve E.

    2012-01-01

    The authors of this current study compared the memory performance of adolescent students with specific reading disabilities (RD) with that of typical adolescent readers on a newly developed verbal learning test, the "Bergen-Tucson Verbal Learning Test" (BTVLT). This multiple trial test was designed to measure memory acquisition,…

  5. Motor Skills and Exercise Capacity Are Associated with Objective Measures of Cognitive Functions and Academic Performance in Preadolescent Children.

    PubMed

    Geertsen, Svend Sparre; Thomas, Richard; Larsen, Malte Nejst; Dahn, Ida Marie; Andersen, Josefine Needham; Krause-Jensen, Matilde; Korup, Vibeke; Nielsen, Claus Malta; Wienecke, Jacob; Ritz, Christian; Krustrup, Peter; Lundbye-Jensen, Jesper

    2016-01-01

    To investigate associations between motor skills, exercise capacity and cognitive functions, and evaluate how they correlate to academic performance in mathematics and reading comprehension using standardised, objective tests. This cross-sectional study included 423 Danish children (age: 9.29±0.35 years, 209 girls). Fine and gross motor skills were evaluated in a visuomotor accuracy-tracking task, and a whole-body coordination task, respectively. Exercise capacity was estimated from the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery level 1 children's test (YYIR1C). Selected tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) were used to assess different domains of cognitive functions, including sustained attention, spatial working memory, episodic and semantic memory, and processing speed. Linear mixed-effects models were used to investigate associations between these measures and the relationship with standard tests of academic performance in mathematics and reading comprehension. Both fine and gross motor skills were associated with better performance in all five tested cognitive domains (all P<0.001), whereas exercise capacity was only associated with better sustained attention (P<0.046) and spatial working memory (P<0.038). Fine and gross motor skills (all P<0.001), exercise capacity and cognitive functions such as working memory, episodic memory, sustained attention and processing speed were all associated with better performance in mathematics and reading comprehension. The data demonstrate that fine and gross motor skills are positively correlated with several aspects of cognitive functions and with academic performance in both mathematics and reading comprehension. Moreover, exercise capacity was associated with academic performance and performance in some cognitive domains. Future interventions should investigate associations between changes in motor skills, exercise capacity, cognitive functions, and academic performance to elucidate the causality of these associations.

  6. Motor Skills and Exercise Capacity Are Associated with Objective Measures of Cognitive Functions and Academic Performance in Preadolescent Children

    PubMed Central

    Thomas, Richard; Larsen, Malte Nejst; Dahn, Ida Marie; Andersen, Josefine Needham; Krause-Jensen, Matilde; Korup, Vibeke; Nielsen, Claus Malta; Wienecke, Jacob; Ritz, Christian; Krustrup, Peter; Lundbye-Jensen, Jesper

    2016-01-01

    Objective To investigate associations between motor skills, exercise capacity and cognitive functions, and evaluate how they correlate to academic performance in mathematics and reading comprehension using standardised, objective tests. Methods This cross-sectional study included 423 Danish children (age: 9.29±0.35 years, 209 girls). Fine and gross motor skills were evaluated in a visuomotor accuracy-tracking task, and a whole-body coordination task, respectively. Exercise capacity was estimated from the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery level 1 children's test (YYIR1C). Selected tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) were used to assess different domains of cognitive functions, including sustained attention, spatial working memory, episodic and semantic memory, and processing speed. Linear mixed-effects models were used to investigate associations between these measures and the relationship with standard tests of academic performance in mathematics and reading comprehension. Results Both fine and gross motor skills were associated with better performance in all five tested cognitive domains (all P<0.001), whereas exercise capacity was only associated with better sustained attention (P<0.046) and spatial working memory (P<0.038). Fine and gross motor skills (all P<0.001), exercise capacity and cognitive functions such as working memory, episodic memory, sustained attention and processing speed were all associated with better performance in mathematics and reading comprehension. Conclusions The data demonstrate that fine and gross motor skills are positively correlated with several aspects of cognitive functions and with academic performance in both mathematics and reading comprehension. Moreover, exercise capacity was associated with academic performance and performance in some cognitive domains. Future interventions should investigate associations between changes in motor skills, exercise capacity, cognitive functions, and academic performance to elucidate the causality of these associations. PMID:27560512

  7. Exploring how symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are related to reading and mathematics performance: general genes, general environments.

    PubMed

    Hart, Sara A; Petrill, Stephen A; Willcutt, Erik; Thompson, Lee A; Schatschneider, Christopher; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Cutting, Laurie E

    2010-11-01

    Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to perform more poorly on tests of reading and mathematical performance than their typical peers. Quantitative genetic analyses allow for a better understanding of the etiology of ADHD and reading and mathematics outcomes, by examining their common and unique genetic and environmental influences. Analyses were conducted on a sample 271 pairs of 10-year-old monozygotic and dizygotic twins drawn from the Western Reserve Reading and Mathematics Project. In general, the results suggested that the associations among ADHD symptoms, reading outcomes, and math outcomes were influenced by both general genetic and general shared-environment factors. The analyses also suggested significant independent genetic effects for ADHD symptoms. The results imply that differing etiological factors underlie the relationships among ADHD and reading and mathematics performance. It appears that both genetic and common family or school environments link ADHD with academic performance.

  8. Dyslexic Children and Their Difficulties in Reading Persian Orthography

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nesari, Shahram Jamali; Kamari, Elahe

    2014-01-01

    This research investigated the word reading performance of Persian speaking dyslexic children through the use of a reading test. For this reason, 15 Persian elementary developmental dyslexic student with the mean age of 9.6, (SD= 1.5) and 15 Persian unimpaired elementary student with the mean age of 9.6 (SD= 1.4) were compared. The performance of…

  9. Academic Tasks to Identify Students with Reading Disability in Malayalam among Upper Primary Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gafoor, K. Abdul; Remia, K. R.

    2013-01-01

    This study is to identify tasks which can be used to spot students with Reading Disability in Malayalam among Upper Primary students. It used secondary data collected from students of Kerala. Students were categorized as dyslexic and low achievers based on their performance in reading, writing and arithmetic tests. Data on performance of normal…

  10. The Validity of ITBS Reading Comprehension Test Scores for Learning Disabled and Non Learning Disabled Students under Extended-Time Conditions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huesman, Ronald L., Jr.; Frisbie, David A.

    This study investigated the effect of extended-time limits in terms of performance levels and score comparability for reading comprehension scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). The first part of the study compared the average reading comprehension scores on the ITBS of 61 sixth-graders with learning disabilities and 397 non learning…

  11. The Impact of Year-Round Education on Fifth Grade African American Reading Achievement Scores in an Urban Illinois School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Merrill, Carolyn Ann

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to determine the impact of the year-round education school calendar on the standardized test performance of fifth grade African American students, as measured by the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) in reading. The ISAT reading scores from two year-round education (YRE)…

  12. The impact of lexical-semantic impairment and of executive dysfunction on the word reading performance of patients with probable Alzheimer dementia.

    PubMed

    Colombo, Lucia; Fonti, Cristina; Cappa, Stefano

    2004-01-01

    The influence of lexical-semantic impairment and of executive dysfunction on word naming performance was investigated in a group of patients with probable Alzheimer dementia (AD). The patients, who varied in the severity of the illness, were tested in a word naming task where they had to read aloud Italian three-syllable words with a dominant or subordinate stress pattern. These types of words have been shown to interact with frequency in normal adults [J. Exp. Psychol.: Hum. Percept. Perform. 18 (4) (1992) 987], so that the effect of the subordinate stress pattern (slower reading times) is only apparent for low frequency words. The frequency and stress effects on accuracy increased across dementia severity levels. Regression analyses showed that the impairment in reading low frequency words with subordinate stress depended largely on the level of lexical-semantic impairment, measured by a test of semantic memory and comprehension. Implications for the current reading models are discussed.

  13. New and updated tests of print exposure and reading abilities in college students

    PubMed Central

    Acheson, Daniel J.; Wells, Justine B.; MacDonald, Maryellen C.

    2010-01-01

    The relationship between print exposure and measures of reading skill was examined in college students (N = 99, 58 female; mean age = 20.3 years). Print exposure was measured with several new self-reports of reading and writing habits, as well as updated versions of the Author Recognition Test and the Magazine Recognition Test (Stanovich & West, 1989). Participants completed a sentence comprehension task with syntactically complex sentences, and reading times and comprehension accuracy were measured. An additional measure of reading skill was provided by participants’ scores on the verbal portions of the ACT, a standardized achievement test. Higher levels of print exposure were associated with higher sentence processing abilities and superior verbal ACT performance. The relative merits of different print exposure assessments are discussed. PMID:18411551

  14. The influence of inattention and rapid automatized naming on reading performance.

    PubMed

    Pham, Andy V; Fine, Jodene Goldenring; Semrud-Clikeman, Margaret

    2011-04-01

    The current study examined the relation between attention, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and reading fluency among typically developing children. A total of 104 third- and fourth-grade children (8-11 years of age) completed RAN measures consisting of four stimuli (letter, digit, color, and object) and an oral reading fluency measure from the Gray Oral Reading Test-Fourth Edition. Correlational and hierarchical regression analyses revealed that all four RAN stimuli, particularly letter RAN, were significant predictors of reading fluency. Additionally, parent and teacher ratings of inattention from the Swanson, Nolan and Pelham-Version Four rating scale predicted RAN after controlling for gender, working memory, and estimated IQ. Further analyses indicated that RAN performance mediated the relation between inattention and reading fluency. Results support the need to consider attentional variables when assessing reading performance, even among typically developing children.

  15. Let's Get Higher Scores on These New Assessments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shanahan, Timothy

    2015-01-01

    This column explains three ways that teachers can improve reading test performance. Basically, the idea is that instead of teaching students to respond to particular question types as is typical of test preparation despite the ineffectiveness of this practice, it is better to teach students to read the test passages more effectively. Three…

  16. Syntactic Comprehension in Reading and Listening: A Study with French Children with Dyslexia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Casalis, Severine; Leuwers, Christel; Hilton, Heather

    2013-01-01

    This study examined syntactic comprehension in French children with dyslexia in both listening and reading. In the first syntactic comprehension task, a partial version of the Epreuve de Comprehension syntaxico-semantique (ECOSSE test; French adaptation of Bishop's test for receptive grammar test) children with dyslexia performed at a lower level…

  17. Can Boys Succeed in Later Life if They Can't Read as Well as Girls?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jennings, Jack

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, the author asks the question, "Can Boys Succeed Later in Life if They Can't Read as Well as Girls?" He notes troubling statistics that illustrate lower performance of boys compared to girls, including performance on state reading tests, and graduation rates from both high school and college. He says that the good news is that the…

  18. Genome-Wide Polygenic Scores Predict Reading Performance throughout the School Years

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Selzam, Saskia; Dale, Philip S.; Wagner, Richard K.; DeFries, John C.; Cederlöf, Martin; O'Reilly, Paul F.; Krapohl, Eva; Plomin, Robert

    2017-01-01

    It is now possible to create individual-specific genetic scores, called genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS). We used a GPS for years of education ("EduYears") to predict reading performance assessed at UK National Curriculum Key Stages 1 (age 7), 2 (age 12) and 3 (age 14) and on reading tests administered at ages 7 and 12 in a UK sample…

  19. Dyslexie font does not benefit reading in children with or without dyslexia.

    PubMed

    Kuster, Sanne M; van Weerdenburg, Marjolijn; Gompel, Marjolein; Bosman, Anna M T

    2018-04-01

    In two experiments, the claim was tested that the font "Dyslexie", specifically designed for people with dyslexia, eases reading performance of children with (and without) dyslexia. Three questions were investigated. (1) Does the Dyslexie font lead to faster and/or more accurate reading? (2) Do children have a preference for the Dyslexie font? And, (3) is font preference related to reading performance? In Experiment 1, children with dyslexia (n = 170) did not read text written in Dyslexie font faster or more accurately than in Arial font. The majority preferred reading in Arial and preference was not related to reading performance. In Experiment 2, children with (n = 102) and without dyslexia (n = 45) read word lists in three different font types (Dyslexie, Arial, Times New Roman). Words written in Dyslexie font were not read faster or more accurately. Moreover, participants showed a preference for the fonts Arial and Times New Roman rather than Dyslexie, and again, preference was not related to reading performance. These experiments clearly justify the conclusion that the Dyslexie font neither benefits nor impedes the reading process of children with and without dyslexia.

  20. Syntactic comprehension in reading and listening: a study with French children with dyslexia.

    PubMed

    Casalis, Séverine; Leuwers, Christel; Hilton, Heather

    2013-01-01

    This study examined syntactic comprehension in French children with dyslexia in both listening and reading. In the first syntactic comprehension task, a partial version of the Epreuve de Compréhension syntaxico-sémantique (ECOSSE test; French adaptation of Bishop's test for receptive grammar test) children with dyslexia performed at a lower level in the written but not in the spoken modality, compared to reading age-matched children, suggesting a difficulty in handling syntax while reading. In the second task, syntactic processing was further explored through a test of relative clause processing, in which inflectional markers could aid in attributing roles to the elements in a complex syntactic structure. Children with dyslexia were insensitive to inflectional markers in both reading and listening, as was the reading age control group, while only the older normal reader group appeared to make use of the inflectional markers. Overall, the results support the hypothesis that difficulties in comprehension in dyslexia are strongly related to poor reading skills.

  1. Deaf college students' mathematical skills relative to morphological knowledge, reading level, and language proficiency.

    PubMed

    Kelly, Ronald R; Gaustad, Martha G

    2007-01-01

    This study of deaf college students examined specific relationships between their mathematics performance and their assessed skills in reading, language, and English morphology. Simple regression analyses showed that deaf college students' language proficiency scores, reading grade level, and morphological knowledge regarding word segmentation and meaning were all significantly correlated with both the ACT Mathematics Subtest and National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) Mathematics Placement Test scores. Multiple regression analyses identified the best combination from among these potential independent predictors of students' performance on both the ACT and NTID mathematics tests. Additionally, the participating deaf students' grades in their college mathematics courses were significantly and positively associated with their reading grade level and their knowledge of morphological components of words.

  2. Medical Device for Automated Prick Test Reading.

    PubMed

    Justo, Xabier; Diaz, Inaki; Gil, Jorge Juan; Gastaminza, Gabriel

    2018-05-01

    Allergy tests are routinely performed in most hospitals everyday. However, measuring the outcomes of these tests is still a very laborious manual task. Current methods and systems lack of precision and repeatability. This paper presents a novel mechatronic system that is able to scan a patient's entire arm and provide allergists with precise measures of wheals for diagnosis. The device is based on 3-D laser technology and specific algorithms have been developed to process the information gathered. This system aims to automate the reading of skin prick tests and make gains in speed, accuracy, and reliability. Several experiments have been performed to evaluate the performance of the system.

  3. Diet-induced changes in iron and n-3 fatty acid status and associations with cognitive performance in 8-11-year-old Danish children: secondary analyses of the Optimal Well-Being, Development and Health for Danish Children through a Healthy New Nordic Diet School Meal Study.

    PubMed

    Sørensen, Louise Bergmann; Damsgaard, Camilla Trab; Dalskov, Stine-Mathilde; Petersen, Rikke Agnete; Egelund, Niels; Dyssegaard, Camilla Brørup; Stark, Ken D; Andersen, Rikke; Tetens, Inge; Astrup, Arne; Michaelsen, Kim Fleisher; Lauritzen, Lotte

    2015-11-28

    Fe and n-3 long-chain PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA) have both been associated with cognition, but evidence remains inconclusive in well-nourished school-aged children. In the Optimal Well-Being, Development and Health for Danish Children through a Healthy New Nordic Diet (OPUS) School Meal Study, the 3-month intervention increased reading performance, inattention, impulsivity and dietary intake of fish and Fe. This study investigated whether the intervention influenced n-3 LCPUFA and Fe status and, if so, explored how these changes correlated with the changes in cognitive performance. The study was a cluster-randomised cross-over trial comparing school meals with packed lunch (control). At baseline and after each treatment, we measured serum ferritin, whole-blood n-3 LCPUFA and Hb, and performance in reading, mathematics and d2-test of attention. Data were analysed using mixed models (n 726) and principal component analysis of test performances (n 644), which showed two main patterns: 'school performance' and 'reading comprehension'. The latter indicated that children with good reading comprehension were also more inattentive and impulsive (i.e. higher d2-test error%). The intervention improved 'school performance' (P=0·015), 'reading comprehension' (P=0·043) and EPA+DHA status 0·21 (95% CI 0·15, 0·27) w/w % (P<0·001), but it did not affect serum ferritin or Hb. At baseline, having small Fe stores was associated with poorer 'school performance' in girls, but with better 'reading comprehension' in both boys and girls. Both baseline EPA+DHA status and the intervention-induced increase in EPA+DHA status was positively associated with 'school performance', suggesting that n-3 LCPUFA could potentially explain approximately 20 % of the intervention effect. These exploratory associations indicate that increased fish intake might explain some of the increase in reading performance and inattention in the study.

  4. The Effects of Guided Reading Instruction on the Reading Comprehension and Reading Attitudes of Fourth-Grade At-Risk Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bruce, Laquanda T.

    2010-01-01

    America's public schools have faced challenges in educating students, particularly those identified as at risk. According to the No Child Left Behind Act, nearly 70% of 4th grade students are unable to perform on a basic level on national reading tests. The research problem in this study addressed the significance of guided reading instruction,…

  5. Genome-Wide Polygenic Scores Predict Reading Performance Throughout the School Years.

    PubMed

    Selzam, Saskia; Dale, Philip S; Wagner, Richard K; DeFries, John C; Cederlöf, Martin; O'Reilly, Paul F; Krapohl, Eva; Plomin, Robert

    2017-07-04

    It is now possible to create individual-specific genetic scores, called genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS). We used a GPS for years of education ( EduYears ) to predict reading performance assessed at UK National Curriculum Key Stages 1 (age 7), 2 (age 12) and 3 (age 14) and on reading tests administered at ages 7 and 12 in a UK sample of 5,825 unrelated individuals. EduYears GPS accounts for up to 5% of the variance in reading performance at age 14. GPS predictions remained significant after accounting for general cognitive ability and family socioeconomic status. Reading performance of children in the lowest and highest 12.5% of the EduYears GPS distribution differed by a mean growth in reading ability of approximately two school years. It seems certain that polygenic scores will be used to predict strengths and weaknesses in education.

  6. Genome-Wide Polygenic Scores Predict Reading Performance Throughout the School Years

    PubMed Central

    Selzam, Saskia; Dale, Philip S.; Wagner, Richard K.; DeFries, John C.; Cederlöf, Martin; O’Reilly, Paul F.; Krapohl, Eva; Plomin, Robert

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT It is now possible to create individual-specific genetic scores, called genome-wide polygenic scores (GPS). We used a GPS for years of education (EduYears) to predict reading performance assessed at UK National Curriculum Key Stages 1 (age 7), 2 (age 12) and 3 (age 14) and on reading tests administered at ages 7 and 12 in a UK sample of 5,825 unrelated individuals. EduYears GPS accounts for up to 5% of the variance in reading performance at age 14. GPS predictions remained significant after accounting for general cognitive ability and family socioeconomic status. Reading performance of children in the lowest and highest 12.5% of the EduYears GPS distribution differed by a mean growth in reading ability of approximately two school years. It seems certain that polygenic scores will be used to predict strengths and weaknesses in education. PMID:28706435

  7. Reading comprehension in Parkinson's disease.

    PubMed

    Murray, Laura L; Rutledge, Stefanie

    2014-05-01

    Although individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) self-report reading problems and experience difficulties in cognitive-linguistic functions that support discourse-level reading, prior research has primarily focused on sentence-level processing and auditory comprehension. Accordingly, the authors investigated the presence and nature of reading comprehension in PD, hypothesizing that (a) individuals with PD would display impaired accuracy and/or speed on reading comprehension tests and (b) reading performances would be correlated with cognitive test results. Eleven adults with PD and 9 age- and education-matched control participants completed tests that evaluated reading comprehension; general language and cognitive abilities; and aspects of attention, memory, and executive functioning. The PD group obtained significantly lower scores on several, but not all, reading comprehension, language, and cognitive measures. Memory, language, and disease severity were significantly correlated with reading comprehension for the PD group. Individuals in the early stages of PD without dementia or broad cognitive deficits can display reading comprehension difficulties, particularly for high- versus basic-level reading tasks. These reading difficulties are most closely related to memory, high-level language, and PD symptom severity status. The findings warrant additional research to delineate further the types and nature of reading comprehension impairments experienced by individuals with PD.

  8. Assessing reading comprehension with narrative and expository texts: Dimensionality and relationship with fluency, vocabulary and memory.

    PubMed

    Santos, Sandra; Cadime, Irene; Viana, Fernanda L; Chaves-Sousa, Séli; Gayo, Elena; Maia, José; Ribeiro, Iolanda

    2017-02-01

    Reading comprehension assessment should rely on valid instruments that enable adequate conclusions to be taken regarding students' reading comprehension performance. In this article, two studies were conducted to collect validity evidence for the vertically scaled forms of two Tests of Reading Comprehension for Portuguese elementary school students in the second to fourth grades, one with narrative texts (TRC-n) and another with expository ones (TRC-e). Two samples of 950 and 990 students participated in Study 1, the study of the dimensionality of the TRC-n and TRC-e forms, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence of an acceptable fit for the one-factor solution for all test forms. Study 2 included 218 students to collect criterion-related validity. The scores obtained in each of the test forms were significantly correlated with the ones obtained in other reading comprehension measures and with the results obtained in oral reading fluency, vocabulary and working memory tests. Evidence suggests that the test forms are valid measures of reading comprehension. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Comparative analysis of performance in reading and writing of children exposed and not exposed to high sound pressure levels.

    PubMed

    Santos, Juliana Feitosa dos; Souza, Ana Paula Ramos de; Seligman, Lilian

    2013-01-01

    To analyze the possible relationships between high sound pressure levels in the classroom and performance in the use of lexical and phonological routes in reading and writing. This consisted on a quantitative and exploratory study. The following measures were carried out: acoustic measurement, using the dosimeter, visual inspection of the external auditory canal, tonal audiometry thresholds, speech recognition tests and acoustic immittance; instrument for evaluation of reading and writing of isolated words. The non-parametric χ² test and Fisher's exact test were used for data analysis. The results of acoustic measurements in 4 schools in Santa Maria divided the sample of 87 children of third and fourth years of primary school, aged 8 to 10 years, in 2 groups. The 1st group was exposed to sound levels higher than 80 dB(A) (Study group) and the 2nd group at levels lower than 80 dB(A) (Control group). Higher prevalence of correct answers in reading and writing of nonwords, reading irregular words and frequency effect were observed. Predominance of correct answers in the writing of irregular words was observed in the Control group. For the Study group, a higher number of type errors neologism in reading and writing were observed, especially regarding the writing of nonwords and the extension effect; fewer errors of lexicalization type and verbal paragraphy in writing were observed. In assessing the reading and writing skills, children in the Study group exposed to high noise levels had poorer performance in the use of lexical and phonological routes, both in reading and in writing.

  10. Music Training Increases Phonological Awareness and Reading Skills in Developmental Dyslexia: A Randomized Control Trial

    PubMed Central

    Flaugnacco, Elena; Lopez, Luisa; Terribili, Chiara; Montico, Marcella; Zoia, Stefania; Schön, Daniele

    2015-01-01

    There is some evidence for a role of music training in boosting phonological awareness, word segmentation, working memory, as well as reading abilities in children with typical development. Poor performance in tasks requiring temporal processing, rhythm perception and sensorimotor synchronization seems to be a crucial factor underlying dyslexia in children. Interestingly, children with dyslexia show deficits in temporal processing, both in language and in music. Within this framework, we test the hypothesis that music training, by improving temporal processing and rhythm abilities, improves phonological awareness and reading skills in children with dyslexia. The study is a prospective, multicenter, open randomized controlled trial, consisting of test, rehabilitation and re-test (ID NCT02316873). After rehabilitation, the music group (N = 24) performed better than the control group (N = 22) in tasks assessing rhythmic abilities, phonological awareness and reading skills. This is the first randomized control trial testing the effect of music training in enhancing phonological and reading abilities in children with dyslexia. The findings show that music training can modify reading and phonological abilities even when these skills are severely impaired. Through the enhancement of temporal processing and rhythmic skills, music might become an important tool in both remediation and early intervention programs. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02316873 PMID:26407242

  11. Music Training Increases Phonological Awareness and Reading Skills in Developmental Dyslexia: A Randomized Control Trial.

    PubMed

    Flaugnacco, Elena; Lopez, Luisa; Terribili, Chiara; Montico, Marcella; Zoia, Stefania; Schön, Daniele

    2015-01-01

    There is some evidence for a role of music training in boosting phonological awareness, word segmentation, working memory, as well as reading abilities in children with typical development. Poor performance in tasks requiring temporal processing, rhythm perception and sensorimotor synchronization seems to be a crucial factor underlying dyslexia in children. Interestingly, children with dyslexia show deficits in temporal processing, both in language and in music. Within this framework, we test the hypothesis that music training, by improving temporal processing and rhythm abilities, improves phonological awareness and reading skills in children with dyslexia. The study is a prospective, multicenter, open randomized controlled trial, consisting of test, rehabilitation and re-test (ID NCT02316873). After rehabilitation, the music group (N = 24) performed better than the control group (N = 22) in tasks assessing rhythmic abilities, phonological awareness and reading skills. This is the first randomized control trial testing the effect of music training in enhancing phonological and reading abilities in children with dyslexia. The findings show that music training can modify reading and phonological abilities even when these skills are severely impaired. Through the enhancement of temporal processing and rhythmic skills, music might become an important tool in both remediation and early intervention programs.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02316873

  12. Improving environmental cleaning in clinical areas: staff education based on adenosine triphosphate readings.

    PubMed

    Villanueva, Ariadna; Guanche, Humberto

    2016-11-01

    Aim To describe the effect of education on environmental cleaning in patient care areas using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) readings. Method A quality improvement initiative was developed in a community hospital in Qatar. Over a two-month period, an infection-control practitioner monitored ATP readings in patient care areas, at any time and regardless of the time of the previous disinfection. The initiative included staff education, use of ATP readings and the drawing up of quarterly quality reports. The ATP readings were considered 'pass', meaning well cleaned, or 'fail', meaning non-cleaned, according to the following standards:>250 relative light units (RLU) in non-critical units and<200RLU for critical units. The proportion of test passes was calculated per 100 tests performed. Results A total of 1,617 tests were performed, after which 1,259 (78%) surfaces were identified as well cleaned. The lowest proportion of non-pass and higher ATP readings was observed in non-critical areas. The test points with the lowest proportion of passes were telephones (40.5%), a medication dispensing system (58.5%), an oximeter (66.7%) and callbox buttons (67.6%). A sustained increase in test passes was observed during the study period. Conclusion There was an improvement in environmental cleaning due to monitoring of ATP on surfaces and staff education.

  13. Two Readiness Measures As Predictors Of First- And Third-Grade Reading Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Randel, Mildred A.; And Others

    1977-01-01

    Multiple-regression procedures were used to assess effectiveness of the ABC Inventory and the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) in predicting first- and third-grade reading achievement. MRT performance accounted for 11 percent of the variance in first-grade SRA reading scores. In predicting third-grade reading, the MRT accounted for 26 percent of…

  14. Estimates of premorbid ability in a neurodegenerative disease clinic population: comparing the Test of Premorbid Functioning and the Wide Range Achievement Test, 4th Edition.

    PubMed

    Berg, Jody-Lynn; Durant, January; Banks, Sarah J; Miller, Justin B

    2016-05-01

    Two frequently used measures to assess premorbid intellectual ability include the Wide Range Achievement Test, 4th Edition Reading Subtest (WRAT-4 READ) and the Test of Premorbid Functioning (TOPF). The present study compared estimates obtained from these measures in a neurodegenerative disease population. Records from 85 referrals seen for neuropsychological evaluation in a neurodegenerative disorders clinic were reviewed. Evaluations included TOPF, WRAT-4 READ, and measures of memory, reasoning, language, and executive functioning. Pairwise correlations and concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) were calculated between raw scores and predicted intelligence estimates. Discrepancy scores were calculated between estimates and data were divided into three groups based on size of standardized discrepancy score: Equal, WRAT-4 READ > TOPF, and TOPF > WRAT-4 READ. analysis of variances compared groups on demographic characteristics and cognitive performance. Despite strong Pearson correlation, CCC between predicted IQ estimates showed poor agreement between measures, with evidence of both fixed and proportional bias. Discrepancies ranged from -24.0 to 22.0 (M = 1.78, SD = 6.65), with TOPF generating higher estimates on average. Individuals performing better on WRAT-4 READ were significantly older (M age = 76.26, SD = 7.53) than those performing similarly on both measures and those performing better on TOPF (F (2, 82) = 7.31, p < .001). All other comparisons between groups on demographic variables and cognitive measures were non-significant. Estimates of premorbid intelligence obtained from the TOPF and WRAT-4 READ have a strong linear relationship, but systematically generate inconsistent estimates in a neurodegenerative disease clinical sample and should not be used interchangeably.

  15. Reading Performance of Career-Bound Students: Good News and Bad News from the 1996 High Schools That Work Assessment. Research Brief.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bottoms, Gene; Creech, Betty

    Good news about reading achievement of career-bound students at High Schools That Work (HSTW) sites includes the following: (1) 60% of the 260 sites that tested students in 1993/94 and again in 1996 saw improvement in reading scores; (2) the performance of all students majority and minority improved significantly; (3) HSTW sites widened the gap…

  16. Reading Evaluation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fagan, W. T.

    1978-01-01

    The Canadian Institute for Research in Behavioral and Social Sciences of Calgary was awarded a contract by the Provincial Government of Alberta to assess student skills and knowledge in reading and written composition. Here evaluation is defined and the use of standardized and criterion referenced tests for evaluating reading performance are…

  17. Does sensitivity measured from screening test-sets predict clinical performance?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Soh, BaoLin P.; Lee, Warwick B.; Mello-Thoms, Claudia R.; Tapia, Kriscia A.; Ryan, John; Hung, Wai Tak; Thompson, Graham J.; Heard, Rob; Brennan, Patrick C.

    2014-03-01

    Aim: To examine the relationship between sensitivity measured from the BREAST test-set and clinical performance. Background: Although the UK and Australia national breast screening programs have regarded PERFORMS and BREAST test-set strategies as possible methods of estimating readers' clinical efficacy, the relationship between test-set and real life performance results has never been satisfactorily understood. Methods: Forty-one radiologists from BreastScreen New South Wales participated in this study. Each reader interpreted a BREAST test-set which comprised sixty de-identified mammographic examinations sourced from the BreastScreen Digital Imaging Library. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to compare the sensitivity measured from the BREAST test-set with screen readers' clinical audit data. Results: Results shown statistically significant positive moderate correlations between test-set sensitivity and each of the following metrics: rate of invasive cancer per 10 000 reads (r=0.495; p < 0.01); rate of small invasive cancer per 10 000 reads (r=0.546; p < 0.001); detection rate of all invasive cancers and DCIS per 10 000 reads (r=0.444; p < 0.01). Conclusion: Comparison between sensitivity measured from the BREAST test-set and real life detection rate demonstrated statistically significant positive moderate correlations which validated that such test-set strategies can reflect readers' clinical performance and be used as a quality assurance tool. The strength of correlation demonstrated in this study was higher than previously found by others.

  18. Effect of Vocabulary Test Preparation on Low-Income Black Middle School Students' Reading Scores

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchell, Ingrid; Nistor, Nicolae; Baltes, Beate; Brown, Michelle

    2016-01-01

    Black middle school students in the United States continue to perform poorly on standardized reading achievement tests in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups. The purpose of this research study was to examine the effectiveness of a vocabulary-focused test preparation program for Black middle school students. The theoretical framework…

  19. The Effect of a Simplified English Language Dictionary on a Reading Test. LEP Projects Report 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Albus, Deb; Bielinski, John; Thurlow, Martha; Liu, Kristin

    This study was conducted to examine whether using a monolingual, simplified English dictionary as an accommodation on a reading test with limited-English-proficient (LEP) Hmong students improved test performance. Hmong students were chosen because they are often not literate in their first language. For these students, bilingual dictionaries are…

  20. [Visual perception abilities in children with reading disabilities].

    PubMed

    Werpup-Stüwe, Lina; Petermann, Franz

    2015-05-01

    Visual perceptual abilities are increasingly being neglected in research concerning reading disabilities. This study measures the visual perceptual abilities of children with disabilities in reading. The visual perceptual abilities of 35 children with specific reading disorder and 30 controls were compared using the German version of the Developmental Test of Visual Perception – Adolescent and Adult (DTVP-A). 11 % of the children with specific reading disorder show clinically relevant performance on the DTVP-A. The perceptual abilities of both groups differ significantly. No significant group differences exist after controlling for general IQ or Perceptional Reasoning Index, but they do remain after controlling for Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, and Processing Speed Index. The number of children with reading difficulties suffering from visual perceptual disorders has been underestimated. For this reason, visual perceptual abilities should always be tested when making a reading disorder diagnosis. Profiles of IQ-test results of children suffering from reading and visual perceptual disorders should be interpreted carefully.

  1. Effects of individual differences in verbal skills on eye-movement patterns during sentence reading

    PubMed Central

    Kuperman, Victor; Van Dyke, Julie A.

    2011-01-01

    This study is a large-scale exploration of the influence that individual reading skills exert on eye-movement behavior in sentence reading. Seventy one non-college-bound 16–24 year-old speakers of English completed a battery of 18 verbal and cognitive skill assessments, and read a series of sentences as their eye movements were monitored. Statistical analyses were performed to establish what tests of reading abilities were predictive of eye-movement patterns across this population and how strong the effects were. We found that individual scores in rapid automatized naming and word identification tests (i) were the only participant variables with reliable predictivity throughout the time-course of reading; (ii) elicited effects that superceded in magnitude the effects of established predictors like word length or frequency; and (iii) strongly modulated the influence of word length and frequency on fixation times. We discuss implications of our findings for testing reading ability, as well as for research of eye-movements in reading. PMID:21709808

  2. Exploring How Symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Are Related to Reading and Mathematics Performance: General Genes, General Environments

    PubMed Central

    Hart, Sara A.; Petrill, Stephen A.; Willcutt, Erik; Thompson, Lee A.; Schatschneider, Christopher; Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Cutting, Laurie E.

    2013-01-01

    Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to perform more poorly on tests of reading and mathematical performance than their typical peers. Quantitative genetic analyses allow for a better understanding of the etiology of ADHD and reading and mathematics outcomes, by examining their common and unique genetic and environmental influences. Analyses were conducted on a sample 271 pairs of 10-year-old monozygotic and dizygotic twins drawn from the Western Reserve Reading and Mathematics Project. In general, the results suggested that the associations among ADHD symptoms, reading outcomes, and math outcomes were influenced by both general genetic and general shared-environment factors. The analyses also suggested significant independent genetic effects for ADHD symptoms. The results imply that differing etiological factors underlie the relationships among ADHD and reading and mathematics performance. It appears that both genetic and common family or school environments link ADHD with academic performance. PMID:20966487

  3. Investigating the Relationships between a Reading Test and Can-Do Statements of Performance on Reading Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Hsin-min

    2014-01-01

    One of the fundamental problems in language testing is the lack of adequate generalizability between what a test is measuring and what fulfills the learners' real world language use needs. It is important to recognize that no matter how precise a test measures a construct, if the way that a construct is defined and the way that test tasks are…

  4. Validity of Highlighting on Text Comprehension

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    So, Joey C. Y.; Chan, Alan H. S.

    2009-10-01

    In this study, 38 university students were tested with a Chinese reading task on an LED display under different task conditions for determining the effects of the highlighting and its validity on comprehension performance on light-emitting diodes (LED) display for Chinese reading. Four levels of validity (0%, 33%, 67% and 100%) and a control condition with no highlighting were tested. Each subject was required to perform the five experimental conditions in which different passages were read and comprehended. The results showed that the condition with 100% validity of highlighting was found to have better comprehension performance than other validity levels and conditions with no highlighting. The comprehension score of the condition without highlighting effect was comparatively lower than those highlighting conditions with distracters, though not significant.

  5. [Reading ability of junior high school students in relation to self-evaluation and depression].

    PubMed

    Yamashita, Toshiya; Hayashi, Takashi

    2012-01-01

    Guidelines for the diagnosis of reading disorders in elementary school students were published recently in Japan. On the basis of these guidelines, we administrated reading test batteries to 43 Japanese junior high-school students from grade two. The reading test consisted of single sounds, single words, and single sentences. We evaluated the reading speed and the number of reading errors made by the test takers; their performance was compared with the normal value for elementary school students in grade six, as stated in the guidelines. The reading ability of the junior high-school students was not higher than that of the elementary school students. Seven students (16.3%) were found to have reading difficulties (RD group) and they met the criterion for diagnosis of reading disorder as per the guidelines. Three students had difficulties in reading single sounds and single words, but they faced no problems when reading single sentences. It was supposed that the strategies used by the students for reading sentences may have differed from those used for reading single sounds or single words. No significant differences were found between the RD and non-RD group students on scores of scholastic self-evaluation, self-esteem, and depressive symptoms. Therefore, reading difficulty did not directly influence the level of self-evaluation or depression.

  6. Simulated astigmatism impairs academic-related performance in children.

    PubMed

    Narayanasamy, Sumithira; Vincent, Stephen J; Sampson, Geoff P; Wood, Joanne M

    2015-01-01

    Astigmatism is an important refractive condition in children. However, the functional impact of uncorrected astigmatism in this population is not well established, particularly with regard to academic performance. This study investigated the impact of simulated bilateral astigmatism on academic-related tasks before and after sustained near work in children. Twenty visually normal children (mean age: 10.8 ± 0.7 years; six males and 14 females) completed a range of standardised academic-related tests with and without 1.50 D of simulated bilateral astigmatism (with both academic-related tests and the visual condition administered in a randomised order). The simulated astigmatism was induced using a positive cylindrical lens while maintaining a plano spherical equivalent. Performance was assessed before and after 20 min of sustained near work, during two separate testing sessions. Academic-related measures included a standardised reading test (the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability), visual information processing tests (Coding and Symbol Search subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) and a reading-related eye movement test (the Developmental Eye Movement test). Each participant was systematically assigned either with-the-rule (WTR, axis 180°) or against-the-rule (ATR, axis 90°) simulated astigmatism to evaluate the influence of axis orientation on any decrements in performance. Reading, visual information processing and reading-related eye movement performance were all significantly impaired by both simulated bilateral astigmatism (p < 0.001) and sustained near work (p < 0.001), however, there was no significant interaction between these factors (p > 0.05). Simulated astigmatism led to a reduction of between 5% and 12% in performance across the academic-related outcome measures, but there was no significant effect of the axis (WTR or ATR) of astigmatism (p > 0.05). Simulated bilateral astigmatism impaired children's performance on a range of academic-related outcome measures irrespective of the orientation of the astigmatism. These findings have implications for the clinical management of non-amblyogenic levels of astigmatism in relation to academic performance in children. Correction of low to moderate levels of astigmatism may improve the functional performance of children in the classroom. © 2014 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2014 The College of Optometrists.

  7. Poor Stroop performances in 15-year-old dyslexic teenagers.

    PubMed

    Kapoula, Zoï; Lê, Thanh-Thuan; Bonnet, Audrey; Bourtoire, Pauline; Demule, Emilie; Fauvel, Caroline; Quilicci, Catherine; Yang, Qing

    2010-06-01

    The Stroop test enables interference between color naming and reading to be studied. Protopapas et al. (2007) reported more errors in an interference task and longer reaction times in 12.5-year-old dyslexics; also more Stroop interference with lower reading skills. The present study uses a version of the Stroop with four color cards and aims to test interference and flexibility in older dyslexic teenagers. The four cards are: color naming, reading, interference and flexibility. In the latter, subjects have to name the color of the word inhibiting reading except when the word is inside a box. This flexibility task enables the testing of the capacity for cognitive switching between tasks. Ten dyslexics (15.1 +/- 0.7 years old) and fourteen controls (14.3 +/- 1.6 years old) participated in the study. All performed the color naming, the reading, the interference and the flexibility tasks in the same order. Subsequently, they performed a sequence of 60 saccades left-right followed by the interference task. Generally, dyslexic teenagers behaved similarly to non-dyslexics as they showed fewer errors in reading and color than in the interference and flexibility tasks. However, they made more errors and needed more time to accomplish each task than non-dyslexics. The results suggest that the inhibitory and attention processes required by the Stroop test are dysfunctioning even in older dyslexics. In contrast, the study shows no evidence for particular difficulty in the flexibility task, which would constitute an argument against problems with mental switching. Following the execution of saccades, errors in the interference test were significantly reduced for dyslexics, while the time was reduced for both groups. The effects are attributed to visual attention training via saccades.

  8. The Role of Vocabulary, Working Memory and Inference Making Ability in Reading Comprehension in Down Syndrome

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nash, Hannah; Heath, James

    2011-01-01

    Thirteen children and young adults with Down syndrome (DS) completed tests of language and reading and their performance was compared to that of three control groups. Reading comprehension was confirmed to be a specific deficit in DS and found to be strongly correlated with underlying language skills. Although reading comprehension was more…

  9. Forum for Reading: The Journal for Two-Year College Reading Teachers. Volume 6, No. 2, April, 1977.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pinette, Clayton A., Ed.; Smith, R. Kent, Ed.

    Five articles concerning college reading instruction are included in this special interest journal. Karen L. Pelz, William E. Pelz, and David L. Stritmater present a study of input sequence, exposure, and modality effects on recognition memory, which revealed that students who read assignments and attended lectures performed better on tests on the…

  10. Learning disabled and average readers' working memory and comprehension: does metacognition play a role?

    PubMed

    Swanson, H L; Trahan, M

    1996-09-01

    The present study investigates (a) whether learning disabled readers' working memory deficits that underlie poor reading comprehension are related to a general system, and (b) whether metacognition contributes to comprehension beyond what is predicted by working memory and word knowledge. To this end, performance between learning and disabled (N = 60) and average readers (N = 60) was compared on the reading comprehension, reading rate, and vocabulary subtests of the Nelson Skills Reading Test, Sentence Span test composed of high and low imagery words, and a Metacognitive Questionnaire. As expected, differences between groups in working memory, vocabulary, and reading measures emerged, whereas ability groups were statistically comparable on the Metacognitive Questionnaire. A within-group analysis indicated that the correlation patterns between working memory, vocabulary, metacognition, and reading comprehension were not the same between ability groups. For predicting reading comprehension, the metacognitive questionnaire best predicted learning disabled readers' performance, whereas the working memory span measure that included low-imagery words best predicted average achieving readers' comprehension. Overall, the results suggest that the relationship between learning disabled readers' generalised working memory deficits and poor reading comprehension may be mediated by metacognition.

  11. Paragraph-reading comprehension ability in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants.

    PubMed

    Wu, Che-Ming; Lee, Li-Ang; Chao, Wei-Chieh; Tsou, Yung-Ting; Chen, Yen-An

    2015-06-01

    1) To investigate different aspects of paragraph reading in Mandarin-speaking students with cochlear implants (CIs) and the factors associated with unfavorable outcomes, and 2) to understand the replaceability of a paragraph-reading test with a sentence-reading test. Cross-sectional, case-controlled study. Fifty-three students with CIs (aged 11.0 ± 1.4 years) and 53 grade- and gender-matched children with normal hearing (NH) participated in the study. A paragraph-reading comprehension test was conducted. Sentence and word reading, speech perception, language skills, and child/family characteristics were examined. An unfavorable paragraph-reading outcome was defined as a score lower than one standard deviation below the NH mean. The CI subjects had significantly worse paragraph-reading comprehension than did the NH controls (P = 0.017, d = 0.54). Their performance in grades 5 to 6 was not significantly higher than of those with NH in grades 2 to 4. The CI children's abilities to understand semantics (P = 0.012) and syntax (P = 0.020) significantly fell behind the NH controls in grades 2 to 4, and the lag continued in grades 5 to 6 (P = 0.039, P = 0.002, respectively). Grade and sentence reading were independently associated with unfavorable paragraph-reading outcomes (R(2)  = 0.453). The optimal sensitivity and specificity of the sentence-reading test in identifying unfavorable paragraph-reading outcomes were 90.9% and 90.0%, respectively (area under the curve = 0.923). Specialists should pay attention to CI students' development of different reading skills. Paragraph-reading tests enable a multidimensional evaluation of reading competence. Use of sentence-reading tests is suggested only as a tool for preliminary screening for basic reading capacities. 3b. © 2014 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

  12. Early reading performance: a comparison of teacher-based and test-based assessments.

    PubMed

    Kenny, D T; Chekaluk, E

    1993-04-01

    An unresolved question in early screening is whether test-based or teacher-based assessments should form the basis of the classification of children at risk of educational failure. Available structured teacher rating scales are lacking in predictive validity, and teacher predictions of students likely to experience reading difficulties have yielded disappointing true positive rates, with teachers failing to identify the majority of severely disabled readers. For this study, three educational screening instruments were developed: (a) a single teacher rating, categorizing children into three levels of reading ability (advanced, average, poor); (b) a 15-item teacher questionnaire designed to measure students' cognitive and language ability, attentional and behavioral characteristics, and academic performance; and (c) a battery of language and reading tests that are predictive of, or correlate with, reading failure. The concurrent validity of each instrument was assessed in a sample of 312 Australian schoolchildren from kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2. Students were assessed at the end of the 1989 school year after having completed 1, 2, or 3 years of schooling. The results suggest that the nature of the skills required for success in reading changes in the first 3 years of schooling. Both teachers and tests concur more closely as children progress through the elementary years and as the risk behavior (reading) becomes more accessible to direct measurement. Carefully focused teacher rating scales may be a cost-effective means of identifying children at risk of reading failure. Improved teacher rating scales should be developed and used to assist in the early screening process.

  13. Reading skills, creativity, and insight: exploring the connections.

    PubMed

    Mourgues, Catalina V; Preiss, David D; Grigorenko, Elena L

    2014-08-04

    Studies of the relationship between creativity and specific reading disabilities have produced inconclusive results. We explored their relationship in a sample of 259 college students (age range: 17 to 38 years-old) from three Chilean universities. The students were tested on their verbal ability, creativity, and insight. A simple linear regression was performed on the complete sample, and on high- and low-achievement groups that were formed based on reading test scores. We observed a significant correlation in the total sample between outcomes on the verbal ability tasks, and on the creativity and insight tasks (range r =. 152 to r =. 356, ps <.001). Scores on the reading comprehension and phonological awareness tasks were the best predictors of performance on creativity and insight tasks (range β = .315 to β = .155, ps <.05). A comparison of the low- and high-scoring groups on verbal ability tasks yielded results to the same effect. These findings do not support the hypothesis that specific reading disability is associated with better performance on creative tasks. Instead, higher verbal ability was found to be associated with higher creativity and insight.

  14. Adult Learners: Relationships of Reading, MCAT, and USMLE Step 1 Test Results for Medical Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haught, Patricia A.; Walls, Richard T.

    This study examined the possible relationship between scores on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (current forms G and H) and performance on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 examination scores. Participants were 730 medical students at a mid-Atlantic university, and for 572…

  15. An Internal Construct Validation Study of the "Iowa Tests of Basic Skills" (Level 12, Form G) Reading Comprehension Test Items.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perkins, Kyle; Duncan, Ann

    An assessment analysis was performed to determine whether sets of items designed to measure three different subskills of reading comprehension of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBSs) did, in fact, distinguish among these subskills. The three major skills objectives were: (1) facts; (2) generalizations; and (3) inferences. Data from…

  16. Lectures Replaced by Prescribed Reading with Frequent Assessment: Enhanced Student Performance in Animal Physiology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chevins, Peter F. D.

    2005-01-01

    This article describes a study of the effects of partial replacement of lectures with a system of prescribed reading, supported by weekly objective testing in a second year animal physiology module. Formative tests with feedback within 24 hours were followed a week later with summative tests on the same material, utilising a proportion of the same…

  17. Does testing with feedback improve adult spelling skills relative to copying and reading?

    PubMed

    Pan, Steven C; Rubin, Benjamin R; Rickard, Timothy C

    2015-12-01

    We examined testing's ability to enhance adult spelling acquisition, relative to copying and reading. Across 3 experiments in which testing with feedback was compared with copying, the spelling improvement after testing matched that following the same amount of time spent copying. A potent testing advantage, however, was observed for spelling words free-recalled. In the fourth experiment, a large testing advantage for both word free recall and spelling was observed, versus reading. Subjects also generally preferred testing and rated it as more effective than copying or reading. The equivalent performance of testing and copying for spelling contrasts with prior work involving children and suggests that retrieval practice may not be the only effective mechanism for spelling skill acquisition. Rather, we suggest that the critical learning event for spelling is focused study on phoneme-to-grapheme mappings for previously unlearned letter sequences. For adults with extensive spelling expertise, focused study is more automatic during both copying and testing with feedback than for individuals with beginning spelling skills. Reading, however, would not be expected to produce efficient focused study of phoneme-to-grapheme mappings, regardless of expertise level. Overall, adult spelling skill acquisition benefits both from testing and copying, and substantially less from reading. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Relations of Cognitive Style to Assessment Components of Reading Comprehension for Deaf Adolescents.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davey, Beth; LaSasso, Carol

    The study examined the relations of cognitive style (field independence) to reading comprehension test performance for 48 prelingually, profoundly deaf adolescents. Ss read passages and answered comprehension questions consisting of two Information Types (text-explicit, text-implicit), Lookback Conditions (lookback, no-lookback), and Question…

  19. The Association between Mathematical Word Problems and Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vilenius-Tuohimaa, Piia Maria; Aunola, Kaisa; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

    2008-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the interplay between mathematical word problem skills and reading comprehension. The participants were 225 children aged 9-10 (Grade 4). The children's text comprehension and mathematical word problem-solving performance was tested. Technical reading skills were investigated in order to categorise participants as…

  20. Differences in the effects of school meals on children's cognitive performance according to gender, household education and baseline reading skills.

    PubMed

    Sørensen, L B; Damsgaard, C T; Petersen, R A; Dalskov, S-M; Hjorth, M F; Dyssegaard, C B; Egelund, N; Tetens, I; Astrup, A; Lauritzen, L; Michaelsen, K F

    2016-10-01

    We previously found that the OPUS School Meal Study improved reading and increased errors related to inattention and impulsivity. This study explored whether the cognitive effects differed according to gender, household education and reading proficiency at baseline. This is a cluster-randomised cross-over trial comparing Nordic school meals with packed lunch from home (control) for 3 months each among 834 children aged 8 to 11 years. At baseline and at the end of each dietary period, we assessed children's performance in reading, mathematics and the d2-test of attention. Interactions were evaluated using mixed models. Analyses included 739 children. At baseline, boys and children from households without academic education were poorer readers and had a higher d2-error%. Effects on dietary intake were similar in subgroups. However, the effect of the intervention on test outcomes was stronger in boys, in children from households with academic education and in children with normal/good baseline reading proficiency. Overall, this resulted in increased socioeconomic inequality in reading performance and reduced inequality in impulsivity. Contrary to this, the gender difference decreased in reading and increased in impulsivity. Finally, the gap between poor and normal/good readers was increased in reading and decreased for d2-error%. The effects of healthy school meals on reading, impulsivity and inattention were modified by gender, household education and baseline reading proficiency. The differential effects might be related to environmental aspects of the intervention and deserves to be investigated further in future school meal trials.

  1. Effects of Spectral Overlays on Reading Performance of Brazilian Elementary School Children.

    PubMed

    Garcia, Ana Carla Oliveira; Momensohn-Santos, Teresa Maria; Vilhena, Douglas de Araújo

    2018-03-20

    To investigate the effects of spectral overlays on reading performance of Brazilian elementary school children. Sixty-eight children (aged 9-12 years) enrolled in the 5th and 6th grade were included in the study. The Rate of Reading Test (RRT - Brazilian Portuguese version) was used to evaluate reading speed and the Irlen Reading Perceptual Scale was used to allocate the sample according to reading difficulty/discomfort symptoms and to define the optimal spectral overlays. A total of 13% of the children presented an improvement of at least 15% in reading speed with the use of spectral overlays. Pupils with severe reading difficulties tended to have more improvement in RRT with spectral overlays. Children with severe reading discomfort obtained the highest gains in RRT, with an average of 9.6% improvement with intervention, compared to a decrease of -8.2% in the control group. Participants with severe discomfort had an odds ratio of 3.36 to improve reading speed with intervention compared to the control group. The use of spectral overlays can improve reading performance, particularly in those children with severe visual discomfort. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  2. Is There Any Interaction between Background Knowledge and Language Proficiency That Affects "TOEFL iBT"® Reading Performance? TOEFL iBT® Research Report. TOEFL iBT-18. ETS Research Report RR-12-22

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hill, Yao Zhang; Liu, Ou Lydia

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the effect of the interaction between test takers' background knowledge and language proficiency on their performance on the "TOEFL iBT"® reading section. Test takers with the target content background knowledge (the focal groups) and those without (the reference groups) were identified for each of the 5 selected…

  3. Processing Words Varying in Personal Familiarity (Based on Reading and Spelling) by Poor Readers and Age-Matched and Reading-Matched Controls

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corcos, Evelyne; Willows, Dale M.

    2009-01-01

    To evaluate whether performance differences between good and poor readers relate to reading-specific cognitive factors that result from engaging in reading activities and other experiential factors, the authors gave students in Grades 4 and 6 a perceptual identification test of words not only drawn from their personal lexicon but also varying in…

  4. Effects of Presentation Mode and Computer Familiarity on Summarization of Extended Texts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yu, Guoxing

    2010-01-01

    Comparability studies on computer- and paper-based reading tests have focused on short texts and selected-response items via almost exclusively statistical modeling of test performance. The psychological effects of presentation mode and computer familiarity on individual students are under-researched. In this study, 157 students read extended…

  5. Cognitive Style as a Factor Affecting Task-Based Reading Comprehension Test Scores

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salmani-Nodoushan, Mohammad Ali

    2005-01-01

    For purposes of the present study, it was hypothesized that field (in)dependence would introduce systematic variance into Iranian EFL learners' overall and task-specific performance on task-based reading comprehension tests. 1743 freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior students all majoring in English at different Iranian universities and colleges…

  6. Exploring Differential Effects Across Two Decoding Treatments on Item-Level Transfer in Children with Significant Word Reading Difficulties: A New Approach for Testing Intervention Elements.

    PubMed

    Steacy, Laura M; Elleman, Amy M; Lovett, Maureen W; Compton, Donald L

    2016-01-01

    In English, gains in decoding skill do not map directly onto increases in word reading. However, beyond the Self-Teaching Hypothesis (Share, 1995), little is known about the transfer of decoding skills to word reading. In this study, we offer a new approach to testing specific decoding elements on transfer to word reading. To illustrate, we modeled word-reading gains among children with reading disability (RD) enrolled in Phonological and Strategy Training (PHAST) or Phonics for Reading (PFR). Conditions differed in sublexical training with PHAST stressing multi-level connections and PFR emphasizing simple grapheme-phoneme correspondences. Thirty-seven children with RD, 3 rd - 6 th grade, were randomly assigned 60 lessons of PHAST or PFR. Crossed random-effects models allowed us to identify specific intervention elements that differentially impacted word-reading performance at posttest, with children in PHAST better able to read words with variant vowel pronunciations. Results suggest that sublexical emphasis influences transfer gains to word reading.

  7. Do eye movements reveal differences between monolingual and bilingual children's first-language and second-language reading? A focus on word frequency effects.

    PubMed

    Whitford, Veronica; Joanisse, Marc F

    2018-09-01

    An extensive body of research has examined reading acquisition and performance in monolingual children. Surprisingly, however, much less is known about reading in bilingual children, who outnumber monolingual children globally. Here, we address this important imbalance in the literature by employing eye movement recordings to examine both global (i.e., text-level) and local (i.e., word-level) aspects of monolingual and bilingual children's reading performance across their first-language (L1) and second-language (L2). We also had a specific focus on lexical accessibility, indexed by word frequency effects. We had three main findings. First, bilingual children displayed reduced global and local L1 reading performance relative to monolingual children, including larger L1 word frequency effects. Second, bilingual children displayed reduced global and local L2 versus L1 reading performance, including larger L2 word frequency effects. Third, both groups of children displayed reduced global and local reading performance relative to adult comparison groups (across their known languages), including larger word frequency effects. Notably, our first finding was not captured by traditional offline measures of reading, such as standardized tests, suggesting that these measures may lack the sensitivity to detect such nuanced between-group differences in reading performance. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that bilingual children's simultaneous exposure to two reading systems leads to eye movement reading behavior that differs from that of monolingual children and has important consequences for how lexical information is accessed and integrated in both languages. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Is Field Dependence or Independence a Predictor of EFL Reading Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salmani-Nodoushan, Mohammad Ali

    2007-01-01

    In this study it was hypothesized that field dependence or independence would introduce systematic variance into Iranian EFL learners' overall and task-specific performance on task-based reading comprehension tests. One thousand, seven hundred, forty-three freshman, sophomore, junior and senior students, all majoring in English at various Iranian…

  9. What are the early indicators of persistent word reading difficulties among Chinese readers in elementary grades?

    PubMed

    Yeung, Pui-Sze; Ho, Connie Suk-Han; Chan, David Wai-Ock; Chung, Kevin Kien-Hoa

    2014-05-01

    To identify the indicators of persistent reading difficulties among Chinese readers in early elementary grades, the performance of three groups of Chinese children with different reading trajectories ('persistent poor word readers', 'improved poor word readers' and 'skilled word readers') in reading-related measures was analysed in a 3-year longitudinal study. The three groups were classified according to their performance in a standardized Chinese word reading test in Grade 1 and Grade 4. Results of analysis of variance and logistic regression on the reading-related measures revealed that rapid naming and syntactic skills were important indicators of early word reading difficulty. Syntactic skills and morphological awareness were possible markers of persistent reading problems. Chinese persistent poor readers did not differ significantly from skilled readers on the measures of phonological skills. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. PSSA Released Reading Items, 2000-2001. The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pennsylvania State Dept. of Education, Harrisburg. Bureau of Curriculum and Academic Services.

    This document contains materials directly related to the actual reading test of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), including the reading rubric, released passages, selected-response questions with answer keys, performance tasks, and scored samples of students' responses to the tasks. All of these items may be duplicated to…

  11. Reading Quizzes Improve Exam Scores for Community College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pape-Lindstrom, Pamela; Eddy, Sarah; Freeman, Scott

    2018-01-01

    To test the hypothesis that adding course structure may encourage self-regulated learning skills resulting in an increase in student exam performance in the community college setting, we added daily preclass online, open-book reading quizzes to an introductory biology course. We compared three control terms without reading quizzes and three…

  12. Reading, Why Not? Literacy Skills in Children with Motor and Speech Impairments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferreira, Janna; Ronnberg, Jerker; Gustafson, Stefan; Wengelin, Asa

    2007-01-01

    In this study, 12 participants with various levels of motor and speech deficits were tested to explore their reading skills in relation to letter knowledge, speech level, auditory discrimination, phonological awareness, language skills, digit span, and nonverbal IQ. Two subgroups, based on a median split of reading performance, are described: the…

  13. Reading and Spelling in Adults: Are There Lexical and Sub-Lexical Subtypes?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burt, Jennifer S.; Heffernan, Maree E.

    2012-01-01

    The dual-route model of reading proposes distinct lexical and sub-lexical procedures for word reading and spelling. Lexically reliant and sub-lexically reliant reader subgroups were selected from 78 university students on the basis of their performance on lexical (orthographic) and sub-lexical (phonological) choice tests, and on irregular and…

  14. Should bilingual children learn reading in two languages at the same time or in sequence?

    PubMed Central

    Berens, Melody S.; Kovelman, Ioulia; Petitto, Laura-Ann

    2013-01-01

    Is it best to learn reading in two languages simultaneously or sequentially? We observed 2nd and 3rd grade children in two-way dual-language learning contexts: (i) 50:50 or Simultaneous dual-language (two languages within same developmental period) and (ii) 90:10 or Sequential dual-language (one language, followed gradually by the other). They were compared to matched monolingual English-only children in single-language English schools. Bilinguals (home language was Spanish only, English-only, or Spanish and English in dual-language schools), were tested in both languages, and monolingual children were tested in English using standardized reading and language tasks. Bilinguals in 50:50 programs performed better than bilinguals in 90:10 programs on English Irregular Words and Passage Comprehension tasks, suggesting language and reading facilitation for underlying grammatical class and linguistic structure analyses. By contrast, bilinguals in 90:10 programs performed better than bilinguals in the 50:50 programs on English Phonological Awareness and Reading Decoding tasks, suggesting language and reading facilitation for surface phonological regularity analysis. Notably, children from English-only homes in dual-language learning contexts performed equally well, or better than, children from monolingual English-only homes in single-language learning contexts. Overall, the findings provide tantalizing evidence that dual-language learning during the same developmental period may provide bilingual reading advantages. PMID:23794952

  15. An exploratory study of phonological awareness and working memory differences and literacy performance of people that use AAC.

    PubMed

    Gómez Taibo, María Luisa; Vieiro Iglesias, Pilar; González Raposo, María del Salvador; Sotillo Méndez, María

    2010-11-01

    Twelve cerebral palsied adolescents and young adults with complex communicative needs who used augmentative and alternative communication were studied. They were classified according to their working memory capacity (high vs. low) into two groups of 6 participants. They were also divided into two groups of 6 participants according to their high vs. low phonological skills. These groups were compared on their performance in reading tests -orthographic knowledge, a word test and a pseudoword reading test- and in the spelling of words, pseudowords and pictures' names. Statistical differences were found between high vs. low phonological skills groups, and between high and low working memory groups. High working memory capacity group scored significantly higher than low working memory group in the orthographic and word reading tests. The high phonological skills group outperformed the low phonological skills group in the word reading test and in the spelling of pseudowords and pictures' names. From a descriptive point of view, phonological skills and working memory, factors known to be highly predictive of literacy skills in people without disabilities, also hold as factors for the participants that used AAC in our study. Implications of the results are discussed.

  16. Affected Aspects Regarding Literacy and Numeracy in Children Treated for Brain Tumors.

    PubMed

    Lönnerblad, Malin; Lovio, Riikka; Berglund, Eva; Van't Hooft, Ingrid

    The aim of this study was to investigate the test results of reading speed, reading comprehension, word comprehension, spelling, basic arithmetic skills, and number sense (intuitive understanding of numbers) by children treated for brain tumors. This is a retrospective study based on medical records, including standardized academic tests. In the years of 2010 to 2014, all children in the area of Stockholm between 7 and 18 years (IQ <70) who had no major linguistic or motor difficulties after they had undergone treatment for brain tumors were offered a special education assessment one year after treatment, at school start, or the year before a transition from one stage to another. Our results indicate that children treated for a brain tumor are at risk of having difficulties in spelling, reading speed, and arithmetic and that the test performance may decline over years in arithmetic and spelling. Children diagnosed at age 0 to 6 years may need extra tutoring at school start, especially in basic arithmetic skills. In both reading and mathematics, many children perform better on tests focused on understanding than on tests focused on speed. Continuous special needs assessments including different aspects of literacy and numeracy, are important for understanding each child's specific needs.

  17. [Evaluation of the Marburg Spelling Training (MRT) in 2nd- and 3rd-grade students with spelling difficulties].

    PubMed

    Barkmann, Claus; Kuhlmann, Ester; Rosenboom, Lea; Wessolowski, Nino; Schulte-Markwort, Michael

    2012-05-01

    Children with severe dyslexia are substantially impaired because reading and writing are key competencies necessary for a successful academic and occupational career. In this evaluation study, a cohort of 2nd- and 3rd-grade students from a variety of Hamburg primary schools was trained with the Marburger Rechtschreibtraining (MRT) by supervised university graduates. The research questions focused on the feasibility of the MRT as a within-school training, the improvement of spelling and reading skills of the participants, subjective assessments of success, as well as potential predictors. Besides established performance tests, we also considered the subjective appraisals of parents, teachers, and coaches. The results demonstrate that standardized spelling training methods like the MRT can be consistently used during morning hours at schools. Within a year of starting MRT exercises, mean effect sizes in writing and reading were observed in performance tests using test norms. However, parent, teacher, and coach reports failed to replicate these improvements. Changes in writing performance were mainly associated with school class level; improvements in reading ability were dependent on initial writing performance. The results provide starting points for optimizing current training practices in elementary schools and for posing questions regarding the effectiveness of the MRT, as well as for training programs in general.

  18. Experimental Evaluation of a Braille-Reading-Inspired Finger Motion Adaptive Algorithm.

    PubMed

    Ulusoy, Melda; Sipahi, Rifat

    2016-01-01

    Braille reading is a complex process involving intricate finger-motion patterns and finger-rubbing actions across Braille letters for the stimulation of appropriate nerves. Although Braille reading is performed by smoothly moving the finger from left-to-right, research shows that even fluent reading requires right-to-left movements of the finger, known as "reversal". Reversals are crucial as they not only enhance stimulation of nerves for correctly reading the letters, but they also show one to re-read the letters that were missed in the first pass. Moreover, it is known that reversals can be performed as often as in every sentence and can start at any location in a sentence. Here, we report experimental results on the feasibility of an algorithm that can render a machine to automatically adapt to reversal gestures of one's finger. Through Braille-reading-analogous tasks, the algorithm is tested with thirty sighted subjects that volunteered in the study. We find that the finger motion adaptive algorithm (FMAA) is useful in achieving cooperation between human finger and the machine. In the presence of FMAA, subjects' performance metrics associated with the tasks have significantly improved as supported by statistical analysis. In light of these encouraging results, preliminary experiments are carried out with five blind subjects with the aim to put the algorithm to test. Results obtained from carefully designed experiments showed that subjects' Braille reading accuracy in the presence of FMAA was more favorable then when FMAA was turned off. Utilization of FMAA in future generation Braille reading devices thus holds strong promise.

  19. Experimental Evaluation of a Braille-Reading-Inspired Finger Motion Adaptive Algorithm

    PubMed Central

    2016-01-01

    Braille reading is a complex process involving intricate finger-motion patterns and finger-rubbing actions across Braille letters for the stimulation of appropriate nerves. Although Braille reading is performed by smoothly moving the finger from left-to-right, research shows that even fluent reading requires right-to-left movements of the finger, known as “reversal”. Reversals are crucial as they not only enhance stimulation of nerves for correctly reading the letters, but they also show one to re-read the letters that were missed in the first pass. Moreover, it is known that reversals can be performed as often as in every sentence and can start at any location in a sentence. Here, we report experimental results on the feasibility of an algorithm that can render a machine to automatically adapt to reversal gestures of one’s finger. Through Braille-reading-analogous tasks, the algorithm is tested with thirty sighted subjects that volunteered in the study. We find that the finger motion adaptive algorithm (FMAA) is useful in achieving cooperation between human finger and the machine. In the presence of FMAA, subjects’ performance metrics associated with the tasks have significantly improved as supported by statistical analysis. In light of these encouraging results, preliminary experiments are carried out with five blind subjects with the aim to put the algorithm to test. Results obtained from carefully designed experiments showed that subjects’ Braille reading accuracy in the presence of FMAA was more favorable then when FMAA was turned off. Utilization of FMAA in future generation Braille reading devices thus holds strong promise. PMID:26849058

  20. Cross-linguistic transfer of phonological skills: a Malaysian perspective.

    PubMed

    Gomez, Caroline; Reason, Rea

    2002-01-01

    This study examined the phonological and reading performance in English of Malaysian children whose home language was Bahasa Malaysia (BM). A sample of 69 Malaysian Standard Two pupils (aged 7-8 years) was selected for the study. Since commencing school at the age of 6 years, the children had been learning to read in BM and had subsequently also been learning to read in English for some 12 months. The study was part of a larger scale research programme that fully recognized the limitations of tests that had not been developed and standardized in Malaysia. Nevertheless, as a first step to developing such tests, a comparison with existing norms for the Phonological Assessment Battery (PhAB) and the Wechsler Objective Reading Dimension (WORD) was undertaken in relation to information about the children's L1 and L2 language competencies. Results showed that the children's performance on PhAB was at least comparable to the UK norms while, not surprisingly, they fared less well on WORD. The results are discussed in terms of L1 and L2 transfer, whereby the transparency of written BM and the structured way in which reading is taught in BM facilitates performance on phonological tasks in English. This has implications for identifying children with phonologically based reading difficulties.

  1. Baseline MNREAD Measures for Normally Sighted Subjects From Childhood to Old Age

    PubMed Central

    Calabrèse, Aurélie; Cheong, Allen M. Y.; Cheung, Sing-Hang; He, Yingchen; Kwon, MiYoung; Mansfield, J. Stephen; Subramanian, Ahalya; Yu, Deyue; Legge, Gordon E.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose The continuous-text reading-acuity test MNREAD is designed to measure the reading performance of people with normal and low vision. This test is used to estimate maximum reading speed (MRS), critical print size (CPS), reading acuity (RA), and the reading accessibility index (ACC). Here we report the age dependence of these measures for normally sighted individuals, providing baseline data for MNREAD testing. Methods We analyzed MNREAD data from 645 normally sighted participants ranging in age from 8 to 81 years. The data were collected in several studies conducted by different testers and at different sites in our research program, enabling evaluation of robustness of the test. Results Maximum reading speed and reading accessibility index showed a trilinear dependence on age: first increasing from 8 to 16 years (MRS: 140–200 words per minute [wpm]; ACC: 0.7–1.0); then stabilizing in the range of 16 to 40 years (MRS: 200 ± 25 wpm; ACC: 1.0 ± 0.14); and decreasing to 175 wpm and 0.88 by 81 years. Critical print size was constant from 8 to 23 years (0.08 logMAR), increased slowly until 68 years (0.21 logMAR), and then more rapidly until 81 years (0.34 logMAR). logMAR reading acuity improved from −0.1 at 8 years to −0.18 at 16 years, then gradually worsened to −0.05 at 81 years. Conclusions We found a weak dependence of the MNREAD parameters on age in normal vision. In broad terms, MNREAD performance exhibits differences between three age groups: children 8 to 16 years, young adults 16 to 40 years, and middle-aged to older adults >40 years. PMID:27442222

  2. A preliminary investigation into the neural basis of the production effect.

    PubMed

    Hassall, Cameron D; Quinlan, Chelsea K; Turk, David J; Taylor, Tracy L; Krigolson, Olave E

    2016-06-01

    Items that are produced (e.g., read aloud) during encoding typically are better remembered than items that are not produced (e.g., read silently). This "production effect" has been explained by distinctiveness: Produced items have more distinct features than nonproduced items, leading to enhanced retrieval. The goal of the current study was to use electroencephalography (EEG) to examine the neural basis of the production effect. During study, participants were presented with words that they were required to read silently, read aloud, or sing while EEG data were recorded. Subsequent memory performance was tested using a yes/no recognition test. Analysis focused on the event-related brain potentials (ERPs) evoked by the encoding instruction cue for each instruction condition. Our data revealed enhanced memory performance for produced items and a greater P300 ERP amplitude for instructions to sing or read aloud compared with instructions to read silently. Our results demonstrate that the amplitude of the P300 is modulated by at least 1 aspect of production, vocalization (singing/reading aloud relative to reading silently), and are consistent with the distinctiveness account of the production effect. The ERP methodology is a viable tool for investigating the production effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Predicting Performance on State Achievement Tests Using Curriculum-Based Measurement in Reading: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yeo, Seungsoo

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this synthesis was to examine the relationship between Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) and statewide achievement tests in reading. A multilevel meta-analysis was used to calculate the correlation coefficient of the population for 27 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Results showed an overall large correlation coefficient…

  4. Detecting Different Types of Reading Difficulties: A Comparison of Tests

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Danielle M.; Porter, Melanie A.; Kohnen, Saskia; Castles, Anne

    2012-01-01

    The focus of this paper is on the assessment of the two main processes that children must acquire at the single word reading level: word recognition (lexical) and decoding (nonlexical) skills. Guided by the framework of the dual route model, this study aimed to (1) investigate the impact of item characteristics on test performance, and (2)…

  5. Validation of microscopic observation drug susceptibility testing for rapid, direct rifampicin and isoniazid drug susceptibility testing in patients receiving tuberculosis treatment

    PubMed Central

    Coronel, J; Roper, M H; Herrera, C; Bonilla, C; Jave, O; Gianella, C; Sabogal, I; Huancaré, V; Leo, E; Tyas, A; Mendoza-Ticona, A; Caviedes, L; Moore, D A J; Drancourt, M

    2014-01-01

    Drug susceptibility testing (DST) is often needed in patients clinically failing tuberculosis (TB) therapy. Most studies of phenotypic direct drug susceptibility tests, such as microscopic observation drug susceptibility (MODS) tests, have been performed in patients not receiving TB treatment. The effect of ongoing TB treatment on the performance of MODS direct DST has not been previously explored, but patients failing such therapy constitute an important target group. The aim of this study was to determine the performance of MODS direct rifampicin and isoniazid DST in patients clinically failing first-line TB treatment, and to compare MODS direct DST with indirect proportion method DST. Sputa from 264 TB patients were cultured in parallel in Lowenstein–Jensen (LJ) and MODS assays; strains were tested for rifampicin and isoniazid susceptibility by the proportion method at the national reference laboratory. Ninety-three samples were culture-positive by LJ and MODS (concordance of 96%; kappa 0.92). With conventional MODS plate DST reading (performed on the same day as the sample is classified as culture-positive), the isoniazid DST concordance was 96.8% (kappa 0.89), and the concordance for rifampicin susceptibility testing was 92.6% (kappa 0.80). Reading of MODS DST plates 1 week after cultures had been determined to be culture-positive improved overall performance marginally—the isoniazid DST concordance was 95.7% (kappa 0.85); and the rifampicin DST concordance was 96.8% (kappa 0.91). Sensitivity for detection of multidrug-resistant TB was 95.8%. MODS testing provided reliable rifampicin and isoniazid DST results for samples obtained from patients receiving TB therapy. A modified DST reading schedule for such samples, with a final reading 1 week after a MODS culture turns positive, marginally improves the concordance with reference DST. PMID:24107197

  6. Inference comprehension in text reading: Performance of individuals with right- versus left-hemisphere lesions and the influence of cognitive functions.

    PubMed

    Silagi, Marcela Lima; Radanovic, Marcia; Conforto, Adriana Bastos; Mendonça, Lucia Iracema Zanotto; Mansur, Leticia Lessa

    2018-01-01

    Right-hemisphere lesions (RHL) may impair inference comprehension. However, comparative studies between left-hemisphere lesions (LHL) and RHL are rare, especially regarding reading comprehension. Moreover, further knowledge of the influence of cognition on inferential processing in this task is needed. To compare the performance of patients with RHL and LHL on an inference reading comprehension task. We also aimed to analyze the effects of lesion site and to verify correlations between cognitive functions and performance on the task. Seventy-five subjects were equally divided into the groups RHL, LHL, and control group (CG). The Implicit Management Test was used to evaluate inference comprehension. In this test, subjects read short written passages and subsequently answer five types of questions (explicit, logical, distractor, pragmatic, and other), which require different types of inferential reasoning. The cognitive functional domains of attention, memory, executive functions, language, and visuospatial abilities were assessed using the Cognitive Linguistic Quick Test (CLQT). The LHL and RHL groups presented difficulties in inferential comprehension in comparison with the CG. However, the RHL group presented lower scores than the LHL group on logical, pragmatic and other questions. A covariance analysis did not show any effect of lesion site within the hemispheres. Overall, all cognitive domains were correlated with all the types of questions from the inference test (especially logical, pragmatic, and other). Attention and visuospatial abilities affected the scores of both the RHL and LHL groups, and only memory influenced the performance of the RHL group. Lesions in either hemisphere may cause difficulties in making inferences during reading. However, processing more complex inferences was more difficult for patients with RHL than for those with LHL, which suggests that the right hemisphere plays an important role in tasks with higher comprehension demands. Cognition influences inferential processing during reading in brain-injured subjects.

  7. Riddle appreciation and reading comprehension in Cantonese-speaking children.

    PubMed

    Tang, Ivy N Y; To, Carol K S; Weekes, Brendan S

    2013-10-01

    Inference-making skills are necessary for reading comprehension. Training in riddle appreciation is an effective way to improve reading comprehension among English-speaking children. However, it is not clear whether these methods generalize to other writing systems. The goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between inference-making skills, as measured by riddle appreciation ability, and reading comprehension performance in typically developing Cantonese-speaking children in the 4th grade. Forty Cantonese-speaking children between the ages of 9;1 (years;months) and 11;0 were given tests of riddle appreciation ability and reading comprehension. Chinese character reading and auditory comprehension abilities were also assessed using tests that had been standardized in Hong Kong. Regression analyses revealed that riddle appreciation ability explained a significant amount of variance in reading comprehension after variance due to character reading skills and auditory comprehension skills were first considered. Orthographic, lexical, morphological, and syntactic riddles were also significantly correlated with reading comprehension. Riddle appreciation ability predicts reading comprehension in Cantonese-speaking 4th-grade children. Therefore, training Cantonese speakers in riddle appreciation should improve their reading comprehension.

  8. Is performance on the Wechsler test of adult reading affected by traumatic brain injury?

    PubMed

    Mathias, J L; Bowden, S C; Bigler, E D; Rosenfeld, J V

    2007-11-01

    The validity of the National Adult Reading Test (NART) as a predictor of premorbid IQ when used with patients who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been questioned in recent years. This study examined whether performance on the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR) is similarly affected by TBI in the first year after an injury. The WTAR scores of participants who had sustained a mild TBI (N=82), moderate TBI (N=73), severe TBI (N=61) or an orthopaedic injury (N=95) were compared (cross-sectional study). A subset of 21 mild TBI, 31 moderate TBI, 26 severe TBI and 21 control group participants were additionally reassessed 6 months later to assess the impact of recovery on WTAR scores (longitudinal study). The severe TBI group had significantly lower scores on the WTAR than the mild TBI, moderate TBI and control groups in the cross-sectional study, despite being matched demographically. The findings from the longitudinal study revealed a significant group difference and a small improvement in performance over time but the interaction between group and time was not significant, suggesting that the improvements in WTAR performance over time were not restricted to more severely injured individuals whose performance was temporarily suppressed. These findings suggest that reading performance may be affected by severe TBI and that the WTAR may underestimate premorbid IQ when used in this context, which may cause clinicians to underestimate the cognitive deficits experienced by these patients.

  9. Topical Knowledge in L2 Speaking Assessment: Comparing Independent and Integrated Speaking Test Tasks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Heng-Tsung Danny; Hung, Shao-Ting Alan; Plakans, Lia

    2018-01-01

    Integrated speaking test tasks (integrated tasks) provide reading and/or listening input to serve as the basis for test-takers to formulate their oral responses. This study examined the influence of topical knowledge on integrated speaking test performance and compared independent speaking test performance and integrated speaking test performance…

  10. The Effects of Glossary and Read-Aloud Accommodations on English Language Learners' Performance on a Mathematics Assessment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolf, Mikyung Kim; Kim, Jinok; Kao, Jenny

    2012-01-01

    Glossary and reading aloud test items are commonly allowed in many states' accommodation policies for English language learner (ELL) students for large-scale mathematics assessments. However, little research is available regarding the effects of these accommodations on ELL students' performance. Further, no research exists that examines how…

  11. Relationships among Reading Performance, Locus of Control and Achievement for Marginal Admission Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pepper, Roger S.; Drexler, John A., Jr.

    The first phase of the study was a 2 x 2 factorial design, with locus of control and instructional method (lecture and demonstration) as independent variables and honor point average (HPA) as the dependent variable. The second phase used correlational techniques to test the extent to which reading performance and traditional predictors of…

  12. Language and Mathematical Performance: A Comparison of Lower Secondary School Students with Different Level of Mathematical Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Korhonen, Johan; Linnanmaki, Karin; Aunio, Pirjo

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the connection between language (i.e., word comprehension, reading comprehension and spelling skills) and mathematical performance. The sample consisted of grade nine students (N = 810) in 14 lower secondary schools in the Swedish speaking areas of Finland. Standardized tests for reading and writing skills, and mathematical…

  13. The Distracting Effects of Music on the Cognitive Test Performance of Creative and Non-Creative Individuals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doyle, Maddie; Furnham, Adrian

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the effect of background music upon performance of creative and non-creative individuals on a reading comprehension task. In the presence of musical distraction and silence, 54 individuals (27 creative) carried out reading comprehension tasks in a repeated measures design. An interaction was predicted, such that musical…

  14. On the Nature of Forgetting and the Processing--Storage Relationship in Reading Span Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saito, Satoru; Miyake, Akira

    2004-01-01

    Four experiments examined the nature of forgetting and the processing--storage relationship during performance on a prevalent working memory task, the reading span test. Using two different presentation paradigms, Experiments 1 and 2 replicated Towse, Hitch, and Hutton's (1998, 2000) finding that the Short-Final lists, which presented a long…

  15. An Early Reading Intervention for an At-Risk Chinese First Grader

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Qiuying; Anderson, Richard C.

    2010-01-01

    This article describes a customized early reading intervention for a Chinese first grader at risk for failing to learn to read. Building upon observational notes, artifacts, diagnostic teaching, information about classroom performance, and a battery of tests, our goal is to provide insights into ways to develop and implement a one-on-one tutoring…

  16. Summer Reading: Predicting Adolescent Word Learning from Aptitude, Time Spent Reading, and Text Type

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawrence, Joshua Fahey

    2009-01-01

    Mostly low-income African American and Hispanic teens (N = 192) were tested in (a) passage comprehension, (b) vocabulary ability, (c) cloze task performance, and (d) listening comprehension in the spring and vocabulary in the fall. Students were surveyed about reading (a) narrative, (b) expository, (c) teen culture, and (d) online texts.…

  17. The Impact of Strategy Instruction and Timing of Estimates on Low and High Working-Memory Capacity Readers' Absolute Monitoring Accuracy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Linderholm, Tracy; Zhao, Qin

    2008-01-01

    Working-memory capacity, strategy instruction, and timing of estimates were investigated for their effects on absolute monitoring accuracy, which is the difference between estimated and actual reading comprehension test performance. Participants read two expository texts under one of two randomly assigned reading strategy instruction conditions…

  18. Dyslexie Font Does Not Benefit Reading in Children with or without Dyslexia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuster, Sanne M.; van Weerdenburg, Marjolijn; Gompel, Marjolein; Bosman, Anna M. T.

    2018-01-01

    In two experiments, the claim was tested that the font "Dyslexie", specifically designed for people with dyslexia, eases reading performance of children with (and without) dyslexia. Three questions were investigated. (1) Does the Dyslexie font lead to faster and/or more accurate reading? (2) Do children have a preference for the Dyslexie…

  19. Reading Teachers' Beliefs and Utilization of Computer and Technology: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Remetio, Jessica Espinas

    2014-01-01

    Many researchers believe that computers have the ability to help improve the reading skills of students. In an effort to improve the poor reading scores of students on state tests, as well as improve students' overall academic performance, computers and other technologies have been installed in Frozen Bay School classrooms. As the success of these…

  20. An Electrophysiological Investigation of Semantic and Phonological Processing in Skilled and Less-Skilled Comprehenders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Landi, Nicole; Perfetti, Charles A.

    2007-01-01

    The most prominent theories of reading consider reading comprehension ability to be a direct consequence of lower-level reading skills. Recently however, research has shown that some children with poor comprehension ability perform normally on tests of lower-level skills (e.g., decoding). One promising line of behavioral research has found…

  1. Verbal Memory and Semantic Organization of Children with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Polychroni, Fotini; Economou, Alexandra; Printezi, Anna; Koutlidi, Ifigeneia

    2011-01-01

    The present study examined the verbal learning performance and the semantic organization used by Greek reading-disabled readers as compared to a control group using a list-learning task. The sample consisted of 45 elementary school children with reading difficulties and 45 comparison children matched for age and gender. Tests of reading ability,…

  2. Examining the Effect of Computer-Based Passage Presentation on Reading Test Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Higgins, Jennifer; Russell, Michael; Hoffmann, Thomas

    2005-01-01

    To examine the impact of transitioning 4th grade reading comprehension assessments to the computer, 219 fourth graders were randomly assigned to take a one-hour reading comprehension assessment on paper, on a computer using scrolling text to navigate through passages, or on a computer using paging text to navigate through passages. This study…

  3. Etiology of Reading Difficulties as a Function of Gender and Severity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawke, Jesse L.; Wadsworth, Sally J.; Olson, Richard K.; DeFries, John C.

    2007-01-01

    To test the hypothesis that the etiology of reading difficulties may differ for males and females in more severely impaired samples, reading performance data from monozygotic (MZ), same-sex dizygotic (DZ[subscript ss]), and opposite-sex dizygotic (DZ[subscript os]) twin pairs were analyzed using a model-fitting implementation of the DeFries-Fulker…

  4. Project Magnify: Increasing Reading Skills in Students with Low Vision

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farmer, Jeanie; Morse, Stephen E.

    2007-01-01

    Modeled after Project PAVE (Corn et al., 2003) in Tennessee, Project Magnify is designed to test the idea that students with low vision who use individually prescribed magnification devices for reading will perform as well as or better than students with low vision who use large-print reading materials. Sixteen students with low vision were…

  5. Preliteracy signatures of poor-reading abilities in resting-state EEG

    PubMed Central

    Schiavone, Giuseppina; Linkenkaer-Hansen, Klaus; Maurits, Natasha M.; Plakas, Anna; Maassen, Ben A. M.; Mansvelder, Huibert D.; van der Leij, Aryan; van Zuijen, Titia L.

    2014-01-01

    The hereditary character of dyslexia suggests the presence of putative underlying neural anomalies already in preliterate age. Here, we investigated whether early neurophysiological correlates of future reading difficulties—a hallmark of dyslexia—could be identified in the resting-state EEG of preliterate children. The children in this study were recruited at birth and classified on the basis of parents' performance on reading tests to be at-risk of becoming poor readers (n = 48) or not (n = 14). Eyes-open rest EEG was measured at the age of 3 years, and the at-risk children were divided into fluent readers (n = 24) and non-fluent readers (n = 24) after reading assessment at their third grade of school. We found that fluent readers and non-fluent readers differed in normalized spectral amplitude. Non-fluent readers were characterized by lower amplitude in the delta-1 frequency band (0.5–2 Hz) and higher amplitude in the alpha-1 band (6–8 Hz) in multiple scalp regions compared to control and at-risk fluent readers. Interestingly, across groups these EEG biomarkers correlated with several behavioral test scores measured in the third grade. Specifically, the performance on reading fluency, phonological and orthographic tasks and rapid automatized naming task correlated positively with delta-1 and negatively with alpha-1. Together, our results suggest that combining family-risk status, neurophysiological testing and behavioral test scores in a longitudinal setting may help uncover physiological mechanisms implicated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as the predisposition to reading disabilities. PMID:25285075

  6. Quality, and not just quantity, of education accounts for differences in psychometric performance between african americans and white non-hispanics with Alzheimer's disease.

    PubMed

    Chin, Alexander L; Negash, Selam; Xie, Sharon; Arnold, Steven E; Hamilton, Roy

    2012-03-01

    The effect of race on cognitive test performance in the evaluation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains controversial. One factor that may contribute substantially to differences in cognitive test performance in diverse populations is education. The current study examined the extent to which quality of education, even after controlling for formal years of education, accounts for differences in cognitive performance between African Americans and White Non-Hispanics (WNHs). The retrospective cohort included 244 patients diagnosed with AD who self-identified as African Americans (n = 51) or WNHs (n = 193). The Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR) was used as an estimate of quality of education. In an analysis that controlled for traditional demographics, including age, sex, and years of formal education, African Americans scored significantly lower than WNHs on the Mini-Mental State Examination, as well as on neuropsychological tests of memory, attention, and language. However, after also adjusting for reading level, all previously observed differences were significantly attenuated. The attenuating effect remained even after controlling for disease severity, indicating that reading scores are not confounded by severity of dementia. These findings suggest that quality, and not just quantity, of education needs to be taken into account when assessing cognitive performance in African Americans with AD.

  7. Do Major Field of Study and Cultural Familiarity Affect TOEFL[R] iBT Reading Performance? A Confirmatory Approach to Differential Item Functioning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Ou Lydia

    2011-01-01

    The TOEFL[R] iBT has increased the length of each reading passage to better approximate academic reading at North American universities, resulting in a reduction in the number of passages on the reading section of the test. One of the concerns brought about by this change is whether the decrease in topic variety increases the likelihood that an…

  8. Relationship between central auditory processing and reading skills: preliminary observations in Hebrew speaking children.

    PubMed

    Cohen-Mimran, Ravit; Sapir, Shimon

    2008-01-01

    To assess the relationships between central auditory processing (CAP) of sinusoidally modulated speech-like and non-speech acoustic signals and reading skills in shallow (pointed) and deep (unpointed) Hebrew orthographies. Twenty unselected fifth-grade Hebrew speakers performed a rate change detection (RCD) task using the aforementioned acoustic signals. They also performed reading and general ability (IQ) tests. After controlling for general ability, RCD tasks contributed a significant unique variance to the decoding skills. In addition, there was a fairly strong correlation between the score on the RCD with the speech-like stimuli and the unpointed text reading score. CAP abilities may affect reading skills, depending on the nature of orthography (deep vs shallow), at least in the Hebrew language.

  9. Reading in Subjects with an Oral Cleft: Speech, Hearing and Neuropsychological Skills

    PubMed Central

    Conrad, Amy L.; McCoy, Thomasin E.; DeVolder, Ian; Richman, Lynn C.; Nopoulos, Peg

    2014-01-01

    Objective Evaluate speech, hearing, and neuropsychological correlates to reading among children, adolescents and young adults with non-syndromic cleft of the lip and/or palate (NSCL/P). Method All testing was completed in one visit at a Midwestern university hospital. Subjects in both the NSCL/P (n = 80) and control group (n = 62) ranged in age from 7 to 26 years (average age = 17.60 and 17.66, respectively). Subjects completed a battery of standardized tests evaluating intelligence, neuropsychological skills, and word reading. Subjects with NSCL/P also underwent speech assessment and past audiology records were evaluated. Results After controlling for age and SES, subjects with cleft performed significantly worse on a test of word reading. For subjects with cleft, word reading deficits were not associated with measures of speech or hearing, but were correlated with impairments in auditory memory. Conclusions These findings show poorer reading among subjects with NCL/P compared to those without. Further work needs to focus on correlates of reading among subjects with cleft to allow early identification and appropriate intervention/accommodation for those at risk. PMID:24188114

  10. Can the individual calibration be modified when laser fluorescence method is used for caries detection?

    PubMed

    Reyes, Alessandra; Ferreira, Gisele E; Santos, Joyce; Mendes, Fausto M; Imparato, Jose C P; Braga, Mariana M

    2013-03-01

    Individual calibration (IC) for caries detection methods based on fluorescence is time-consuming, especially for paediatric dentists, if the calibration has to be performed tooth-by-tooth. However, it is not clear how this calibration actually interfere in laser fluorescence (LF) readings. This in vivo study was to verify the influence of different modes of IC on laser fluorescence (LF) readings. Ninety six occlusal and 95 buccal surfaces of 1st permanent molars were examined using LF device after IC performed on control (no IC), the examined teeth, a permanent incisor, a 1st primary molar or a 2nd primary molar. All modes of IC were performed in the same child. Wilcoxon test and Bland-Altman analysis were used to compare the readings. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated. Laser fluorescence readings without prior calibration were higher than readings performed after any mode of IC and resulted in different values of ICC. After other IC modes, the LF readings were statistically similar. The absence of IC influences LF readings and LF reproducibility, but different IC methods can be considered in clinical practice. © 2012 The Authors. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry © 2012 BSPD, IAPD and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  11. Subtitle-Based Word Frequencies as the Best Estimate of Reading Behavior: The Case of Greek

    PubMed Central

    Dimitropoulou, Maria; Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni; Avilés, Alberto; Corral, José; Carreiras, Manuel

    2010-01-01

    Previous evidence has shown that word frequencies calculated from corpora based on film and television subtitles can readily account for reading performance, since the language used in subtitles greatly approximates everyday language. The present study examines this issue in a society with increased exposure to subtitle reading. We compiled SUBTLEX-GR, a subtitled-based corpus consisting of more than 27 million Modern Greek words, and tested to what extent subtitle-based frequency estimates and those taken from a written corpus of Modern Greek account for the lexical decision performance of young Greek adults who are exposed to subtitle reading on a daily basis. Results showed that SUBTLEX-GR frequency estimates effectively accounted for participants’ reading performance in two different visual word recognition experiments. More importantly, different analyses showed that frequencies estimated from a subtitle corpus explained the obtained results significantly better than traditional frequencies derived from written corpora. PMID:21833273

  12. The Effect of Dioptric Blur on Reading Performance

    PubMed Central

    Chung, Susana T.L.; Jarvis, Samuel H.; Cheung, Sing-Hang

    2013-01-01

    Little is known about the systematic impact of blur on reading performance. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of dioptric blur on reading performance in a group of normally sighted young adults. We measured monocular reading performance and visual acuity for 19 observers with normal vision, for five levels of optical blur (no blur, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3D). Dioptric blur was induced using convex trial lenses placed in front of the testing eye, with the pupil dilated and in the presence of a 3 mm artificial pupil. Reading performance was assessed using eight versions of the MNREAD Acuity Chart. For each level of dioptric blur, observers read aloud sentences on one of these charts, from large to small print. Reading time for each sentence and the number of errors made were recorded and converted to reading speed in words per minute. Visual acuity was measured using 4-orientation Landolt C stimuli. For all levels of dioptric blur, reading speed increased with print size up to a certain print size and then remained constant at the maximum reading speed. By fitting nonlinear mixed-effects models, we found that the maximum reading speed was minimally affected by blur up to 2D, but was ~23% slower for 3D of blur. When the amount of blur increased from 0 (no-blur) to 3D, the threshold print size (print size corresponded to 80% of the maximum reading speed) increased from 0.01 to 0.88 logMAR, reading acuity worsened from −0.16 to 0.58 logMAR, and visual acuity worsened from −0.19 to 0.64 logMAR. The similar rates of change with blur for threshold print size, reading acuity and visual acuity implicates that visual acuity is a good predictor of threshold print size and reading acuity. Like visual acuity, reading performance is susceptible to the degrading effect of optical blur. For increasing amount of blur, larger print sizes are required to attain the maximum reading speed. PMID:17442363

  13. A Comparison of Children's Ability to Read Children's and Adults' Mental States in an Adaptation of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task

    PubMed Central

    van der Meulen, Anna; Roerig, Simone; de Ruyter, Doret; van Lier, Pol; Krabbendam, Lydia

    2017-01-01

    The ability to read mental states from subtle facial cues is an important part of Theory of Mind, which can contribute to children's daily life social functioning. Mental state reading performance is influenced by the specific interactions in which it is applied; familiarity with characteristics of these interactions (such as the person) can enhance performance. The aim of this research is to gain insight in this context effect for mental state reading in children, assessed with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME) task that originally consists of pictures of adults' eyes. Because of differences between children and adults in roles, development and frequency of interaction, children are more familiar with mental state reading of other children. It can therefore be expected that children's mental state reading depends on whether this is assessed with children's or adults' eyes. A new 14 item version of the RME for children was constructed with pictures of children instead of adults (study 1). This task was used and compared to the original child RME in 6–10 year olds (N = 718, study 2) and 8–14 year olds (N = 182, study 3). Children in both groups performed better on the new RME than on the original RME. Item level findings of the new RME were in line with previous findings on the task and test re-test reliability (in a subgroup of older children, n = 95) was adequate (0.47). This suggests that the RME with children's eyes can assess children's daily life mental state reading and supplement existing ToM tasks. PMID:28491043

  14. The woodcock reading mastery test: impact of normative changes.

    PubMed

    Pae, Hye Kyeong; Wise, Justin C; Cirino, Paul T; Sevcik, Rose A; Lovett, Maureen W; Wolf, Maryanne; Morris, Robin D

    2005-09-01

    This study examined the magnitude of differences in standard scores, convergent validity, and concurrent validity when an individual's performance was gauged using the revised and the normative update (Woodcock, 1998) editions of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test in which the actual test items remained identical but norms have been updated. From three metropolitan areas, 899 first to third grade students referred by their teachers for a reading intervention program participated. Results showed the inverse Flynn effect, indicating systematic inflation averaging 5 to 9 standard score points, regardless of gender, IQ, city site, or ethnicity, when calculated using the updated norms. Inflation was greater at lower raw score levels. Implications for using the updated norms for identifying children with reading disabilities and changing norms during an ongoing study are discussed.

  15. Metacognitive reading strategies of children with learning disabilities.

    PubMed

    Nicolielo-Carrilho, Ana Paola; Hage, Simone Rocha de Vasconcellos

    2017-05-15

    to check the use of metacognitive reading strategies in children with learning disabilities and determine whether there is a relationship between their use and text comprehension. the study was conducted on 30 children, aged 8 to 12 years, of both genders, divided into experimental group (EG) - 15 children with learning disabilities; and control group (CG) - 15 children without disability. All children were submitted to the Reading Strategies Scale and Prolec text comprehension subtest. The sample was described in mean, median, minimum and maximum values. Comparative analysis was performed between the groups using the Mann-Whitney test. The degree of correlation between variables was verified by Spearman Correlation Analysis. The significance level was set at 5%. across the total scores of the scale, EG performance was lower in all descriptive measures, with a significant difference compared to CG. The EG achieved a performance close to children without difficulties only in global strategies. The correlation between the use of metacognitive strategies and reading comprehension was positive. children with learning disabilities showed deficits in the use of metacognitive reading strategies when compared to children without learning disabilities. The better the performance in reading strategies, the better textual comprehension was and vice versa, suggesting that metacognitive reading skills contribute to reading comprehension.

  16. Predicting Math Outcomes from a Reading Screening Assessment in Grades 3-8. REL 2016-180

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Truckenmiller, Adrea J.; Petscher, Yaacov; Gaughan, Linda; Dwyer, Ted

    2016-01-01

    District and state education leaders frequently use screening assessments to identify students who are at risk of performing poorly on end-of-year achievement tests. This study examines the use of a universal screening assessment of reading skills for early identification of students at risk of low achievement on nationally normed tests of reading…

  17. Reading and Test Taking in College English as a Second Language Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hendricks, Kaitlin

    2013-01-01

    Throughout the United States the number of students who speak English as a second language (ESL) enrolled in United States colleges and universities has been increasing steadily over the past 20 years. ESL students may be considered an at-risk group for performance on reading comprehension portions of classroom and high stakes tests (HST) like the…

  18. Does Prior Knowledge Affect College Students' Performance on a State Developed Reading Competency Test?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feeley, Joan T.; Wepner, Shelley B.

    Using 33 college freshmen enrolled in a basic reading skills course as subjects, a study was conducted for two purposes: (1) to determine the effects of direct exposure to the topics of the selections in the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT) on their posttest scores, and (2) to investigate whether students exposed to the…

  19. Distribution of Reading Time When Questions are Asked about a Restricted Category of Text Information.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reynolds, Ralph E.; And Others

    1979-01-01

    College students read a text either with or without inserted questions. Question groups performed better, relative to controls, on post-test items that repeated inserted questions, and on new post-test items from the same categories as the inserted questions. A selective attention interpretation of the effect of inserted questions was made.…

  20. Vision and academic performance of learning disabled children.

    PubMed

    Wharry, R E; Kirkpatrick, S W

    1986-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess difference in academic performance among myopic, hyperopic, and emmetropic children who were learning disabled. More specifically, myopic children were expected to perform better on mathematical and spatial tasks than would hyperopic ones and that hyperopic and emmetropic children would perform better on verbal measures than would myopic ones. For 439 learning disabled students visual anomalies were determined via a Generated Retinal Reflex Image Screening System. Test data were obtained from school files. Partial support for the hypothesis was obtained. Myopic learning disabled children outperformed hyperopic and emmetropic children on the Key Math test. Myopic children scored better than hyperopic children on the WRAT Reading subtest and on the Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty Oral Reading Comprehension, Oral Rate, Flashword, and Spelling subtests, and on the Key Math Measurement and Total Scores. Severity of refractive error significantly affected the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised Full Scale, Performance Scale, Verbal Scale, and Digit Span scores but did not affect any academic test scores. Several other findings were also reported. Those with nonametropic problems scored higher than those without problems on the Key Math Time subtest. Implications supportive of the theories of Benbow and Benbow and Geschwind and Behan were stated.

  1. A test of the cerebellar hypothesis of dyslexia in adequate and inadequate responders to reading intervention.

    PubMed

    Barth, Amy E; Denton, Carolyn A; Stuebing, Karla K; Fletcher, Jack M; Cirino, Paul T; Francis, David J; Vaughn, Sharon

    2010-05-01

    The cerebellar hypothesis of dyslexia posits that cerebellar deficits are associated with reading disabilities and may explain why some individuals with reading disabilities fail to respond to reading interventions. We tested these hypotheses in a sample of children who participated in a grade 1 reading intervention study (n = 174) and a group of typically achieving children (n = 62). At posttest, children were classified as adequately responding to the intervention (n = 82), inadequately responding with decoding and fluency deficits (n = 36), or inadequately responding with only fluency deficits (n = 56). Based on the Bead Threading and Postural Stability subtests from the Dyslexia Screening Test-Junior, we found little evidence that assessments of cerebellar functions were associated with academic performance or responder status. In addition, we did not find evidence supporting the hypothesis that cerebellar deficits are more prominent for poor readers with "specific" reading disabilities (i.e., with discrepancies relative to IQ) than for poor readers with reading scores consistent with IQ. In contrast, measures of phonological awareness, rapid naming, and vocabulary were strongly associated with responder status and academic outcomes. These results add to accumulating evidence that fails to associate cerebellar functions with reading difficulties.

  2. Cognitive factors contributing to spelling performance in children with prenatal alcohol exposure.

    PubMed

    Glass, Leila; Graham, Diana M; Akshoomoff, Natacha; Mattson, Sarah N

    2015-11-01

    Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with impaired school functioning. Spelling performance has not been comprehensively evaluated. We examined whether children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure demonstrate deficits in spelling and related abilities, including reading, and tested whether there are unique underlying mechanisms for observed deficits in this population. Ninety-six school-age children made up 2 groups: children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (AE, n = 49) and control children (CON, n = 47). Children completed select subtests from the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition and the NEPSY-II. Group differences and relations between spelling and theoretically related cognitive variables were evaluated using multivariate analysis of variance and Pearson correlations. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to assess contributions of group membership and cognitive variables to spelling performance. The specificity of these deficits and underlying mechanisms was tested by examining the relations between reading ability, group membership, and cognitive variables. Groups differed significantly on all variables. Group membership and phonological processing significantly contributed to spelling performance, whereas for reading, group membership and all cognitive variables contributed significantly. For both reading and spelling, group × working memory interactions revealed that working memory contributed independently only for alcohol-exposed children. Alcohol-exposed children demonstrated a unique pattern of spelling deficits. The relation of working memory to spelling and reading was specific to the AE group, suggesting that if prenatal alcohol exposure is known or suspected, working memory ability should be considered in the development and implementation of explicit instruction. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Evaluation of the Commercial, Off-the-Shelf (COTS) King-Devick Eye Tracking System

    DTIC Science & Technology

    duty decisions. The current literature suggests that the King Devick (KD) number reading test is a sensitive screener for concussion sustained during...sports activities. The KD test involves timing an individual reading aloud 120 single digit numbers, without error, printed on three standard cards...timing is performed with a stopwatch. The extensive literature commonly describes the KD test as revealing the disruption of eye movements that could be

  4. Predicting the reading skill of Japanese children.

    PubMed

    Ogino, Tatsuya; Hanafusa, Kaoru; Morooka, Teruko; Takeuchi, Akihito; Oka, Makio; Ohtsuka, Yoko

    2017-02-01

    To clarify cognitive processes underlining the development of reading in children speaking Japanese as their first language, we examined relationships between performances of cognitive tasks in the preschool period and later reading abilities. Ninety-one normally developing preschoolers (41 girls and 50 boys; 5years 4months to 6years 4months, mean 5years 10months) participated as subjects. We conducted seven cognitive tasks including phonological awareness tasks, naming tasks, and working memory tasks in the preschool period. In terms of reading tasks, the hiragana naming task was administered in the preschool period; the reading times, which is a composite score of the monomoraic syllable reading task, the word and the non-word reading tasks, and the single sentence reading task, was evaluated in first and second grade; and the kanji reading task (naming task) was tested in second grade. Raven's colored progressive matrices and picture vocabulary test revised were also conducted in first grade. Correlation analyses between task scores and stepwise multiple regression analyses were implemented. Tasks tapping phonological awareness, lexical access, and verbal working memory showed significant correlations with reading tasks. In the multiple regression analyses the performances in the verbal working memory task played a key role in predicting character naming task scores (the hiragana naming task and the kanji reading task) while the digit naming task was an important predictor of reading times. Unexpectedly, the role of phonological (mora) awareness was modest among children speaking Japanese. Cognitive functions including phonological awareness, digit naming, and verbal working memory (especially the latter two) were involved in the development of reading skills of children speaking Japanese. Copyright © 2016 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Toward an Executive Origin for Acquired Phonological Dyslexia: A Case of Specific Deficit of Context-Sensitive Grapheme-to-Phoneme Conversion Rules

    PubMed Central

    Auclair-Ouellet, Noémie; Fossard, Marion; St-Pierre, Marie-Catherine; Macoir, Joël

    2013-01-01

    Phonological dyslexia is a written language disorder characterized by poor reading of nonwords when compared with relatively preserved ability in reading real words. In this study, we report the case of FG, a 74-year-old man with phonological dyslexia. The nature and origin of his reading impairment were assessed using tasks involving activation and explicit manipulation of phonological representations as well as reading of words and nonwords in which the nature and complexity of grapheme-to-phoneme conversion rules (GPC rules) were manipulated. FG also underwent an extensive neuropsychological assessment battery in which he showed impaired performance in tests exploring verbal working memory and executive functions. FG showed no phonological impairment, and his performance was also largely unimpaired for reading words, with no effect of concreteness, grammatical class, morphological complexity, length or nature and complexity of the GPC rules. However, he showed substantial difficulties when asked to read nonwords with contextual GPC rules. The contribution of FG’s executive deficits to his performance in reading is discussed. PMID:22713417

  6. The impact of low-level lead toxicity on school performance among children in the Chicago Public Schools: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

    PubMed

    Evens, Anne; Hryhorczuk, Daniel; Lanphear, Bruce P; Rankin, Kristin M; Lewis, Dan A; Forst, Linda; Rosenberg, Deborah

    2015-04-07

    Environmental lead exposure poses a risk to educational performance, especially among poor, urban children. Previous studies found low-level lead exposure was a risk factor for diminished academic abilities, however, this study is distinct because of the very large sample size and because it controlled for very low birth weight and early preterm birth-two factors closely associated with lower academic performance. In this study we examined the association between lead concentration in whole blood (B-Pb) of Chicago Public School (CPS) children and their performance on the 3(rd) grade Illinois Standard Achievement Tests (ISAT) reading and math scores. We examined 58,650 children born in Chicago between 1994 and 1998 who were tested for blood lead concentration between birth and 2006 and enrolled in the 3(rd) grade at a CPS school between 2003 and 2006. We linked the Chicago birth registry, the Chicago Blood Lead Registry, and 3(rd) grade ISAT scores to examine associations between B-Pb and school performance. After adjusting for other predictors of school performance including poverty, race/ethnicity, gender, maternal education and very low birth weight or preterm-birth, we found that B-Pbs below 10 μg/dL were inversely associated with reading and math scores in 3(rd) grade children. For a 5 μg/dL increase in B-Pb, the risk of failing increased by 32% for reading (RR = 1.32, 95%CI = 1.26, 1.39) and math (RR = 1.32, 95%CI = 1.26, 1.39). The effect of lead on reading was non-linear with steeper failure rates at lower B-Pbs. We estimated that 13% of reading failure and 14.8% of math failure can be attributed to exposure to blood lead concentrations of 5 to 9 vs. 0 to 4 μg/dL in Chicago school children. Early childhood lead exposure is associated with poorer achievement on standardized reading and math tests in the third grade, even at very low B-Pbs. Preventing lead exposure in early childhood is critical to improving school performance.

  7. Using Eye Tracking to Investigate Semantic and Spatial Representations of Scientific Diagrams During Text-Diagram Integration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jian, Yu-Cin; Wu, Chao-Jung

    2015-02-01

    We investigated strategies used by readers when reading a science article with a diagram and assessed whether semantic and spatial representations were constructed while reading the diagram. Seventy-one undergraduate participants read a scientific article while tracking their eye movements and then completed a reading comprehension test. Our results showed that the text-diagram referencing strategy was commonly used. However, some readers adopted other reading strategies, such as reading the diagram or text first. We found all readers who had referred to the diagram spent roughly the same amount of time reading and performed equally well. However, some participants who ignored the diagram performed more poorly on questions that tested understanding of basic facts. This result indicates that dual coding theory may be a possible theory to explain the phenomenon. Eye movement patterns indicated that at least some readers had extracted semantic information of the scientific terms when first looking at the diagram. Readers who read the scientific terms on the diagram first tended to spend less time looking at the same terms in the text, which they read after. Besides, presented clear diagrams can help readers process both semantic and spatial information, thereby facilitating an overall understanding of the article. In addition, although text-first and diagram-first readers spent similar total reading time on the text and diagram parts of the article, respectively, text-first readers had significantly less number of saccades of text and diagram than diagram-first readers. This result might be explained as text-directed reading.

  8. The influence of morphological awareness on reading and writing: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Silva, Ainoã Athaide Macedo; Martins-Reis, Vanessa de Oliveira

    2017-02-16

    this study aimed to perform a systematic review of national and international studies about the relationship between morphological awareness, reading/writing, reading comprehension, and spelling. a search for national and international literature was carried out using databases Medline (via PubMed) and Portal de Periódicos da Capes (Eric, PsycINFO, LILACS, SciELO) from August to September 2015. the inclusion criteria were: studies that answered the guiding question and addressed the subject matter established by the descriptors and keywords. Studies with animals, laboratories, opinion/expert pieces, case series, case reports and review studies were excluded. the following markers were considered: type and objective of the study, the skills related to morphological awareness (reading, writing, reading comprehension and spelling), tests performed, and their main results. the search carried out in the pre-established databases with descriptors and free terms resulted in 203 articles. The search in PubMed resulted in 81 studies, and in Portal de Periódicos Capes, 122. Of the total, 154 were excluded according to the title and abstract, whereas 39 were excluded upon reading the full text. This allowed for the analysis of 10 articles. children with better scores in the morphological awareness test show better results in reading and writing across all school grades.

  9. Differences in Low and High Working-Memory Capacity Readers' Cognitive and Metacognitive Processing Patterns as a Function of Reading for Different Purposes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Linderholm, Tracy; Cong, Xiaosi; Zhao, Qin

    2008-01-01

    Differences in cognitive and metacognitive processing patterns as a function of working-memory capacity and reading for different purposes were examined in college-aged readers by collecting reading times and calculating absolute monitoring accuracy, which is the difference between estimated and actual comprehension test performance. Readers read…

  10. The Influence of Properties of the Test and Their Interactions with Reader Characteristics on Reading Comprehension: An Explanatory Item Response Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kulesz, Paulina A.; Francis, David J.; Barnes, Marcia A.; Fletcher, Jack M.

    2016-01-01

    Component skills and discourse frameworks of reading have identified characteristics of readers and texts that influence comprehension. However, these 2 frameworks have not previously been integrated in a comprehensive and systematic way to explain performance on any standardized assessment of reading comprehension that is in widespread use across…

  11. The Effects of Choice on Reading Engagement and Comprehension for Second- and Third-Grade Students: An Action Research Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fraumeni-McBride, Julie P.

    2017-01-01

    Poor literacy rates contribute to low school performance for children across America. In particular, low-income schools continue to struggle with declining literacy rates. Issues with literacy are often attributed to lack of reading comprehension. This study tested the effects of choice on reading comprehension in second- and third-grade students…

  12. The Relationship between the Amount of Extensive Reading and the Writing Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sakurai, Nobuko

    2017-01-01

    This paper explored the effects of the amount of extensive reading (ER) on writing ability. Participants were 157 first and second-year non-English majors at a private university in Japan who took a writing test in class. Some of them were reading extensively, while others had no experience in ER. The outcomes of Pearson's correlation indicated…

  13. School Factors Related to Reading Achievement in Rural Schools with and without High Poverty

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Seth W.

    2013-01-01

    This quantitative study identified how rural schools differ on five school-level factors related to student achievement according to their performance on Grade 3 reading. Through use of a MANOVA test, it was shown that principals of high-poverty rural schools that made AYP in Grade 3 reading reported significantly higher levels of guaranteed and…

  14. Competency in Teaching Reading of Fieldbased and On-Campus Students at Cleveland State University.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boehnlein, Mary Maher; Gans, Thomas G.

    The purpose of this study was to determine if students in a field-based program performed significantly better on a test of ability to assess and to teach specific reading skills than students enrolled in on-campus reading methods courses which employed the same textual materials and different amounts of field experiences with children. The…

  15. Using Curriculum Based Measures To Identify and Monitor Progress in an Adult Basic Education Program. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bean, Rita M.; And Others

    The purpose of a project was to develop and test curriculum-based procedures and measures to monitor and assess the reading and writing progress of adults in a basic education program. The most efficient, reliable, and feasible measure of reading performance from beginning reading level through eighth-grade level was the repeated oral reading…

  16. Integration of Reading and Writing Strategies in Primary Level Special Education Resource Students To Improve Reading Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Kathy S.

    A program was developed for improving the reading level of primary special education resource students in a progressive suburban community in the midwest. The problem was originally noted by an increase in the need for support services and low standardized test scores. Analysis of probable cause data revealed that students lacked knowledge of the…

  17. Differences between the Relationship of L1 Learners' Performance in Integrated Writing with Both Independent Listening and Independent Reading Cognitive Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cheong, Choo Mui; Zhu, Xinhua; Liao, Xian

    2018-01-01

    In recent decades, integrated language competence has been highlighted in the language curricula taught in schools and institutions, and the relationship between test-takers' performance on integrated tasks and comprehension sources has been much studied. The current study employed the frameworks of reading and listening comprehension processes to…

  18. "When Do We Get to Read?" Reading Instruction and Literacy Coaching in a "Failed" Urban Elementary School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pomerantz, Francesca; Pierce, Michelle

    2013-01-01

    From 2005-2009, the state determined that the Williams School had made no progress in raising its poor performance on the state English language arts test. In the fall of 2009, the state awarded literacy partnership grants to provide professional development to low-performing schools, and the Williams School partnered with our institution of…

  19. Rapid Automatized Naming, Verbal Working Memory, and Rhythm Discrimination as Predictors of Reading in Italian Undergraduate Students with and without Dyslexia.

    PubMed

    Cancer, Alice; Antonietti, Alessandro

    2018-05-13

    Whereas the clinical manifestations and the neuropsychological predictors of Developmental Dyslexia (DD) are already well documented in Italian-speaking children, empirical evidence on DD in Italian adults is in contrast rather scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of a subset of neuropsychological skills, which have been identified by previous literature to be related to reading, in the decoding abilities of a group of Italian undergraduates with and without DD. For this purpose, 39 university students aged between 19 and 27 years, 19 of whom with a diagnosis of DD, underwent an assessment battery including standardized reading tests, rapid automatized naming (RAN), verbal working memory, and rhythmic pattern discrimination tests. Cross-group differences confirmed significantly lower performances of undergraduates with DD in all measures but rhythm discrimination, compared to typical readers, thus showing a non-compensated neuropsychological profile. Regression analyses showed that, while reading speed was strongly and uniquely predicted by RAN speed, reading accuracy was concurrently predicted by RAN and rhythmic abilities. Finally, RAN speed emerged as a strong predictor of reading performance and risk of receiving a diagnosis of DD.

  20. The attentional blink in typically developing and reading-disabled children.

    PubMed

    de Groot, Barry J A; van den Bos, Kees P; van der Meulen, Bieuwe F; Minnaert, Alexander E M G

    2015-11-01

    This study's research question was whether selective visual attention, and specifically the attentional blink (AB) as operationalized by a dual target rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task, can explain individual differences in word reading (WR) and reading-related phonological performances in typically developing children and reading-disabled subgroups. A total of 407 Dutch school children (Grades 3-6) were classified either as typically developing (n = 302) or as belonging to one of three reading-disabled subgroups: reading disabilities only (RD-only, n = 69), both RD and attention problems (RD+ADHD, n = 16), or both RD and a specific language impairment (RD+SLI, n = 20). The RSVP task employed alphanumeric stimuli that were presented in two blocks. Standardized Dutch tests were used to measure WR, phonemic awareness (PA), and alphanumeric rapid naming (RAN). Results indicate that, controlling for PA and RAN performance, general RSVP task performance contributes significant unique variance to the prediction of WR. Specifically, consistent group main effects for the parameter of AB(minimum) were found, whereas there were no AB-specific effects (i.e., AB(width) and AB(amplitude)) except for the RD+SLI group. Finally, there was a group by measurement interaction, indicating that the RD-only and comorbid groups are differentially sensitive for prolonged testing sessions. These results suggest that more general factors involved in RSVP processing may explain the group differences found. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Foetal growth restriction is associated with poor reading and spelling skills at eight years to 10 years of age.

    PubMed

    Partanen, Lea; Korkalainen, Noora; Mäkikallio, Kaarin; Olsén, Päivi; Laukkanen-Nevala, Päivi; Yliherva, Anneli

    2018-01-01

    Foetal growth restriction (FGR) is associated with communication problems, which might lead to poor literacy skills. The reading and spelling skills of eight- to 10-year-old FGR children born at 24-40 gestational weeks were compared with those of their gestational age-matched, appropriately grown (AGA) peers. A prospectively collected cohort of 37 FGR and 31 AGA children was recruited prenatally at a Finnish tertiary care centre during 1998-2001. The children's reading and spelling skills were assessed using standardised tests for Finnish-speaking second and third graders. Significantly more children performed below the 10th percentile normal values for reading and spelling skills in the FGR group than in the AGA group. At nine years of age, the FGR children had significantly poorer performance in word reading skills and reading fluency, reading accuracy and reading comprehension than the AGA controls. No between-group differences were detected at eight years of age. FGR is associated with poor performance in reading and spelling skills. A third of the FGR children performed below the 10th percentile normal values at nine years of age. These results indicate a need to continuously evaluate linguistic and literacy skills as FGR children age to ensure optimal support. ©2017 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Does a single session of reading literary fiction prime enhanced mentalising performance? Four replication experiments of Kidd and Castano (2013).

    PubMed

    Samur, Dalya; Tops, Mattie; Koole, Sander L

    2018-02-01

    Prior experiments indicated that reading literary fiction improves mentalising performance relative to reading popular fiction, non-fiction, or not reading. However, the experiments had relatively small sample sizes and hence low statistical power. To address this limitation, the present authors conducted four high-powered replication experiments (combined N = 1006) testing the causal impact of reading literary fiction on mentalising. Relative to the original research, the present experiments used the same literary texts in the reading manipulation; the same mentalising task; and the same kind of participant samples. Moreover, one experiment was pre-registered as a direct replication. In none of the experiments did reading literary fiction have any effect on mentalising relative to control conditions. The results replicate earlier findings that familiarity with fiction is positively correlated with mentalising. Taken together, the present findings call into question whether a single session of reading fiction leads to immediate improvements in mentalising.

  3. Is testing a more effective learning strategy than note-taking?

    PubMed

    Rummer, Ralf; Schweppe, Judith; Gerst, Kathleen; Wagner, Simon

    2017-09-01

    The testing effect is both robust and generalizable. However, most of the underlying studies compare testing to a rather ineffective control condition: massed repeated reading. This article therefore compares testing with note-taking, which has been shown to be more effective than repeated reading. Experiment 1 is based on a 3 × 3 between-participants design with the factors learning condition (repeated reading vs. repeated testing vs. repeated note-taking) and final test delay (5 min vs. 1 week vs. 2 weeks). It shows that in the immediate condition, learning performance is best after note-taking. After 1 week, both the note-taking and the testing groups outperform the rereading group, and after 2 weeks, testing is superior to both note-taking and rereading. Since repeated notetaking may not be the most effective (and common) operationalization of note-taking, Experiment 2 contrasts repeated testing with 2 other note-taking conditions: note-taking plus note-reading and note-taking plus testing (with only a 2-week final test delay). Both conditions that include a testing phase result in better long-term learning than note-taking plus note-reading. In summary, our findings indicate that-in the long run-testing is a powerful learning tool both in isolation and in combination with note-taking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. The Fluidez en La Lectura Oral (FLO) Portion of the Indicadores Dinamicos De Exito en La Lectura (IDEL) and the English Language Portion of the Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): A Correlational Study of Second and Third Grade English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ganan, Brian J.

    2012-01-01

    This study examined the relationship between Spanish oral reading fluency (ORF) at the end of second grade and students' performance on the third grade ISAT reading test. The major research question guiding this study was: What is the direction and strength of the relationship between performance on the 2nd grade IDEL FLO, a Spanish language ORF…

  5. Clinical and microperimetric predictors of reading speed in low vision patients: a structural equation modeling approach.

    PubMed

    Giacomelli, Giovanni; Virgili, Gianni; Giansanti, Fabrizio; Sato, Giovanni; Cappello, Ezio; Cruciani, Filippo; Varano, Monica; Menchini, Ugo

    2013-06-27

    To investigate the simultaneous association of several psychophysical measures with reading ability in patients with mild and moderate low vision attending rehabilitation services. Standard measurements of reading ability (Minnesota Reading [MNREAD] charts), visual acuity (Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study [ETDRS] charts), contrast sensitivity (Pelli-Robson charts), reading contrast threshold (Reading Explorer [REX] charts), retinal sensitivity, and fixation stability and localization (Micro Perimeter 1 [MP1] fundus perimetry) were obtained in 160 low vision patients with better eye visual acuity ranging from 0.3 to 1.0 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution and affected by either age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy. All variables were moderately associated with reading performance measures (MNREAD reading speed and reading acuity and REX reading contrast threshold), as well as among each other. In a structural equation model, REX reading contrast threshold was highly associated with MNREAD reading speed (standardized coefficient, 0.63) and moderately associated with reading acuity (standardized coefficient, -0.30). REX test also mediated the effects of Pelli-Robson contrast sensitivity (standardized coefficient, 0.44), MP1 fixation eccentricity (standardized coefficient, -0.19), and the mean retinal sensitivity (standardized coefficient, 0.23) on reading performance. The MP1 fixation stability was associated with both MNREAD reading acuity (standardized coefficient, -0.24) and MNREAD reading speed (standardized coefficient, 0.23), while ETDRS visual acuity only affected reading acuity (standardized coefficient, 0.44). Fixation instability and contrast sensitivity loss are key factors limiting reading performance of patients with mild or moderate low vision. REX charts directly assess the impact of text contrast on letter recognition and text navigation and may be a useful aid in reading rehabilitation.

  6. Contrasting group analysis of Brazilian students with dyslexia and good readers using the computerized reading and writing assessment battery “BALE”

    PubMed Central

    Toledo Piza, Carolina M. J.; de Macedo, Elizeu C.; Miranda, Monica C.; Bueno, Orlando F. A.

    2014-01-01

    The analysis of cognitive processes underpinning reading and writing skills may help to distinguish different reading ability profiles. The present study used a Brazilian reading and writing battery to compare performance of students with dyslexia with two individually matched control groups: one contrasting on reading competence but not age and the other group contrasting on age but not reading competence. Participants were 28 individuals with dyslexia (19 boys) with a mean age of 9.82 (SD ± 1.44) drawn from public and private schools. These were matched to: (1) an age control group (AC) of 26 good readers with a mean age of 9.77 (SD ± 1.44) matched by age, sex, years of schooling, and type of school; (2) reading control group (RC) of 28 younger controls with a mean age of 7.82 (SD ± 1.06) matched by sex, type of school, and reading level. All groups were tested on four tasks from the Brazilian Reading and Writing Assessment battery (“BALE”): Written Sentence Comprehension Test (WSCT); Spoken Sentence Comprehension Test (OSCT); Picture-Print Writing Test (PPWT 1.1-Writing); and the Reading Competence Test (RCT). These tasks evaluate reading and listening comprehension for sentences, spelling, and reading isolated words and pseudowords (non-words). The dyslexia group scored lower and took longer to complete tasks than the AC group. Compared with the RC group, there were no differences in total scores on reading or oral comprehension tasks. However, dyslexics presented slower reading speeds, longer completion times, and lower scores on spelling tasks, even compared with younger controls. Analysis of types of errors on word and pseudoword reading items showed students with dyslexia scoring lower for pseudoword reading than the other two groups. These findings suggest that the dyslexics overall scores were similar to those of younger readers. However, specific phonological and visual decoding deficits showed that the two groups differ in terms of underpinning reading strategies. PMID:25132829

  7. Evening electronic device use: The effects on alertness, sleep and next-day physical performance in athletes.

    PubMed

    Jones, Maddison J; Peeling, Peter; Dawson, Brian; Halson, Shona; Miller, Joanna; Dunican, Ian; Clarke, Michael; Goodman, Carmel; Eastwood, Peter

    2018-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of different types of tasks performed with or without an electronic device (tablet) on pre-sleep alertness, subsequent sleep quality and next-day athletic performance. Eight highly trained netball players attended a sleep laboratory for pre-sleep testing, polysomnographic sleep monitoring and next-day physical performance testing on 5 separate occasions (1 familiarisation and 4 experimental sessions). For 2 h prior to bedtime, athletes completed cognitively stimulating tasks (puzzles) or passive tasks (reading) with or without a tablet. Sleepiness tended to be greater after reading compared to completing puzzles without a tablet (d = 0.80), but not with a tablet. Melatonin concentration increased more so after reading compared to completing puzzles on a tablet (P = 0.02). There were no significant differences in sleep quality or quantity or next-day athletic performance between any of the conditions. These data suggest that using a tablet for 2 h prior to sleep does not negatively affect subsequent sleep or next-day performance in athletes.

  8. The Influence of Testing Prompt and Condition on Middle School Students’ Retell Performance

    PubMed Central

    Reed, Deborah K.; Petscher, Yaacov

    2015-01-01

    This study examined whether the type of prompt or the method of passage reading had an effect on the retell performance of 6th–8th graders randomly assigned to one of four retell testing conditions. Both the type of prompt and the use of follow-up prompting were significantly related to the percentage of predetermined idea units retold. Effect sizes were approximately moderate (d = .44–.62) when one change was made to the prompt but were strong (d = .96–1.05) with a combination of changes. The addition of silent reading did not significantly improve performance. PMID:26366034

  9. Visual acuity and legal visual requirement to drive a passenger vehicle.

    PubMed

    Kiel, A W; Butler, T; Alwitry, A

    2003-07-01

    (1). To test the consistency and ease with which number-plates of different component figures can be read under DVLA driving test conditions; (2). to test the relative difficulty of reading corresponding figures on registration plates of white and yellow backgrounds.Design Prospective study of consecutive eligible clinic patients. Ophthalmology outpatients. 210 individuals with a corrected visual acuity with both eyes open of between 6/9 and 6/12. The ability to read three different number-plates under standard DVLA driving-test conditions (ie at 20.5 m in good daylight with glasses if worn) and the ability to read identical number-plates against a white and a yellow background. There is a significant difference between the ease with which three different number-plates can be read depending on their letter and numeral composition, although this did not seem to be significantly affected by whether they were printed on a yellow or white background. Only 92.3% of subjects could read all the number-plates at the legal distance, 96.7% could read at least one number-plate at the legal distance and 3.3% of the test subjects could not read any of the number-plates at 20.5 m. The current test protocol used to obtain a driving licence and, moreover, the test the police will employ to assess visual competence to drive, is highly variable and is unlikely to give consistent repeatable results. The performance of those with equally good visual acuity is unpredictable and is highly dependent on the number-plate they are asked to read. This variability could exclude some who would otherwise pass the test or pass an individual with a visual acuity below accepted standards. The forthcoming changes in the regulations for design of number-plates is an ideal opportunity to standardise the whole testing procedure for driving visual acuity.

  10. Assessing neglect dyslexia with compound words.

    PubMed

    Reinhart, Stefan; Schunck, Alexander; Schaadt, Anna Katharina; Adams, Michaela; Simon, Alexandra; Kerkhoff, Georg

    2016-10-01

    The neglect syndrome is frequently associated with neglect dyslexia (ND), which is characterized by omissions or misread initial letters of single words. ND is usually assessed with standardized reading texts in clinical settings. However, particularly in the chronic phase of ND, patients often report reading deficits in everyday situations but show (nearly) normal performances in test situations that are commonly well-structured. To date, sensitive and standardized tests to assess the severity and characteristics of ND are lacking, although reading is of high relevance for daily life and vocational settings. Several studies found modulating effects of different word features on ND. We combined those features in a novel test to enhance test sensitivity in the assessment of ND. Low-frequency words of different length that contain residual pronounceable words when the initial letter strings are neglected were selected. We compared these words in a group of 12 ND-patients suffering from right-hemispheric first-ever stroke with word stimuli containing no existing residual words. Finally, we tested whether the serially presented words are more sensitive for the diagnosis of ND than text reading. The severity of ND was modulated strongly by the ND-test words and error frequencies in single word reading of ND words were on average more than 10 times higher than in a standardized text reading test (19.8% vs. 1.8%). The novel ND-test maximizes the frequency of specific ND-errors and is therefore more sensitive for the assessment of ND than conventional text reading tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Reading the Mind in the Eyes or reading between the lines? Theory of Mind predicts collective intelligence equally well online and face-to-face.

    PubMed

    Engel, David; Woolley, Anita Williams; Jing, Lisa X; Chabris, Christopher F; Malone, Thomas W

    2014-01-01

    Recent research with face-to-face groups found that a measure of general group effectiveness (called "collective intelligence") predicted a group's performance on a wide range of different tasks. The same research also found that collective intelligence was correlated with the individual group members' ability to reason about the mental states of others (an ability called "Theory of Mind" or "ToM"). Since ToM was measured in this work by a test that requires participants to "read" the mental states of others from looking at their eyes (the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" test), it is uncertain whether the same results would emerge in online groups where these visual cues are not available. Here we find that: (1) a collective intelligence factor characterizes group performance approximately as well for online groups as for face-to-face groups; and (2) surprisingly, the ToM measure is equally predictive of collective intelligence in both face-to-face and online groups, even though the online groups communicate only via text and never see each other at all. This provides strong evidence that ToM abilities are just as important to group performance in online environments with limited nonverbal cues as they are face-to-face. It also suggests that the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test measures a deeper, domain-independent aspect of social reasoning, not merely the ability to recognize facial expressions of mental states.

  12. Phonological Awareness, Reading Skills, and Vocabulary Knowledge in Children Who Use Cochlear Implants

    PubMed Central

    Dillon, Caitlin M.; de Jong, Kenneth; Pisoni, David B.

    2012-01-01

    In hearing children, reading skills have been found to be closely related to phonological awareness. We used several standardized tests to investigate the reading and phonological awareness skills of 27 deaf school-age children who were experienced cochlear implant users. Approximately two-thirds of the children performed at or above the level of their hearing peers on the phonological awareness and reading tasks. Reading scores were found to be strongly correlated with measures of phonological awareness. These correlations remained the same when we statistically controlled for potentially confounding demographic variables such as age at testing and speech perception skills. However, these correlations decreased even after we statistically controlled for vocabulary size. This finding suggests that lexicon size is a mediating factor in the relationship between the children’s phonological awareness and reading skills, a finding that has also been reported for typically developing hearing children. PMID:22057983

  13. Predictors of Nursing Students' Performance in a One-Semester Organic and Biochemistry Course

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Lanen, Robert J.; Lockie, Nancy M.; McGannon, Thomas

    2000-06-01

    In an effort to empower nursing students to successfully persist in chemistry, predictors of success for undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a one-semester organic and biochemistry course were identified. The sample consisted of 308 undergraduate nursing students enrolled in Chemistry 108 (Principles of Organic and Biochemistry) during a period of seven semesters. In this study, Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a nonremedial academic support program offered for Chemistry 108 students. Placement tests in Mathematics, Reading, and English are required of all entering students. The English Placement Test assesses proficiency in analytical reading and writing; the Nelson Denny Reading Test (Form E) assesses the student's understanding of written vocabulary and the mastery of reading comprehension, and the Mathematics Placement Test measures the student's mastery of arithmetic and algebraic calculations. Both demographic and academic variables were examined. For the entire sample, five predictor variables were identified: Mathematics Placement Test score, Chemistry 107 grade (a prerequisite), total number of SI sessions attended, Nelson Denny Reading Test (Form E) score, and age. Predictors for various subpopulations of the sample were also identified. Predictors for students of traditional age were Mathematics Placement Test score, total number of SI sessions attended, and Chemistry 107 grade. The best predictors for continuing education students were Chemistry 107 grade and Nelson Denny Test score.

  14. Visual and binocular status in elementary school children with a reading problem.

    PubMed

    Christian, Lisa W; Nandakumar, Krithika; Hrynchak, Patricia K; Irving, Elizabeth L

    2017-11-21

    This descriptive study provides a summary of the binocular anomalies seen in elementary school children identified with reading problems. A retrospective chart review of all children identified with reading problems and seen by the University of Waterloo, Optometry Clinic, from September 2012 to June 2013. Files of 121 children (mean age 8.6 years, range 6-14 years) were reviewed. No significant refractive error was found in 81% of children. Five and 8 children were identified as strabismic at distance and near respectively. Phoria test revealed 90% and 65% of patients had normal distance and near phoria. Near point of convergencia (NPC) was <5cm in 68% of children, and 77% had stereoacuity of ≤40seconds of arc. More than 50% of the children had normal fusional vergence ranges except for near positive fusional vergencce (base out) break (46%). Tests for accommodation showed 91% of children were normal for binocular facility, and approximately 70% of children had an expected accuracy of accommodation. Findings indicate that some children with an identified reading problem also present with abnormal binocular test results compared to published normal values. Further investigation should be performed to investigate the relationship between binocular vision function and reading performance. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  15. Laboratory Evaluation of a Smartphone-Based Electronic Reader of Rapid Dual Point-of-Care Tests for Antibodies to Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Treponema pallidum Infections.

    PubMed

    Herbst de Cortina, Sasha; Bristow, Claire C; Humphries, Romney; Vargas, Silver Keith; Konda, Kelika A; Caceres, Carlos F; Klausner, Jeffrey D

    2017-07-01

    Dual point-of-care tests for antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Treponema pallidum allow for same-day testing and treatment and have been demonstrated to be cost-effective in preventing the adverse outcomes of HIV infection and syphilis. By recording and transmitting data as they are collected, electronic readers address challenges related to the decentralization of point-of-care testing. We evaluated a smartphone-based electronic reader using 201 sera tested with 2 dual rapid tests for detection of antibodies to HIV and T. pallidum in Los Angeles, USA, and Lima, Peru. Tests were read both visually and with the electronic reader. Enzyme immunoassay followed by Western blot and T. pallidum particle agglutination were the reference tests for HIV and T. pallidum, respectively. The sensitivities of the 2 rapid tests for detection of HIV were 94.1% and 97.0% for electronic readings. Both tests had a specificity of 100% for detection of HIV by electronic reading. The sensitivities of the 2 rapid tests for detection of T. pallidum were 86.5% and 92.4% for electronic readings. The specificities for detection of T. pallidum were 99.1% and 99.0% by electronic reading. There were no significant differences between the accuracies of visual and electronic readings, and the performance did not differ between the 2 study sites. Our results show the electronic reader to be a promising option for increasing the use of point-of-care testing programs.

  16. Cognitive-linguistic performances of multilingual university students suspected of dyslexia.

    PubMed

    Lindgrén, Signe-Anita; Laine, Matti

    2011-05-01

    High-performing adults with compensated dyslexia pose particular challenges to dyslexia diagnostics. We compared the performance of 20 multilingual Finnish university students with suspected dyslexia with 20 age-matched and education-matched controls on an extensive test battery. The battery tapped various aspects of reading, writing, word retrieval, phonological processing and other cognitive functions relevant for dyslexia. Reading and writing were examined in the two domestic languages, Swedish and Finnish. The most prominent group differences in reading and writing emerged on accuracy measures in both languages (reading text aloud, proofreading, writing to dictation, free writing). The dyslexia group also performed less well on speeded segmentation of written input, complex speeded naming and complex phoneme manipulation. The pattern of results fits the phonological deficit hypothesis of dyslexia and indicates the presence of pervasive underlying defects in compensated dyslexia. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Examining the Effectiveness and Validity of Glossary and Read-Aloud Accommodations for English Language Learners in a Math Assessment. CRESST Report 766

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolf, Mikyung Kim; Kim, Jinok; Kao, Jenny C.; Rivera, Nichole M.

    2009-01-01

    Glossary and reading aloud test items are often listed as allowed in many states' accommodation policies for ELL students, when taking states' large-scale mathematics assessments. However, little empirical research has been conducted on the effects of these two accommodations on ELL students' test performance. Furthermore, no research is available…

  18. The Impact of Academic Vocabulary Instruction on Reading Performance of Sophomore Students on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test from 2008 and 2009

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McMillen, Margaret

    2009-01-01

    This study investigated the change in sophomore reading scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test after the implementation of an academic vocabulary program and the change in teacher knowledge and professional practice after a program of staff development in academic vocabulary. The purpose was to determine if the impact of the…

  19. Impact of the Ability to Divide Attention on Reading Performance in Glaucoma.

    PubMed

    Swenor, Bonnielin K; Varadaraj, Varshini; Dave, Paulomi; West, Sheila K; Rubin, Gary S; Ramulu, Pradeep Y

    2017-05-01

    To determine if the ability to divide attention affects the relationship between glaucoma-related vision loss and reading speed. Better eye mean deviation (MD), contrast sensitivity (CS), and better-eye distance visual acuity (VA) were measured in 28 participants with glaucoma and 21 controls. Reading speeds were assessed using MNRead, IRest, and sustained silent reading tests (words per minute, wpm). The ability to divide attention was measured using the Brief Test of Attention (BTA; scored 0-10). Multivariable linear regression models were used to determine the relationship between visual factors and reading speeds. Effect modification by BTA score (low BTA: <7; high BTA: ≥7) was examined. Worse CS (per 0.1 log unit) was associated with slower maximum reading speed on MNRead test for participants with low BTA scores (β = -9 wpm; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -16, -2), but not for those with high BTA scores (β = -2 wpm; 95% CI: -6, +2). Similarly, for the IRest test, worse CS was associated with slower reading speeds (β = -12 wpm; 95% CI: -20, -4) among those with low, but not high BTA scores (β = -4 wpm; 95% CI: -10, +2). For the sustained silent reading test, glaucoma status (versus controls), worse visual field (VF) MD (per 5 dB), and worse CS were associated with 39%, 21%, and 19% slower reading speeds, respectively, for those with low BTA scores (P < 0.05), but these associations were not significant among those with high BTA scores (P > 0.1 for all). Decreased ability to divide attention, indicated by lower BTA scores, is associated with slower reading speeds in glaucoma with reduced CS and VF defects.

  20. Impact of the Ability to Divide Attention on Reading Performance in Glaucoma

    PubMed Central

    Swenor, Bonnielin K.; Varadaraj, Varshini; Dave, Paulomi; West, Sheila K.; Rubin, Gary S.; Ramulu, Pradeep Y.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose To determine if the ability to divide attention affects the relationship between glaucoma-related vision loss and reading speed. Methods Better eye mean deviation (MD), contrast sensitivity (CS), and better-eye distance visual acuity (VA) were measured in 28 participants with glaucoma and 21 controls. Reading speeds were assessed using MNRead, IRest, and sustained silent reading tests (words per minute, wpm). The ability to divide attention was measured using the Brief Test of Attention (BTA; scored 0–10). Multivariable linear regression models were used to determine the relationship between visual factors and reading speeds. Effect modification by BTA score (low BTA: <7; high BTA: ≥7) was examined. Results Worse CS (per 0.1 log unit) was associated with slower maximum reading speed on MNRead test for participants with low BTA scores (β = −9 wpm; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −16, −2), but not for those with high BTA scores (β = −2 wpm; 95% CI: −6, +2). Similarly, for the IRest test, worse CS was associated with slower reading speeds (β = −12 wpm; 95% CI: −20, −4) among those with low, but not high BTA scores (β = −4 wpm; 95% CI: −10, +2). For the sustained silent reading test, glaucoma status (versus controls), worse visual field (VF) MD (per 5 dB), and worse CS were associated with 39%, 21%, and 19% slower reading speeds, respectively, for those with low BTA scores (P < 0.05), but these associations were not significant among those with high BTA scores (P > 0.1 for all). Conclusions Decreased ability to divide attention, indicated by lower BTA scores, is associated with slower reading speeds in glaucoma with reduced CS and VF defects. PMID:28460047

  1. Middle Level Teachers' Perceptions of Interim Reading Assessments: An Exploratory Study of Data-Based Decision Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reed, Deborah K.

    2015-01-01

    This study explored the data-based decision making of 12 teachers in grades 6-8 who were asked about their perceptions and use of three required interim measures of reading performance: oral reading fluency (ORF), retell, and a benchmark comprised of released state test items. Focus group participants reported they did not believe the benchmark or…

  2. Location of Glossary Words as a Factor in Students' Performance on Vocabulary Tests.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, George I.

    This study involving 84 eighth-grade reading students in a rural middle school measured the effects of the location of glossary (vocabulary) words in anthology text books. Control groups read from texts with glossary words only at the end of the texts, and experimental groups read from texts with the glossary words on the bottom of text pages. All…

  3. Middle School A/B Block and Traditional Scheduling: An Analysis of Math and Reading Performance by Race

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gill, Willie Wallicia Allen

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether a difference existed in the percentage performance of students earning a pass/advanced score on the Standards of Learning (SOL) Test in math and reading in Virginia's Region IV for schools using an A/B block schedule and those using a traditional schedule. The research also examined if…

  4. Keeping waived tests simple.

    PubMed

    2004-01-01

    Laboratories performing waived testing must follow the manufacturer's instructions as well as good laboratory practices to ensure that test results are reliable. Four things to concentrate on to maximize the performance and reliability of waived tests are to: 1. Read and follow the information found in the package inserts. 2. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for running quality control. 3. Train staff members to perform tests correctly. 4. Follow established policies and procedures for patient testing in the practice.

  5. Confrontation Naming and Reading Abilities at Primary School: A Longitudinal Study

    PubMed Central

    Savelli, Enrico; Termine, Cristiano

    2015-01-01

    Background. Confrontation naming tasks are useful in the assessment of children with learning and language disorders. Objectives. The aims of this study were (1) providing longitudinal data on confrontation naming; (2) investigating the role of socioeconomic status (SES), intelligence, age, and gender in confrontation naming; (3) identifying relationship between confrontation naming and reading abilities (fluency, accuracy, and comprehension). Method. A five-year longitudinal investigation of confrontation naming (i.e., the Boston Naming Test (BNT)) in a nonclinical sample of Italian primary school children was conducted (n = 126), testing them at the end of each school year, to assess nonverbal intelligence, confrontation naming, and reading abilities. Results. Performance on the BNT emerged as a function of IQ and SES. Significant correlations between confrontation naming and reading abilities, especially comprehension, were found; BNT scores correlated better with reading fluency than with reading accuracy. Conclusions. The longitudinal data obtained in this study are discussed with regard to reading abilities, intelligence, age, gender, and socioeconomic status. PMID:26124541

  6. Genome-wide scan of IQ finds significant linkage to a quantitative trait locus on 2q.

    PubMed

    Luciano, M; Wright, M J; Duffy, D L; Wainwright, M A; Zhu, G; Evans, D M; Geffen, G M; Montgomery, G W; Martin, N G

    2006-01-01

    A genome-wide linkage scan of 795 microsatellite markers (761 autosomal, 34 X chromosome) was performed on Multidimensional Aptitude Battery subtests and verbal, performance and full scale scores, the WAIS-R Digit Symbol subtest, and two word-recognition tests (Schonell Graded Word Reading Test, Cambridge Contextual Reading Test) highly predictive of IQ. The sample included 361 families comprising 2-5 siblings who ranged in age from 15.7 to 22.2 years; genotype, but not phenotype, data were available for 81% of parents. A variance components analysis which controlled for age and sex effects showed significant linkage for the Cambridge reading test and performance IQ to the same region on chromosome 2, with respective LOD scores of 4.15 and 3.68. Suggestive linkage (LOD score>2.2) for various measures was further supported on chromosomes 6, 7, 11, 14, 21 and 22. Where location of linkage peaks converged for IQ subtests within the same scale, the overall scale score provided increased evidence for linkage to that region over any individual subtest. Association studies of candidate genes, particularly those involved in neural transmission and development, will be directed to genes located under the linkage peaks identified in this study.

  7. Quality, and not just quantity, of education accounts for differences in psychometric performance between African Americans and White Non-Hispanics with Alzheimer’s disease

    PubMed Central

    Chin, Alexander L.; Negash, Selam; Xie, Sharon; Arnold, Steven E.; Hamilton, Roy

    2013-01-01

    The effect of race on cognitive test performance in the evaluation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains controversial. One factor that may contribute substantially to differences in cognitive test performance in diverse populations is education. The current study examined the extent to which quality of education, even after controlling for formal years of education, accounts for differences in cognitive performance between African Americans and White Non-Hispanics (WNHs). The retrospective cohort included 244 patients diagnosed with AD who self-identified as African Americans (n=51) or WNHs (n=193). The Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR) was used as an estimate of quality of education. In an analysis that controlled for traditional demographics, including age, sex, and years of formal education, African Americans scored significantly lower than WNHs on the Mini-Mental State Examination, as well as on neuropsychological tests of memory, attention, and language. However, after also adjusting for reading level, all previously observed differences were significantly attenuated. The attenuating effect remained even after controlling for disease severity, indicating that reading scores are not confounded by severity of dementia. These findings suggest that quality, and not just quantity, of education needs to be taken into account when assessing cognitive performance in African Americans with AD. PMID:22300593

  8. Predicting verbal fluency using Word Reading: Implications for premorbid functioning.

    PubMed

    Davis, Andrew S; Finch, W Holmes; Drapeau, Christopher; Nogin, Margarita; E Moss, Lauren; Moore, Brittney

    2016-01-01

    The estimation of premorbid general intellectual functioning using word reading tests has a rich history of validation and is a common assessment practice for neuropsychologists. What is less well-researched is the approach used to estimate premorbid functioning of non-intellectual domains, such as executive functions, including verbal fluency. The current study evaluated this relationship with 41 adult college students who completed the Word Reading subtest of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-Second Edition (WIAT-II) and the Verbal Fluency test from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS). Path analysis indicated that only Letter Fluency (a measure of phonemic fluency) was statistically significantly related to Word Reading and the relationship was somewhat weak. The relationship between Category Fluency (a measure of semantic fluency) and Category Switching (a measure of verbal fluency cognitive set-shifting) to Word Reading was nonsignificant. Participants also completed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III), and as expected a strong relationship was found between Word Reading and the Verbal IQ (VIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ), and Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ). Results of this study strongly suggest that caution be exercised when extrapolating an estimate of premorbid verbal fluency abilities from measures of word reading.

  9. Involvement of the right hemisphere in reading comprehension: a DTI study

    PubMed Central

    Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; Wang, Yingying; Plante, Elena; Holland, Scott K.

    2014-01-01

    The Simple View of reading emphasizes the critical role of two factors in normal reading skills: word recognition and reading comprehension. The current study aims to identify the anatomical support for aspects of reading performance that fall within these two components. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values were obtained from Diffusion Tensor images in twenty-one typical adolescents and young adults using the Tract Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) method. We focused on the Arcuate Fasciculus (AF) and Inferior Longitudinal Fasciculus (ILF) as fiber tracts that connect regions already implicated in the distributed cortical network for reading. Our results demonstrate dissociation between word-level and narrative-level reading skills: the FA values for both left and right ILF were correlated with measures of word reading, while only the left ILF correlated with reading comprehension scores. FA in the AF, however, correlated only with reading comprehension scores, bilaterally. Correlations with the right AF were particularly robust, emphasizing the contribution of the right hemisphere, especially the frontal lobe, to reading comprehension performance on the particular passage comprehension test used in this study. The anatomical dissociation between these reading skills is supported by the Simple View theory and may shed light on why these two skills dissociate in those with reading disorders. PMID:24909792

  10. Slower saccadic reading in Parkinson’s disease

    PubMed Central

    Jehangir, Naz; Yu, Caroline Yizhu; Song, Jeehey; Shariati, Mohammad Ali; Binder, Steven; Beyer, Jill; Santini, Veronica; Poston, Kathleen

    2018-01-01

    Idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic and other neurons, leading to motor and non-motor deficits. Abnormal eye movements in PD, including fixations, saccades, and convergence, are well described. However, saccadic reading, which requires serial and alternating saccades and fixations, is not well studied, despite its obvious impact on the quality of life. In this study, we assessed saccadic reading using variations of the King-Devick (KD) test, a rapid single digit number naming test, as a way to assess the ability to make serial left-to-right ocular motor movements necessary for reading. We recruited 42 treated PD patients and 80 age-matched controls and compared their reading times with a variety of measures, including age, duration of disease, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), the National Eye Institute 25-Item Visual Functioning Questionnaire 25 (VFQ-25), and Montreal Cognitive assessment (MoCA) test. The subjects performed 4 trials of reading 120 single digit numbers aloud as fast as possible without making errors. In each trial, they read 3 pages (KD1, KD2, and KD3), and each page contained 40 numbers per page in 8 lines with 5 numbers/line. We found that PD patients read about 20% slower than controls on all tests (KD1, 2, and 3 tests) (p < 0.02), and both groups read irregularly spaced numbers slower than regularly spaced numbers. Having lines between numbers to guide reading (KD1 tests) did not impact reading time in both PD and controls, but increased visual crowding as a result of decreased spacing between numbers (KD3 tests) was associated with significantly slower reading times in both PD and control groups. Our study revealed that saccadic reading is slower in PD, but controls and PD patients are both impacted by visuospatial planning challenges posed by increased visual crowding and irregularity of number spacing. Reading time did not correlate with UPDRS or MoCA scores in PD patients but significantly correlated with age, duration of disease, and VFQ-25 scores. The presence of convergence insufficiency did not significantly correlate with reading time in PD patients, although on average there was slower reading time in those with convergence insufficiency by 8 s (p = 0.2613). We propose that a simple reading task using 120 single-digit numbers can be used as a screening tool in the clinical setting to assess functional ocular motor difficulties in Parkinson’s disease that can have a profound impact on quality of life. PMID:29364897

  11. Slower saccadic reading in Parkinson's disease.

    PubMed

    Jehangir, Naz; Yu, Caroline Yizhu; Song, Jeehey; Shariati, Mohammad Ali; Binder, Steven; Beyer, Jill; Santini, Veronica; Poston, Kathleen; Liao, Yaping Joyce

    2018-01-01

    Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease (PD) is characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic and other neurons, leading to motor and non-motor deficits. Abnormal eye movements in PD, including fixations, saccades, and convergence, are well described. However, saccadic reading, which requires serial and alternating saccades and fixations, is not well studied, despite its obvious impact on the quality of life. In this study, we assessed saccadic reading using variations of the King-Devick (KD) test, a rapid single digit number naming test, as a way to assess the ability to make serial left-to-right ocular motor movements necessary for reading. We recruited 42 treated PD patients and 80 age-matched controls and compared their reading times with a variety of measures, including age, duration of disease, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), the National Eye Institute 25-Item Visual Functioning Questionnaire 25 (VFQ-25), and Montreal Cognitive assessment (MoCA) test. The subjects performed 4 trials of reading 120 single digit numbers aloud as fast as possible without making errors. In each trial, they read 3 pages (KD1, KD2, and KD3), and each page contained 40 numbers per page in 8 lines with 5 numbers/line. We found that PD patients read about 20% slower than controls on all tests (KD1, 2, and 3 tests) (p < 0.02), and both groups read irregularly spaced numbers slower than regularly spaced numbers. Having lines between numbers to guide reading (KD1 tests) did not impact reading time in both PD and controls, but increased visual crowding as a result of decreased spacing between numbers (KD3 tests) was associated with significantly slower reading times in both PD and control groups. Our study revealed that saccadic reading is slower in PD, but controls and PD patients are both impacted by visuospatial planning challenges posed by increased visual crowding and irregularity of number spacing. Reading time did not correlate with UPDRS or MoCA scores in PD patients but significantly correlated with age, duration of disease, and VFQ-25 scores. The presence of convergence insufficiency did not significantly correlate with reading time in PD patients, although on average there was slower reading time in those with convergence insufficiency by 8 s (p = 0.2613). We propose that a simple reading task using 120 single-digit numbers can be used as a screening tool in the clinical setting to assess functional ocular motor difficulties in Parkinson's disease that can have a profound impact on quality of life.

  12. Reading Performance of Young Adults With ADHD Diagnosed in Childhood.

    PubMed

    Miranda, Ana; Mercader, Jessica; Fernández, M Inmaculada; Colomer, Carla

    2017-02-01

    To study reading performance of young adults with ADHD and its relation with executive functioning. Thirty young adults with a childhood diagnosis of ADHD and 30 with normal development (ND) were compared on reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. Furthermore, ADHD with reading disabilities (ADHD+RD) and ADHD without reading disabilities (ADHD-RD) subgroups were compared using self-report and informant-report versions of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version (BRIEF-A). Adults with ADHD obtained significantly worse results than the ND adults on reading speed, responses to literal questions, and a cloze test. Although the comparison of the ADHD+RD and ADHD-RD groups did not show significant differences on the BRIEF-A subscales, the ADHD+RD group surpassed the critical percentile (85) on more subscales, with working memory and metacognition especially affected. The findings point out that reading should be assessed in individuals with ADHD as part of their evaluation to design effective early interventions.

  13. The ability to tap to a beat relates to cognitive, linguistic, and perceptual skills

    PubMed Central

    Tierney, Adam T.; Kraus, Nina

    2013-01-01

    Reading-impaired children have difficulty tapping to a beat. Here we tested whether this relationship between reading ability and synchronized tapping holds in typically-developing adolescents. We also hypothesized that tapping relates to two other abilities. First, since auditory-motor synchronization requires monitoring of the relationship between motor output and auditory input, we predicted that subjects better able to tap to the beat would perform better on attention tests. Second, since auditory-motor synchronization requires fine temporal precision within the auditory system for the extraction of a sound’s onset time, we predicted that subjects better able to tap to the beat would be less affected by backward masking, a measure of temporal precision within the auditory system. As predicted, tapping performance related to reading, attention, and backward masking. These results motivate future research investigating whether beat synchronization training can improve not only reading ability, but potentially executive function and basic auditory processing as well. PMID:23400117

  14. Parent-child reading interactions among English and English as a second language speakers in an underserved pediatric clinic in Hawai'i.

    PubMed

    Kitabayashi, Kristyn M; Huang, Gary Y; Linskey, Katy R; Pirga, Jason; Bane-Terakubo, Teresa; Lee, Meta T

    2008-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare reading patterns between English-speaking and English as a Second Language (ESL) families in a health care setting in Hawai'i. A cross-sectional study was performed at an underserved pediatric primary care clinic in Hawai'i. Caregivers of patients between the ages of 6 months to 5 years were asked questions regarding demographics and parent-child reading interactions. Respondents were categorized into English-speaking or ESL groups based on primary language spoken at home. Pearson chi2 tests and Fisher exact tests were performed to compare demographic differences, reading frequency, and reading attitudes between groups. One-hundred three respondents completed the survey Fifty percent were ESL. All ESL respondents were of Asian-Pacific Islander (API) or mixed Asian ethnicity. All Caucasians in the study (n = 9) were in the English-speaking group. Between the English-speaking (n = 52) and ESL (n = 51) groups, there were no significant statistical differences in age or gender of the child, reading attitudes, or parent's educational status. Parents in the ESL group read to their children significantly fewer days per week than their English-speaking counterparts, had significantly fewer books in the home, and lived significantly fewer years in the United States. The findings suggest that API immigrant families share similar attitudes about reading as English-speaking families in Hawai'i but have significantly fewer books in their household and read significantly less frequently Physicians working with API populations should be aware that immigrant children may have fewer reading interactions and should counsel parents on the importance of reading daily.

  15. Impact of Breast Reader Assessment Strategy on mammographic radiologists' test reading performance.

    PubMed

    Suleiman, Wasfi I; Rawashdeh, Mohammad A; Lewis, Sarah J; McEntee, Mark F; Lee, Warwick; Tapia, Kriscia; Brennan, Patrick C

    2016-06-01

    The detection of breast cancer is somewhat limited by human factors, and thus there is a need to improve reader performance. This study assesses whether radiologists who regularly undertake the education in the form of the Breast Reader Assessment Strategy (BREAST) demonstrate any changes in mammography interpretation performance over time. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, 14 radiologists independently assessed a year-specific BREAST mammographic test-set. Radiologists read a different single test-set once each year, with each comprising 60 digital mammogram cases. Radiologists marked the location of suspected lesions without computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) and assigned a confidence rating of 2 for benign and 3-5 for malignant lesions. The mean sensitivity, specificity, location sensitivity, JAFROC FOM and ROC AUC were calculated. A Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the readings for the 14 radiologists across the 3 years. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to assess comparison between pairs of years. Relationships between changes in performance and radiologist characteristics were examined using a Spearman's test. Significant increases were noted in mean sensitivity (P = 0.01), specificity (P = 0.01), location sensitivity (P = 0.001) and JAFROC FOM (P = 0.001) between 2011 and 2012. Between 2012 and 2013, significant improvements were noted in mean sensitivity (P = 0.003), specificity (P = 0.002), location sensitivity (P = 0.02), JAFROC FOM (P = 0.005) and ROC AUC (P = 0.008). No statistically significant correlations were shown between the levels of improvement and radiologists' characteristics. Radiologists' who undertake the BREAST programme demonstrate significant improvements in test-set performance during a 3-year period, highlighting the value of ongoing education through the use of test-set. © 2016 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.

  16. Sensory, cognitive, and linguistic factors in the early academic performance of elementary school children: The Benton-IU project.

    PubMed

    Watson, Charles S; Kidd, Gary R; Homer, Douglas G; Connell, Phil J; Lowther, Andrya; Eddins, David A; Krueger, Glenn; Goss, David A; Rainey, Bill B; Gospel, Mary D; Watson, Betty U

    2003-01-01

    Standardized sensory, perceptual, linguistic, intellectual, and cognitive tests were administered to 470 children, approximately 96% of the students entering the first grade in the four elementary schools of Benton County, Indiana, over a 3-year period (1995--1997). The results of 36 tests and subtests administered to entering first graders were well described by a 4-factor solution. These factors and the tests that loaded most heavily on them were reading-related skills (phonological awareness, letter and word identification); visual cognition (visual perceptual abilities, spatial perception, visual memory); verbal cognition (language development, vocabulary, verbal concepts); and speech processing (the ability to understand speech under difficult listening conditions). A cluster analysis identified 9 groups of children, each with a different profile of scores on the 4 factors. Within these groups, the proportion of students with unsatisfactory reading achievement in the first 2 years of elementary school (as reflected in teacher-assigned grades) varied from 3% to 40%. The profiles of factor scores demonstrated the primary influence of the reading-related skills factor on reading achievement and also on other areas of academic performance. The second strongest predictor of reading and mathematics grades was the visual cognition factor, followed by the verbal cognition factor. The speech processing factor was the weakest predictor of academic achievement, accounting for less than 1% of the variance in reading achievement. This project was a collaborative effort of the Benton Community School Corporation and a multidisciplinary group of investigators from Indiana University.

  17. Test item linguistic complexity and assessments for deaf students.

    PubMed

    Cawthon, Stephanie

    2011-01-01

    Linguistic complexity of test items is one test format element that has been studied in the context of struggling readers and their participation in paper-and-pencil tests. The present article presents findings from an exploratory study on the potential relationship between linguistic complexity and test performance for deaf readers. A total of 64 students completed 52 multiple-choice items, 32 in mathematics and 20 in reading. These items were coded for linguistic complexity components of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse. Mathematics items had higher linguistic complexity ratings than reading items, but there were no significant relationships between item linguistic complexity scores and student performance on the test items. The discussion addresses issues related to the subject area, student proficiency levels in the test content, factors to look for in determining a "linguistic complexity effect," and areas for further research in test item development and deaf students.

  18. Predictive Power of the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-CH) on Various Methods of Reading Comprehension Assessment among Low-Income Fourth Grade Children of Color

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vavassoeur, Lether Christine

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the extent to which the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) in isolation and in combination with parent ratings of inattention predicted performance on reading comprehension assessments presented in various formats (question and answer, cloze, and recall) among a non-clinical sample…

  19. The Relationship of Physical Fitness, Self-Beliefs, and Social Support to the Academic Performance of Middle School Boys and Girls

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Srikanth, Sudhish; Petrie, Trent A.; Greenleaf, Christy; Martin, Scott B.

    2015-01-01

    We examined the influence of physical and psychosocial variables on math and reading achievement test scores. Between 1 and 5 months prior to taking annual standardized reading and math tests, a sample of (N = 1,211) sixth through eight graders (53.7% girls; 57.2% White) self-reported levels of physical activity, academic self-beliefs, general…

  20. The way we encounter reading material influences how frequently we mind wander.

    PubMed

    Varao Sousa, Trish L; Carriere, Jonathan S A; Smilek, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    We examined whether different encounters of reading material influence the likelihood of mind wandering, memory for the material, and the ratings of interest in the material. In a within-subjects design participants experienced three different reading encounters: (1) reading a passage aloud, (2) listening to a passage being read to them, and (3) reading a passage silently. Throughout each reading encounter probes were given in order to identify mind wandering. After finishing the passage participants also rated how interesting it was and completed a content recognition test. Results showed that reading aloud led to the least amount of mind wandering, while listening to the passage led to the most mind wandering. Listening to the passage was also associated with the poorest memory performance and the least interest in the material. Finally, within the silent reading and listening encounters we observed negative relations between mind wandering and both memory performance and interest in the material, replicating previous findings. Taken together, the present findings improve our understanding of the nature of mind wandering while reading, and have potentially important implications for readers seeking to take advantage of the convenience of audiobooks and podcasts.

  1. The way we encounter reading material influences how frequently we mind wander

    PubMed Central

    Varao Sousa, Trish L.; Carriere, Jonathan S. A.; Smilek, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    We examined whether different encounters of reading material influence the likelihood of mind wandering, memory for the material, and the ratings of interest in the material. In a within-subjects design participants experienced three different reading encounters: (1) reading a passage aloud, (2) listening to a passage being read to them, and (3) reading a passage silently. Throughout each reading encounter probes were given in order to identify mind wandering. After finishing the passage participants also rated how interesting it was and completed a content recognition test. Results showed that reading aloud led to the least amount of mind wandering, while listening to the passage led to the most mind wandering. Listening to the passage was also associated with the poorest memory performance and the least interest in the material. Finally, within the silent reading and listening encounters we observed negative relations between mind wandering and both memory performance and interest in the material, replicating previous findings. Taken together, the present findings improve our understanding of the nature of mind wandering while reading, and have potentially important implications for readers seeking to take advantage of the convenience of audiobooks and podcasts. PMID:24348444

  2. Predicting better performance on a college preparedness test from narrative comprehension at the age of 6 years: An fMRI study.

    PubMed

    Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; Eaton, Kenneth; Farah, Rola; Hajinazarian, Ardag; Vannest, Jennifer; Holland, Scott K

    2015-12-10

    To investigate whether high performance on college preparedness tests at 18 years of age can be predicted from brain activation patterns during narrative comprehension at 5-7 years of age. In this longitudinal study, functional MRI data during an auditory narrative-comprehension task were acquired from 15 children (5-7 years of age) who also provided their American College Testing (ACT) scores at the age of 18 years. Active voxels during the narrative-comprehension task were correlated with both composite ACT scores and the reading-comprehension component of the exam. Higher composite ACT scores and behavioral scores for reading comprehension were positively correlated with greater activation in frontal and anterior brain regions during the narrative-comprehension task. Our results suggest that neural circuits supporting higher ACT performance are predictable from a narrative-comprehension task at the age of 5-7 years. This supports a critical role for the anterior cingulate cortex, which is a part of the cingulo-opercular cognitive-control network early in development, as a facilitator for better ACT scores. This study highlights that shared neural circuits that support overall ACT performance and neural circuits that support reading comprehension both rely on neural circuits related to narrative comprehension in childhood, suggesting that interventions involving narrative comprehension should be considered for individuals with reading and other academic difficulties. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Behavioral Performance and Neural Areas Associated with Memory Processes Contribute to Math and Reading Achievement in 6-year-old Children.

    PubMed

    Blankenship, Tashauna L; Keith, Kayla; Calkins, Susan D; Bell, Martha Ann

    2018-01-01

    Associations between working memory and academic achievement (math and reading) are well documented. Surprisingly, little is known of the contributions of episodic memory, segmented into temporal memory (recollection proxy) and item recognition (familiarity proxy), to academic achievement. This is the first study to observe these associations in typically developing 6-year old children. Overlap in neural correlates exists between working memory, episodic memory, and math and reading achievement. We attempted to tease apart the neural contributions of working memory, temporal memory, and item recognition to math and reading achievement. Results suggest that working memory and temporal memory, but not item recognition, are important contributors to both math and reading achievement, and that EEG power during a working memory task contributes to performance on tests of academic achievement.

  4. Optimization of a PCRAM Chip for high-speed read and highly reliable reset operations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xiaoyun; Chen, Houpeng; Li, Xi; Wang, Qian; Fan, Xi; Hu, Jiajun; Lei, Yu; Zhang, Qi; Tian, Zhen; Song, Zhitang

    2016-10-01

    The widely used traditional Flash memory suffers from its performance limits such as its serious crosstalk problems, and increasing complexity of floating gate scaling. Phase change random access memory (PCRAM) becomes one of the most potential nonvolatile memories among the new memory techniques. In this paper, a 1M-bit PCRAM chip is designed based on the SMIC 40nm CMOS technology. Focusing on the read and write performance, two new circuits with high-speed read operation and highly reliable reset operation are proposed. The high-speed read circuit effectively reduces the reading time from 74ns to 40ns. The double-mode reset circuit improves the chip yield. This 1M-bit PCRAM chip has been simulated on cadence. After layout design is completed, the chip will be taped out for post-test.

  5. Impact of family language and testing language on reading performance in a bilingual educational context.

    PubMed

    Elosua Oliden, Paula; Mujika Lizaso, Josu

    2014-01-01

    When different languages co-exist in one area, or when one person speaks more than one language, the impact of language on psychological and educational assessment processes can be considerable. The aim of this work was to study the impact of testing language in a community with two official languages: Spanish and Basque. By taking the PISA 2009 Reading Comprehension Test as a basis for analysis, four linguistic groups were defined according to the language spoken at home and the test language. Psychometric equivalence between test forms and differences in results among the four language groups were analyzed. The comparison of competence means took into account the effects of the index of socioeconomic and cultural status (ISEC) and gender. One reading unit with differential item functioning was detected. The reading competence means were considerably higher in the monolingual Spanish-Spanish group. No differences were found between the language groups based on family language when the test was conducted in Basque. The study illustrates the importance of taking into account psychometric, linguistic and sociolinguistic factors in linguistically diverse assessment contexts.

  6. [Reading characteristics of deaf and hard-of-hearing pupils].

    PubMed

    Karić, Jasmina; Ristić, Sinisa; Medenica, Snezana; Tadić, Vaska; Slavnić, Svetlana

    2012-10-01

    Speech motor mechanisms play a crucial role in the process of demutization, due to the fact that they cover all the elements of the successive development of spech production movements leading to speech formation (so-called kinesthesia in speach). The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of perceptual motor actions on the cognitive process of reading in 130 students in regular schools and schools for the deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the Republic of Serbia. Kostić and Vladisavljević test consisted of the ten levels weight was used for the assessment of reading speed. To assess understanding of text read by verbal responses, we used three-dimensional adapted reading test of Helene Sax. The triage-articulation test for assessing reading speed (Kostié and Vladisavljević's test according to the weight of ten levels, revealed that students in regular schools statistically significantly faster read texts as compared to the deaf students. The results of the three-dimensional adapted reading test of Helena Sax, show that the words learned by deaf children exist in isolation in their mind, i.e., if there is no standard of acoustic performance for graphic image, in deaf child every word, printed or written, is just the sum of letters without meaning. There is a significant difference in text reading speed and its understanding among the children who hear and the deaf and hard-of-hearing children. It is essential that in deaf and heard-of-hearing children education, apart from the development of speech, parallelly use the concept of semantic processing in order to get each word by the fullness of its content and the possibility of expanding its meaning in a variety of assets.

  7. Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading, Aligned to the Language Arts Florida Standards, FAIR-FS, Grades 3 through 12. Technical Manual

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foorman, Barbara R.; Petscher, Yaacov; Schatschneider, Chris

    2015-01-01

    The FAIR-FS consists of computer-adaptive reading comprehension and oral language screening tasks that provide measures to track growth over time, as well as a Probability of Literacy Success (PLS) linked to grade-level performance (i.e., the 40th percentile) on the reading comprehension subtest of the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10) in the…

  8. Adaptive working-memory training benefits reading, but not mathematics in middle childhood.

    PubMed

    Karbach, Julia; Strobach, Tilo; Schubert, Torsten

    2015-01-01

    Working memory (WM) capacity is highly correlated with general cognitive ability and has proven to be an excellent predictor for academic success. Given that WM can be improved by training, our aim was to test whether WM training benefited academic abilities in elementary-school children. We examined 28 participants (mean age = 8.3 years, SD = 0.4) in a pretest-training-posttest-follow-up design. Over 14 training sessions, children either performed adaptive WM training (training group, n = 14) or nonadaptive low-level training (active control group, n = 14) on the same tasks. Pretest, posttest, and follow-up at 3 months after posttest included a neurocognitive test battery (WM, task switching, inhibition) and standardized tests for math and reading abilities. Adaptive WM training resulted in larger training gains than nonadaptive low-level training. The benefits induced by the adaptive training transferred to an untrained WM task and a standardized test for reading ability, but not to task switching, inhibition, or performance on a standardized math test. Transfer to the untrained WM task was maintained over 3 months. The analysis of individual differences revealed compensatory effects with larger gains in children with lower WM and reading scores at pretest. These training and transfer effects are discussed against the background of cognitive processing resulting from WM span training and the nature of the intervention.

  9. Learning from Assessment: NAPLAN and Indigenous Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leder, Gilah; Forgasz, Helen

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we report trends over time of performance of non-Indigenous and Indigenous students on the Numeracy component of the NAPLAN tests. Possible links between student performance on the NAPLAN Numeracy test and the four components--Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Grammar--of the NAPLAN Literacy test were also explored. While the…

  10. Simulation of dyslexia. How literacy and cognitive skills can help distinguish college students with dyslexia from malingerers

    PubMed Central

    de Bree, Elise H.; de Jong, Peter F.

    2018-01-01

    Academic accommodations associated with a diagnosis of dyslexia might be incentives for college students without reading or spelling difficulties to feign dyslexia and obtain the diagnosis unfairly. In the current study we examined malingering practices by comparing the performance of college students instructed to malinger dyslexia (n = 28) to that of students actually diagnosed with dyslexia (n = 16). We also included a control group of students without reading and spelling difficulties (n = 28). The test battery included tasks tapping literacy skills as well as underlying cognitive skills associated with literacy outcomes. These tasks are commonly used in diagnosing dyslexia. We examined patterns in the performance of malingerers across tasks and tested whether malingerers could be identified based on their performance on a limited number of tasks. Results indicated that malingerers scored significantly lower than students with dyslexia on reading and spelling skills; i.e., the core characteristics of dyslexia. Especially reading performance was extremely low and not in line with students’ age and level of education. Findings for underlying cognitive skills were mixed. Overall, malingerers scored lower than students with dyslexia on tasks tapping mainly speed, whereas the two groups did not differ on tasks reflecting mainly accuracy. Based on word and pseudoword reading and letter and digit naming, the three groups could be distinguished with reasonable sensitivity and specificity. In all, results indicate that college students seem to understand on which tasks they should feign dyslexia, but tend to exaggerate difficulties on these tasks to the point where diagnosticians should mistrust performance. PMID:29782515

  11. Design of a reading test for low-vision image warping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Loshin, David S.; Wensveen, Janice; Juday, Richard D.; Barton, R. Shane

    1993-08-01

    NASA and the University of Houston College of Optometry are examining the efficacy of image warping as a possible prosthesis for at least two forms of low vision -- maculopathy and retinitis pigmentosa. Before incurring the expense of reducing the concept to practice, one would wish to have confidence that a worthwhile improvement in visual function would result. NASA's Programmable Remapper (PR) can warp an input image onto arbitrary geometric coordinate systems at full video rate, and it has recently been upgraded to accept computer- generated video text. We have integrated the Remapper with an SRI eye tracker to simulate visual malfunction in normal observers. A reading performance test has been developed to determine if the proposed warpings yield an increase in visual function; i.e., reading speed. We describe the preliminary experimental results of this reading test with a simulated central field defect with and without remapped images.

  12. Design of a reading test for low vision image warping

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Loshin, David S.; Wensveen, Janice; Juday, Richard D.; Barton, R. S.

    1993-01-01

    NASA and the University of Houston College of Optometry are examining the efficacy of image warping as a possible prosthesis for at least two forms of low vision - maculopathy and retinitis pigmentosa. Before incurring the expense of reducing the concept to practice, one would wish to have confidence that a worthwhile improvement in visual function would result. NASA's Programmable Remapper (PR) can warp an input image onto arbitrary geometric coordinate systems at full video rate, and it has recently been upgraded to accept computer-generated video text. We have integrated the Remapper with an SRI eye tracker to simulate visual malfunction in normal observers. A reading performance test has been developed to determine if the proposed warpings yield an increase in visual function; i.e., reading speed. We will describe the preliminary experimental results of this reading test with a simulated central field defect with and without remapped images.

  13. Working memory, short-term memory and reading proficiency in school-age children with cochlear implants.

    PubMed

    Bharadwaj, Sneha V; Maricle, Denise; Green, Laura; Allman, Tamby

    2015-10-01

    The objective of the study was to examine short-term memory and working memory through both visual and auditory tasks in school-age children with cochlear implants. The relationship between the performance on these cognitive skills and reading as well as language outcomes were examined in these children. Ten children between the ages of 7 and 11 years with early-onset bilateral severe-profound hearing loss participated in the study. Auditory and visual short-term memory, auditory and visual working memory subtests and verbal knowledge measures were assessed using the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV Integrated and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children II. Reading outcomes were assessed using the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test III. Performance on visual short-term memory and visual working memory measures in children with cochlear implants was within the average range when compared to the normative mean. However, auditory short-term memory and auditory working memory measures were below average when compared to the normative mean. Performance was also below average on all verbal knowledge measures. Regarding reading outcomes, children with cochlear implants scored below average for listening and passage comprehension tasks and these measures were positively correlated to visual short-term memory, visual working memory and auditory short-term memory. Performance on auditory working memory subtests was not related to reading or language outcomes. The children with cochlear implants in this study demonstrated better performance in visual (spatial) working memory and short-term memory skills than in auditory working memory and auditory short-term memory skills. Significant positive relationships were found between visual working memory and reading outcomes. The results of the study provide support for the idea that WM capacity is modality specific in children with hearing loss. Based on these findings, reading instruction that capitalizes on the strengths in visual short-term memory and working memory is suggested for young children with early-onset hearing loss. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Evaluation of gap filling skills and reading mistakes of cochlear implanted and normally hearing students.

    PubMed

    Çizmeci, Hülya; Çiprut, Ayça

    2018-06-01

    This study aimed to (1) evaluate the gap filling skills and reading mistakes of students with cochlear implants, and to (2) compare their results with those of their normal-hearing peers. The effects of implantation age and total time of cochlear implant use were analyzed in relation to the subjects' reading skills development. The study included 19 students who underwent cochlear implantation and 20 students with normal hearing, who were enrolled at the 6th to 8th grades. The subjects' ages ranged between 12 and 14 years old. Their reading skills were evaluated by using the Informal Reading Inventory. A significant relationship were found between implanted and normal-hearing students in terms of the percentages of reading error and the percentages of gap filling scores. The average order of the reading errors of students using cochlear implants was higher than that of normal-hearing students. As for the gap filling, the performances of implanted students in the passage are lower than those of their normal-hearing peers. No significant relationship was found between the variables tested in terms of age and duration of implantation on the reading performances of implanted students. Even if they were early implanted, there were significant differences in the reading performances of implanted students compared with those of their normal-hearing peers in older classes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. The prevalence of specific reading disability in an amblyopic population. A preliminary report.

    PubMed

    Koklanis, Konstandina; Georgievski, Zoran; Brassington, Kate; Bretherton, Lesley

    2006-01-01

    To investigate the prevalence of specific reading disability in children with functional amblyopia and to explore the relationship between the two. In this prospective study, 20 consecutive children, aged 6 to 15 years (mean 8 +/-1.99 years), and diagnosed with amblyopia underwent a vision and reading assessment. The orthoptic examination included the assessment of participants' visual acuity, ocular motility and binocular functions. Specific reading disability was diagnosed using the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT III Reading Subtest). Intelligence, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), and the ability to read pseudo or nonsense words was also assessed using various psycho-linguistic reading tests. The prevalence of specific reading disability in this small series of amblyopic children was found to be 5% (n=1/20). This was even less than that reported in the local Victoria general population (16%). The type of amblyopia appeared related to phonological awareness (p=0.018) and decoding words (p=0.024), those with anisometropic amblyopia performing significantly better on these tasks than the strabismic amblyopes. The presence of binocular vision functions was also related to decoding words; those with binocular single vision performed better than those with suppression and lacking single binocular vision (p=0.007). Generally, amblyopic children also showed a lower RAN score when compared to phonological awareness score. There was no statistically significant difference for the severity of amblyopia (p=>0.05). In this very small pilot series, reading disorders were relatively rare in children with amblyopia. However, strabismic amblyopia and presence of suppression may have an adverse effect on phonological skills. In addition, amblyopia may be associated with a deficit in RAN. Further research is needed and planned to gain a better understanding about the relationship between amblyopia and reading ability.

  16. [Cognitive reserve and linguistic skills in healthy elderly persons].

    PubMed

    López-Higes, Ramón; Rubio-Valdehita, Susana; Prados, José M; Galindo, Marta

    2013-08-01

    One research strategy that can be used with the cognitive reserve is to establish groups of elderly persons who differ in key variables that affect the cognitive reserve and then compare their performance in cognitive tests. To determine which of the variables that have an influence on the cognitive reserve (measured by means of the cognitive reserve questionnaire) are related with performance in the Boston Naming Test, and in the vocabulary and grammar comprehension tests from the ECCO_Senior battery. The sample consisted of 83 elderly persons aged between 60 and 75 years. Schooling, parents' schooling, job and reading habits are closely related to the performance of the elderly in naming, grammar comprehension and vocabulary. Schooling affects the comprehension of sentences with a higher propositional density, and reading habits seem to be closely related with the comprehension of sentences that are more complex in terms of their syntax. Schooling and job affect the performance obtained when dealing with verbs in the vocabulary test.

  17. 40 CFR 51.358 - Test equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... vehicle description, including license plate number, vehicle identification number, and odometer reading... emissions test on subject vehicles. (a) Performance features of computerized emission test systems. The...) Emission test equipment shall be capable of testing all subject vehicles and shall be updated from time to...

  18. 40 CFR 51.358 - Test equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... vehicle description, including license plate number, vehicle identification number, and odometer reading... emissions test on subject vehicles. (a) Performance features of computerized emission test systems. The...) Emission test equipment shall be capable of testing all subject vehicles and shall be updated from time to...

  19. 40 CFR 51.358 - Test equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... vehicle description, including license plate number, vehicle identification number, and odometer reading... emissions test on subject vehicles. (a) Performance features of computerized emission test systems. The...) Emission test equipment shall be capable of testing all subject vehicles and shall be updated from time to...

  20. Exploring Reading Comprehension Skill Relationships through the G-DINA Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Huilin; Chen, Jinsong

    2016-01-01

    By analysing the test data of 1029 British secondary school students' performance on 20 Programme for International Student Assessment English reading items through the generalised deterministic input, noisy "and" gate (G-DINA) model, the study conducted two investigations on exploring the relationships among the five reading…

  1. The Influence of Local Politics on Educational Decisions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bigham, Gary; Ray, Jan

    2012-01-01

    This ex post facto, causal-comparative research study examined student reading performance data within a school district before and after a school district-wide decision to alter the reading curriculum in response to local political pressure from parents. Data analysis revealed that test scores dropped to a significantly lower level, especially…

  2. Cognitive Profiles of Italian Children with Developmental Dyslexia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tobia, Valentina; Marzocchi, Gian Marco

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate verbal and nonverbal cognitive deficits in Italian students with developmental dyslexia. The performances of 32 dyslexic students, 64 age-matched typically reading controls, and 64 reading age-matched controls were compared on tests of lexical knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming,…

  3. Against Conventional Wisdom: Factors Influencing Hispanic Students' Reading Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Percell, Jay C.; Kaufman, Kristina

    2013-01-01

    The researchers performed a variable analysis of the 2002 Educational Longitudinal Study data investigating factors that influence students' reading scores on standardized tests. Hispanic and non-Hispanic Scores were analyzed and controlling variables were compared to determine the effect of each on both populations. Certain variables commonly…

  4. The widely used ATB FUNGUS 3 automated readings in China and its misleading high MICs of Candida spp. to azoles: challenges for developing countries' clinical microbiology labs.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Li; Wang, He; Xiao, Meng; Kudinha, Timothy; Mao, Lei-Li; Zhao, Hao-Ran; Kong, Fanrong; Xu, Ying-Chun

    2014-01-01

    The rapid development in the clinical microbiology diagnostic assays presents more challenges for developing countries than for the developed world, especially in the area of test validation before the introduction of new tests. Here we report on the misleading high MICs of Candida spp. to azoles using the ATB FUNGUS 3 (bioMérieux, La Balme-les Grottes, France) with automated readings in China to highlight the dangers of introducing a diagnostic assay without validation. ATB FUNGUS 3 is the most commonly used commercial antifungal susceptibility testing method in China. An in-depth analysis of data showed higher levels of resistance to azoles when ATB FUNGUS 3 strips were read automatically than when read visually. Based on this finding, the performance of ATB FUNGUS 3, read both visually and automatically, was evaluated by testing 218 isolates of five clinically important Candida species, using broth microdilution (BMD) following CLSI M27-A3 as the gold-standard. The overall essential agreement (EA) between ATB visual readings and BMD was 99.1%. In contrast, the ATB automated readings showed higher discrepancies with BMD, with overall EA of 86.2%, and specifically lower EA was observed for fluconazole (80.7%), voriconazole (77.5%), and itraconazole (73.4%), which was most likely due to the trailing effect of azoles. The major errors in azole drug susceptibilities by ATB automated readings is a concern in China that can result in misleading clinical antifungal drug selection and pseudo high rates of antifungal resistance. Therefore, the ATB visual reading is generally recommended. In the meantime, we propose a practical algorithm to be followed for ATB FUNGUS 3 antifungal susceptibility for Candida spp. before the improvement in the automated reading system.

  5. A Comparison of State Test Performances of Public Schools and a Charter School System in Old and New Testing in Texas

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sahin, Alpaslan; Almus, Kadir; Willson, Victor

    2017-01-01

    This study examined the high schools' state tests performances in mathematics, reading, and science of an open-enrollment STEM-focused charter school system,Harmony Public Schools(HPS), between 2010 and 2013, and compared them with the performance of matched traditional public schools (TPS) in Texas. After propensity score matching, 12 HPS schools…

  6. A Study of the Effects of Variation of Short-Term Memory Load, Reading Response Length, and Processing Hierarchy on TOEFL Listening Comprehension Item Performance. Report 33.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henning, Grant

    Criticisms of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) have included speculation that the listening test places too much burden on short-term memory as compared with comprehension, that a knowledge of reading is required to respond successfully, and that many items appear to require mere recall and matching rather than higher-order…

  7. Mobile app reading speed test.

    PubMed

    Kingsnorth, Alec; Wolffsohn, James S

    2015-04-01

    To validate the accuracy and repeatability of a mobile app reading speed test compared with the traditional paper version. Twenty-one subjects wearing their full refractive correction glasses read 14 sentences of decreasing print size between 1.0 and -0.1 logMAR, each consisting of 14 words (Radner reading speed test) at 40 cm with a paper-based chart and twice on iPad charts. Time duration was recorded with a stop watch for the paper chart and on the App itself for the mobile chart allowing critical print size (CPS) and optimal reading speed (ORS) to be derived objectively. The ORS was higher for the mobile app charts (194±29 wpm; 195±25 wpm) compared with the paper chart (166±20 wpm; F=57.000, p<0.001). The CPS was lower for the mobile app charts (0.17±0.20 logMAR; 0.18±0.17 logMAR) compared with the paper chart (0.25±0.17 logMAR; F=5.406, p=0.009). The mobile app test had a mean difference repeatability of 0.30±22.5 wpm, r=0.917 for ORS, and a CPS of 0.0±0.2 logMAR, r=0.769. Repeatability of the app reading speed test is as good (ORS) or better (CPS) than previous studies on the paper test. While the results are not interchangeable with paper-based charts, mobile app tablet-based tests of reading speed are reliable and rapid to perform, with the potential to capture functional visual ability in research studies and clinical practice. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  8. Children with a very low birth weight showed poorer reading skills at eight years of age but caught up in most areas by the age of 10.

    PubMed

    Leijon, Ingemar; Ingemansson, Fredrik; Nelson, Nina; Samuelsson, Stefan; Wadsby, Marie

    2018-04-29

    We evaluated the development of reading skills in very low birth weight (VLBW) children and controls at 8-10 years of age. This study was part of a longitudinal study of VLBW infants born between January 1998 and December 1999 in Sweden. We recruited 49 VLBW children and 44 sex and age-matched full-term controls when they started school at the age of seven and tested them using identical methods for decoding, rapid naming ability, reading comprehension, spelling and cognitive skills at about eight and 10 years of age. Univariate analysis of variance was performed to assess the effects of VLBW on reading performance at each age and to evaluate the differences between the groups and ages. VLBW children scored significantly lower in all domains of reading at 7.8 ±0.3 years, but the performance gap had narrowed by 9.8 ±0.3 years. Significant catch-up gains were found in phonological awareness, rapid naming and reading comprehension. The differences between the groups were minor at 10 years, when controlled for non-verbal cognition. VLBW children demonstrated worse reading performance at eight years of age than term-born controls. The gap in reading skills between the groups had largely narrowed two years later. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  9. Visual Perception and Reading: New Clues to Patterns of Dysfunction Across Multiple Visual Channels in Developmental Dyslexia.

    PubMed

    Pina Rodrigues, Ana; Rebola, José; Jorge, Helena; Ribeiro, Maria José; Pereira, Marcelino; van Asselen, Marieke; Castelo-Branco, Miguel

    2017-01-01

    The specificity of visual channel impairment in dyslexia has been the subject of much controversy. The purpose of this study was to determine if a differential pattern of impairment can be verified between visual channels in children with developmental dyslexia, and in particular, if the pattern of deficits is more conspicuous in tasks where the magnocellular-dorsal system recruitment prevails. Additionally, we also aimed at investigating the association between visual perception thresholds and reading. In the present case-control study, we compared perception thresholds of 33 children diagnosed with developmental dyslexia and 34 controls in a speed discrimination task, an achromatic contrast sensitivity task, and a chromatic contrast sensitivity task. Moreover, we addressed the correlation between the different perception thresholds and reading performance, as assessed by means of a standardized reading test (accuracy and fluency). Group comparisons were performed by the Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman's rho was used as a measure of correlation. Results showed that, when compared to controls, children with dyslexia were more impaired in the speed discrimination task, followed by the achromatic contrast sensitivity task, with no impairment in the chromatic contrast sensitivity task. These results are also consistent with the magnocellular theory since the impairment profile of children with dyslexia in the visual threshold tasks reflected the amount of magnocellular-dorsal stream involvement. Moreover, both speed and achromatic thresholds were significantly correlated with reading performance, in terms of accuracy and fluency. Notably, chromatic contrast sensitivity thresholds did not correlate with any of the reading measures. Our evidence stands in favor of a differential visual channel deficit in children with developmental dyslexia and contributes to the debate on the pathophysiology of reading impairments.

  10. Testing of Candidate Rigid Heatshield Materials at LHMEL for the Entry, Descent, and Landing Technology Development Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sepka, Steven; Gasch, Matthew; Beck, Robin A.; White, Susan

    2012-01-01

    The material testing results described in this paper were part of a material development program of vendor-supplied, proposed heat shield materials. The goal of this program was to develop low density, rigid material systems with an appreciable weight savings over phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator (PICA) while improving material response performance. New technologies, such as PICA-like materials in honeycomb or materials with variable density through-the-thickness were tested. The material testing took place at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Laser Hardened Materials Laboratory (LHMEL) using a 10.6 micron CO2 laser operating with the test articles immersed in a nitrogen-gas environment at 1 atmosphere pressure. Test measurements included thermocouple readings of in-depth temperatures, pyrometer readings of surface temperatures, weight scale readings of mass loss, and sectioned-sample readings of char depth. Two laser exposures were applied. The first exposure was at an irradiance of 450 W/cm2 for 50 or 60 seconds to simulate an aerocapture maneuver. The second laser exposure was at an irradiance of 115 W/cm2 for 100 seconds to simulate a planetary entry. Results from Rounds 1 and 2 of these screening tests are summarized.

  11. Relationship between the TCAP and the Pearson Benchmark Assessment in Elementary Students' Reading and Math Performance in a Northeastern Tennessee School District

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dugger-Roberts, Cherith A.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a relationship between the TCAP test and Pearson Benchmark assessment in elementary students' reading and language arts and math performance in a northeastern Tennessee school district. This study involved 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. The study focused on the following…

  12. Students’ Use of Optional Online Reviews and Its Relationship to Summative Assessment Outcomes in Introductory Biology

    PubMed Central

    Carpenter, Shana K.; Rahman, Shuhebur; Lund, Terry J. S.; Armstrong, Patrick I.; Lamm, Monica H.; Reason, Robert D.; Coffman, Clark R.

    2017-01-01

    Retrieval practice has been shown to produce significant enhancements in student learning of course information, but the extent to which students make use of retrieval to learn information on their own is unclear. In the current study, students in a large introductory biology course were provided with optional online review questions that could be accessed as Test questions (requiring students to answer the questions before receiving feedback) or as Read questions (providing students with the question and correct answer up-front). Students more often chose to access the questions as Test compared with Read, and students who used the Test questions scored significantly higher on subsequent exams compared with students who used Read questions or did not access the questions at all. Following an in-class presentation of superior exam performance following use of the Test questions, student use of Test questions increased significantly for the remainder of the term. These results suggest that practice questions can be an effective tool for enhancing student achievement in biology and that informing students about performance-based outcomes coincides with increased use of retrieval practice. PMID:28408408

  13. A comparison of literature-based and content-based guided reading materials on elementary student reading and science achievement

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guns, Christine

    Guided reading, as developed by Fountas and Pinnell (2001), has been a staple of elementary reading programs for the past decade. Teachers in the elementary school setting utilize this small group, tailored instruction in order to differentiate and meet the instructional needs of the students. The literature shows academic benefit for students who have special needs, such as learning disabilities, autism, and hearing impairments but consideration of academic impact has not been investigated for regular education students. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate the academic impact of the use of content-related (Group C) and the traditional literature-based (Group L) reading materials. During the Living Systems and Life Processes unit in science, two teachers self-selected to utilized science-related materials for guided reading instruction while the other three teacher participants utilized their normal literature-based guided reading materials. The two groups were compared using an ANCOVA in this pre-test/post-test design. The dependent variables included the Reading for Application and Instruction assessment (RAI) and a Living Systems and Life Processes assessment (LSA). Further analysis compared students of different reading levels and gender. The data analyses revealed a practical but not statistical significance for students in science performance. It was discovered that below level male and female students performed better on the LSA when provided with content-related guided reading materials. As far as reading achievement is concerned, students in both groups had comparable results. The teachers provided guided reading instruction to their students with fidelity and made adjustments to their practices due to the needs of their students. The content-related teachers utilized a larger number of expository texts than the literature-based teachers. These teachers expressed the desire to continue the practice of providing the students with content-related materials.

  14. Computer-assisted instruction to prevent early reading difficulties in students at risk for dyslexia: Outcomes from two instructional approaches.

    PubMed

    Torgesen, Joseph K; Wagner, Richard K; Rashotte, Carol A; Herron, Jeannine; Lindamood, Patricia

    2010-06-01

    The relative effectiveness of two computer-assisted instructional programs designed to provide instruction and practice in foundational reading skills was examined. First-grade students at risk for reading disabilities received approximately 80 h of small-group instruction in four 50-min sessions per week from October through May. Approximately half of the instruction was delivered by specially trained teachers to prepare students for their work on the computer, and half was delivered by the computer programs. At the end of first grade, there were no differences in student reading performance between students assigned to the different intervention conditions, but the combined-intervention students performed significantly better than control students who had been exposed to their school's normal reading program. Significant differences were obtained for phonemic awareness, phonemic decoding, reading accuracy, rapid automatic naming, and reading comprehension. A follow-up test at the end of second grade showed a similar pattern of differences, although only differences in phonemic awareness, phonemic decoding, and rapid naming remained statistically reliable.

  15. Page mode reading with simulated scotomas: a modest effect of interline spacing on reading speed.

    PubMed

    Bernard, Jean-Baptiste; Scherlen, Anne-Catherine; Anne-Catherine, Scherlen; Castet, Eric; Eric, Castet

    2007-12-01

    Crowding is thought to be one potent limiting factor of reading in peripheral vision. While several studies investigated how crowding between horizontally adjacent letters or words can influence eccentric reading, little attention has been paid to the influence of vertically adjacent lines of text. The goal of this study was to examine the dependence of page mode reading performance (speed and accuracy) on interline spacing. A gaze-contingent visual display was used to simulate a visual central scotoma while normally sighted observers read meaningful French sentences following MNREAD principles. The sensitivity of this new material to low-level factors was confirmed by showing strong effects of perceptual learning, print size and scotoma size on reading performance. In contrast, reading speed was only slightly modulated by interline spacing even for the largest range tested: a 26% gain for a 178% increase in spacing. This modest effect sharply contrasts with the dramatic influence of vertical word spacing found in a recent RSVP study. This discrepancy suggests either that vertical crowding is minimized when reading meaningful sentences, or that the interaction between crowding and other factors such as attention and/or visuo-motor control is dependent on the paradigm used to assess reading speed (page vs. RSVP mode).

  16. Effects of education and word reading on cognitive scores in a community-based sample of Spanish elders with diverse socioeconomic status.

    PubMed

    Contador, Israel; Bermejo-Pareja, Félix; Del Ser, Teodoro; Benito-León, Julián

    2015-01-01

    The influence of education and oral word-reading ability on cognitive performance was examined in a sample of 1510 nondemented elders differing in socioeconomic status (SES) from three Spanish communities. All individuals were enrolled in the Neurological Disorders in Central Spain, a population-based epidemiological study in central Spain. They completed a detailed demographic survey and a short standardized neuropsychological battery assessing psychomotor speed, attention, language, and memory. The Word Accentuation Test (WAT) was used as measure of oral reading ability. The influence of education and oral reading on cognitive performance was determined by multiple linear regression models, first controlling for demographics (age and sex), and subsequently for the WAT score and education. The contribution of socioeconomic conditions was addressed by stratifying the sample into groups of high and low SES. The WAT showed a significant independent effect on cognitive scores, generally greater than that predicted by demographics. The higher predictive power of oral word reading on cognitive scores compared to education was consistent across the three communities. Although the variance explained by WAT was very similar in areas with diverse SES (low vs. high), WAT scores accounted for slightly more variance in naming and memory tasks in low SES areas. In contrast, the variance explained by WAT was higher for verbal fluency and the Trail-Making Test in areas with high SES. Oral word-reading ability predicts cognitive performance better than years of education across individuals with different SES. The influence of WAT may be modulated by SES and cognitive task properties.

  17. Effect of chromatic filters on visual performance in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI): A pilot study.

    PubMed

    Fimreite, Vanessa; Willeford, Kevin T; Ciuffreda, Kenneth J

    2016-01-01

    Spectral filters have been used clinically in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). However, they have not been formally assessed using objective techniques in this population. Thus, the aim of the present pilot study was to determine the effect of spectral filters on reading performance and visuo-cortical responsivity in adults with mTBI. 12 adults with mTBI/concussion were tested. All reported photosensitivity and reading problems. They were compared to 12 visually-normal, asymptomatic adults. There were several test conditions: three luminance-matched control filters (gray neutral density, blue, and red), the patient-selected 'precision tint lens' that provided the most comfort and clarity of text using the Intuitive Colorimeter System, and baseline without any filters. The Visagraph was used to assess reading eye movements and reading speed objectively with each filter. In addition, both the amplitude and latency of the visual-evoked potential (VEP) were assessed with the same filters. There were few significant group differences in either the reading-related parameters or VEP latency for any of the test filter conditions. Subjective improvements were noted in most with mTBI (11/12). The majority of patients with mTBI chose a tinted filter that resulted in increased visual comfort. While significant findings based on the objective testing were found for some conditions, the subjective results suggest that precision tints should be considered as an adjunctive treatment in patients with mTBI and photosensitivity. Copyright © 2016 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  18. Cost-Effectiveness of Double Reading versus Single Reading of Mammograms in a Breast Cancer Screening Programme

    PubMed Central

    Posso, Margarita; Carles, Misericòrdia; Rué, Montserrat; Puig, Teresa; Bonfill, Xavier

    2016-01-01

    Objectives The usual practice in breast cancer screening programmes for mammogram interpretation is to perform double reading. However, little is known about its cost-effectiveness in the context of digital mammography. Our purpose was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of double reading versus single reading of digital mammograms in a population-based breast cancer screening programme. Methods Data from 28,636 screened women was used to establish a decision-tree model and to compare three strategies: 1) double reading; 2) double reading for women in their first participation and single reading for women in their subsequent participations; and 3) single reading. We calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), which was defined as the expected cost per one additionally detected cancer. We performed a deterministic sensitivity analysis to test the robustness of the ICER. Results The detection rate of double reading (5.17‰) was similar to that of single reading (4.78‰; P = .768). The mean cost of each detected cancer was €8,912 for double reading and €8,287 for single reading. The ICER of double reading versus single reading was €16,684. The sensitivity analysis showed variations in the ICER according to the sensitivity of reading strategies. The strategy that combines double reading in first participation with single reading in subsequent participations was ruled out due to extended dominance. Conclusions From our results, double reading appears not to be a cost-effective strategy in the context of digital mammography. Double reading would eventually be challenged in screening programmes, as single reading might entail important net savings without significantly changing the cancer detection rate. These results are not conclusive and should be confirmed in prospective studies that investigate long-term outcomes like quality adjusted life years (QALYs). PMID:27459663

  19. Students' performance in phonological awareness, rapid naming, reading, and writing.

    PubMed

    Capellini, Simone Aparecida; Lanza, Simone Cristina

    2010-01-01

    phonological awareness, rapid naming, reading and writing in students with learning difficulties of a municipal public school. to characterize and compare the performance of students from public schools with and without learning difficulties in phonological awareness, rapid naming, reading and writing. participants were 60 students from the 2nd to the 4th grades of municipal public schools divided into 6 groups. Each group was composed by 10 students, being 3 groups of students without learning difficulties and 3 groups with students with learning difficulties. As testing procedure phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, oral reading and writing under dictation assessments were used. the results highlighted the better performance of students with no learning difficulties. Students with learning difficulties presented a higher ratios considering time/speed in rapid naming tasks and, consequently, lower production in activities of phonological awareness and reading and writing, when compared to students without learning difficulties. students with learning difficulties presented deficits when considering the relationship between naming and automatization skills, and among lexical access, visual discrimination, stimulus frequency use and competition in using less time for code naming, i.e. necessary for the phoneme-grapheme conversion process required in the reading and writing alphabetic system like the Portuguese language.

  20. Thermal (Silicon Diode) Data Acquisition System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kegley, Jeffrey

    2008-01-01

    Marshall Space Flight Center's X-ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) has been performing cryogenic testing to 20 Kelvin since 1999. Two configurations for acquiring data from silicon diode temperature sensors have been implemented at the facility. The facility's environment is recorded via a data acquisition system capable of reading up to 60 silicon diodes. Test article temperature is recorded by a second data acquisition system capable of reading 150+ silicon diodes. The specifications and architecture of both systems will be presented.

  1. Thermal (Silicon Diode) Data Acquisition Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wright, Ernest; Kegley, Jeff

    2008-01-01

    Marshall Space Flight Center s X-ray Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) has been performing cryogenic testing to 20 Kelvin since 1999. Two configurations for acquiring data from silicon diode temperature sensors have been implemented at the facility. The facility's environment is recorded via a data acquisition system capable of reading up to 60 silicon diodes. Test article temperature is recorded by a second data acquisition system capable of reading 150+ silicon diodes. The specifications and architecture of both systems will be presented.

  2. Attention and Facilitation: Converging Information versus Inadvertent Reading in Stroop Task Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roelofs, Ardi

    2010-01-01

    Disagreement exists about whether color-word Stroop facilitation is caused by converging information (e.g., Cohen et al., 1990; Roelofs, 2003) or inadvertent reading (MacLeod & MacDonald, 2000). Four experiments tested between these hypotheses by examining Stroop effects on response time (RT) both within and between languages. Words cannot be…

  3. Metacognitive Prompt Overdose: Positive and Negative Effects of Prompts in iSTART

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCarthy, Kathryn S.; Johnson, Amy M.; Likens, Aaron D.; Martin, Zachary; McNamara, Danielle S.

    2017-01-01

    Interactive Strategy Training for Active Reading and Thinking (iSTART) is an intelligent tutoring system that supports reading comprehension through self-explanation (SE) training. This study tested how two metacognitive features, presented in a 2 x 2 design, affected students' SE scores during training. The "performance notification"…

  4. Differential Ability Scales-II Prediction of Reading Performance: Global Scores Are Not Enough

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elliott, Colin D.; Hale, James B.; Fiorello, Catherine A.; Dorvil, Cledicianne; Moldovan, Jaime

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the effects of broad cognitive abilities derived from the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) taxonomy, together with the effect of the general factor ("g"), on Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition (WIAT-II) reading achievement. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and commonality analyses were applied to the…

  5. Analogical Processes in Children's Understanding of Spatial Representations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yuan, Lei; Uttal, David; Gentner, Dedre

    2017-01-01

    We propose that map reading can be construed as a form of analogical mapping. We tested 2 predictions that follow from this claim: First, young children's patterns of performance in map reading tasks should parallel those found in analogical mapping tasks; and, second, children will benefit from guided alignment instructions that help them see the…

  6. A Test of the Relationship between Reading Ability & Standardized Biology Assessment Scores

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, Denise A.

    2014-01-01

    Little empirical evidence suggested that independent reading abilities of students enrolled in biology predicted their performance on the Biology I Graduation End-of-Course Assessment (ECA). An archival study was conducted at one Indiana urban public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, by examining existing educational assessment data to test…

  7. Intellectual Performance and Reading Skills after Localized Head Injury in Childhood.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chadwick, Oliver; And Others

    1981-01-01

    Ninety-seven school-age children who had previously sustained a unilateral compound depressed fracture of the skull were studied using tests of intelligence and reading attainment. Intellectual impairment was significantly associated with overall severity of brain trauma. Neither the child's age at injury nor the brain hemisphere damaged had…

  8. The Integration of Psycholinguistic and Discourse Processing Theories of Reading Comprehension.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beebe, Mona J.

    To assess the compatibility of miscue analysis and recall analysis as independent elements in a theory of reading comprehension, a study was performed that operationalized each theory and separated its components into measurable units to allow empirical testing. A cueing strategy model was estimated, but the discourse processing model was broken…

  9. Repeated readings and science: Fluency with expository passages

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kostewicz, Douglas E.

    The current study investigated the effects of repeated readings to a fluency criterion (RRFC) for seven students with disabilities using science text. The study employed a single subject design, specifically, two multiple probe multiple baselines across subjects, to evaluate the effects of the RRFC intervention. Results indicated that students met criterion (200 or more correct words per minute with 2 or fewer errors) on four consecutive passages. A majority of students displayed accelerations to correct words per minute and decelerations to incorrect words per minute on successive initial, intervention readings suggesting reading transfer. Students' reading scores during posttest and maintenance out performed pre-test and baseline readings provided additional measures of reading transfer. For a relationship to comprehension, students scored higher on oral retell measures after meeting criterion as compared to initial readings. Overall, the research findings suggested that the RRFC intervention improves science reading fluency for students with disabilities, and may also indirectly benefit comprehension.

  10. Cognitive Factors Contributing to Spelling Performance in Children with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

    PubMed Central

    Glass, Leila; Graham, Diana M.; Akshoomoff, Natacha; Mattson, Sarah N.

    2015-01-01

    Objective Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with impaired school functioning. Spelling performance has not been comprehensively evaluated. We examined whether children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure demonstrate deficits in spelling and related abilities, including reading, and tested whether there are unique underlying mechanisms for observed deficits in this population. Method Ninety-six school-age children comprised two groups: children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (AE, n=49) and control children (CON, n=47). Children completed select subtests from the WIAT-II and NEPSY-II. Group differences and relations between spelling and theoretically-related cognitive variables were evaluated using MANOVA and Pearson correlations. Hierarchical regression analyses were utilized to assess contributions of group membership and cognitive variables to spelling performance. The specificity of these deficits and underlying mechanisms was tested by examining the relations between reading ability, group membership, and cognitive variables. Results Groups differed significantly on all variables. Group membership and phonological processing significantly contributed to spelling performance. In addition, a significant group*working memory interaction revealed that working memory independently contributed significantly to spelling only for the AE group. All cognitive variables contributed to reading across groups and a group*working memory interaction revealed that working memory contributed independently to reading only for alcohol-exposed children. Conclusion Alcohol-exposed children demonstrated a unique pattern of spelling deficits. The relation of working memory to spelling and reading was specific to the AE group, suggesting that if prenatal alcohol exposure is known or suspected, working memory ability should be considered in the development and implementation of explicit instruction. PMID:25643217

  11. [Developmental changes in reading ability of Japanese elementary school children--analysis of 4 kana reading tasks].

    PubMed

    Kobayashi, Tomoka; Inagaki, Masumi; Gunji, Atsuko; Yatabe, Kiyomi; Kaga, Makiko; Goto, Takaaki; Koike, Toshihide; Wakamiya, Eiji; Koeda, Tatsuya

    2010-01-01

    Five hundred and twenty-eight Japanese elementary school children aged from 6 (Grade 1) to 12 (Grade 6) were tested for their abilities to read Hiragana characters, words, and short sentences. They were typically developing children whom the classroom teachers judged to have no problems with reading and writing in Japanese. Each child was asked to read four tasks which were written in Hiragana script: single mora reading task, four syllable non-word reading task, four syllable word reading task, and short sentence reading task. The total articulation time for reading and performance in terms of accuracy were measured for each task. Developmental changes in these variables were evaluated. The articulation time was significantly longer for the first graders, and it gradually shortened as they moved through to the upper grades in all tasks. The articulation time reached a plateau in the 4th grade for the four syllable word and short sentence reading tasks, while it did so for the single mora and four syllable non-word reading tasks in the 5th grade. The articulation times for the four syllable word and short sentence reading tasks correlated strongly. There were very few clear errors for all tasks, and the number of such errors significantly changed between the school grades only for the single mora and four syllable word reading tasks. It was noted that more than half of the children read the beginning portion of the word or phrase twice or more, in order to read it accurately, and developmental changes were also seen in this pattern of reading. This study revealed that the combination of these reading tasks may function as a screening test for reading disorders such as developmental dyslexia in children below the age of ten or eleven years old.

  12. Comparing the Effect of Thinking Maps Training Package Developed by the Thinking Maps Method on the Reading Performance of Dyslexic Students.

    PubMed

    Faramarzi, Salar; Moradi, Mohammadreza; Abedi, Ahmad

    2018-06-01

    The present study aimed to develop the thinking maps training package and compare its training effect with the thinking maps method on the reading performance of second and fifth grade of elementary school male dyslexic students. For this mixed method exploratory study, from among the above mentioned grades' students in Isfahan, 90 students who met the inclusion criteria were selected by multistage sampling and randomly assigned into six experimental and control groups. The data were collected by reading and dyslexia test and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-fourth edition. The results of covariance analysis indicated a significant difference between the reading performance of the experimental (thinking maps training package and thinking maps method groups) and control groups ([Formula: see text]). Moreover, there were significant differences between the thinking maps training package group and thinking maps method group in some of the subtests ([Formula: see text]). It can be concluded that thinking maps training package and the thinking maps method exert a positive influence on the reading performance of dyslexic students; therefore, thinking maps can be used as an effective training and treatment method.

  13. Perceptual Learning in Children With Infantile Nystagmus: Effects on Reading Performance.

    PubMed

    Huurneman, Bianca; Boonstra, F Nienke; Goossens, Jeroen

    2016-08-01

    Perceptual learning improves visual acuity and reduces crowding in children with infantile nystagmus (IN). Here, we compare reading performance of 6- to 11-year-old children with IN with normal controls, and evaluate whether perceptual learning improves their reading. Children with IN were divided in two training groups: a crowded training group (n = 18; albinism: n = 8; idiopathic IN: n = 10) and an uncrowded training group (n = 17; albinism: n = 9; idiopathic IN: n = 8). Also 11 children with normal vision participated. Outcome measures were: reading acuity (the smallest readable font size), maximum reading speed, critical print size (font size below which reading is suboptimal), and acuity reserve (difference between reading acuity and critical print size). We used multiple regression analyses to test if these reading parameters were related to the children's uncrowded distance acuity and/or crowding scores. Reading acuity and critical print size were 0.65 ± 0.04 and 0.69 ± 0.08 log units larger for children with IN than for children with normal vision. Maximum reading speed and acuity reserve did not differ between these groups. After training, reading acuity improved by 0.12 ± 0.02 logMAR and critical print size improved by 0.11 ± 0.04 logMAR in both IN training groups. The changes in reading acuity, critical print size, and acuity reserve of children with IN were tightly related to changes in their uncrowded distance acuity and the changes in magnitude and extent of crowding. Our findings are the first to show that visual acuity is not the only factor that restricts reading in children with IN, but that crowding also limits their reading performance. By targeting both of these spatial bottlenecks in children with IN, our perceptual learning paradigms significantly improved their reading acuity and critical print size. This shows that perceptual learning can effectively transfer to reading.

  14. The 1-min Screening Test for Reading Problems in College Students: Psychometric Properties of the 1-min TIL.

    PubMed

    Fernandes, Tânia; Araújo, Susana; Sucena, Ana; Reis, Alexandra; Castro, São Luís

    2017-02-01

    Reading is a central cognitive domain, but little research has been devoted to standardized tests for adults. We, thus, examined the psychometric properties of the 1-min version of Teste de Idade de Leitura (Reading Age Test; 1-min TIL), the Portuguese version of Lobrot L3 test, in three experiments with college students: typical readers in Experiment 1A and B, dyslexic readers and chronological age controls in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1A, test-retest reliability and convergent validity were evaluated in 185 students. Reliability was >.70, and phonological decoding underpinned 1-min TIL. In Experiment 1B, internal consistency was assessed by presenting two 45-s versions of the test to 19 students, and performance in these versions was significantly associated (r = .78). In Experiment 2, construct validity, criterion validity and clinical utility of 1-min TIL were investigated. A multiple regression analysis corroborated construct validity; both phonological decoding and listening comprehension were reliable predictors of 1-min TIL scores. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristics analyses revealed the high accuracy of this test in distinguishing dyslexic from typical readers. Therefore, the 1-min TIL, which assesses reading comprehension and potential reading difficulties in college students, has the necessary psychometric properties to become a useful screening instrument in neuropsychological assessment and research. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Semantic interference in picture naming during dual-task performance does not vary with reading ability.

    PubMed

    Piai, Vitória; Roelofs, Ardi; Roete, Ingeborg

    2015-01-01

    Previous dual-task studies examining the locus of semantic interference of distractor words in picture naming have obtained diverging results. In these studies, participants manually responded to tones and named pictures while ignoring distractor words (picture-word interference, PWI) with varying stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between tone and PWI stimulus. Whereas some studies observed no semantic interference at short SOAs, other studies observed effects of similar magnitude at short and long SOAs. The absence of semantic interference in some studies may perhaps be due to better reading skill of participants in these than in the other studies. According to such a reading-ability account, participants' reading skill should be predictive of the magnitude of their interference effect at short SOAs. To test this account, we conducted a dual-task study with tone discrimination and PWI tasks and measured participants' reading ability. The semantic interference effect was of similar magnitude at both short and long SOAs. Participants' reading ability was predictive of their naming speed but not of their semantic interference effect, contrary to the reading ability account. We conclude that the magnitude of semantic interference in picture naming during dual-task performance does not depend on reading skill.

  16. Performance and Preference with Various VDT (Video Display Terminal) Phosphors

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-04-24

    Unit M\\100.001-1302. was submitted for review on 13 March 1987, approved for publication on 24 April 1987, and has been designated as Naval Submarine... designed to investigate reading fatigue, Nordqvist et al. (1986) had their subjects read texts for 15 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of performance tests...Doc, Ophthalmol. 3: 138-163. Tu-lis, T.S. (1981). An evaluation of alphanumeric, graphic , and color information displays. -_pman Factors 23: 541-550

  17. When the Principal Asks: "Why are you doing Piagetian Task Testing when you have given Basal Placement Tests?"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harp, Bill

    1987-01-01

    Suggests ways a teacher who is interested in performing Piagetian testing might persuade a principal of the validity of the tests, and offers insight into the connection between cognitive development and reading achievement. (JC)

  18. Contextual Variation, Familiarity, Academic Literacy, and Rural Adolescents' Idiom Knowledge.

    PubMed

    Qualls, Constance Dean; O'Brien, Rose M; Blood, Gordon W; Hammer, Carol Scheffner

    2003-01-01

    The paucity of data on idiom development in adolescents, particularly rural adolescents, limits the ability of speech-language pathologists and educators to test and teach idioms appropriately in this population. This study was designed to delineate the interrelationships between context, familiarity, and academic literacy relative to rural adolescents' idiom knowledge. Ninety-five rural eighth graders (M age=13.4 years) were quasi-randomly assigned to complete the Idiom Comprehension Test (Qualls & Harris, 1999) in one of three contexts: idioms in a short story (n=25), idioms in isolation (n=32), and idioms in a verification task (n=38). For all conditions, the identical 24 idioms-8 each of high, moderate, and low familiarity (Nippold & Rudzinski, 1993)-were presented. For a subset (N=54) of the students, reading and language arts scores from the California Achievement Tests (5th ed., 1993), a standardized achievement test, were correlated with performance on the idiom test. Performance in the story condition and on high-familiarity idioms showed the greatest accuracy. For the isolation and verification conditions, context interacted with familiarity. Associations existed between idiom performance and reading ability and idiom performance and language literacy, but only for the story and verification conditions. High-proficiency readers showed the greatest idiom accuracy. The results support the notion that context facilitates idiom comprehension for rural adolescents, and that idiom testing should consider not only context, but idiom familiarity as well. Thus, local norms should be established. Findings also confirm that good readers are better at comprehending idioms, likely resulting from enriched vocabulary obtained through reading. These normative data indicate what might be expected when testing idiom knowledge in adolescents with language impairments.

  19. Methods study for the relocation of visual information in central scotoma cases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Scherlen, Anne-Catherine; Gautier, Vincent

    2005-03-01

    In this study we test the benefit on the reading performance of different ways to relocating the visual information present under the scotoma. The relocation (or unmasking) allows to compensate the loss of information and avoid the patient developing driving strategies not adapted for the reading. Eight healthy subjects were tested on a reading task, on each a central scotoma of various sizes was simulated. We then evaluate the reading speed (words/min) during three visual information relocation methods: all masked information is relocated - on both side of scotoma, - on the right of scotoma, - and only essentials letters for the word recognition too on the right of scotoma. We compare these reading speeds versus the pathological condition, ie without relocating visual information. Our results show that unmasking strategy improve the reading speed when all the visual information is unmask to the right of scotoma, this only for large scotoma. Taking account the word morphology, the perception of only certain letters outside the scotoma can be sufficient to improve the reading speed. A deepening of reading processes in the presence of a scotoma will then allows a new perspective for visual information unmasking. Multidisciplinary competences brought by engineers, ophtalmologists, linguists, clinicians would allow to optimize the reading benefit brought by the unmasking.

  20. Using Growth Rate of Reading Fluency to Predict Performance on Statewide Achievement Tests

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hinkle, Rachelle Whittaker

    2011-01-01

    Federal legislation has prescribed the increased use of statewide achievement tests as the culmination of a student's knowledge and ability at the end of a grade level; however, schools need to be able to predict those who are at-risk of performing poorly on these high-stakes tests. Three studies served to identify a means of predicting statewide…

  1. Specific profiles of neurocognitive and reading functions in a sample of 42 Italian boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

    PubMed

    Lorusso, Maria Luisa; Civati, Federica; Molteni, Massimo; Turconi, Anna Carla; Bresolin, Nereo; D'Angelo, Maria Grazia

    2013-01-01

    A group of 42 Italian boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy was compared with a control group of 10 boys with Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Osteogenesis Imperfecta on tests assessing general intellectual ability, language, neuropsychological functions, and reading skills with the aim of describing a comprehensive profile of the various functions and investigating their interrelationships. The influence of general intellectual level on performance was analyzed. Further, correlations between various neuropsychological measures and language performances were computed for the group with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, as well as the correlations between reading scores and other cognitive and linguistic measures. A general lowering in VIQ, PIQ, and FSIQ scores was found to characterize the group with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Expressive language skills were within the normal range, while syntactic and grammatical comprehension were significantly impaired. The presence of below-average reading performances was further confirmed. However, unlike previous studies on irregular orthographies, the present results show that (a) the mild reading difficulties found in the sample essentially concern speed rather than accuracy; (b) they concern word rather than nonword reading; (c) lower reading performances are related to lower scores in general IQ; (d) no correlations emerge with phonological abilities, verbal short-term memory, or working memory, but rather with long-term memory and lexical skills. This may suggest that language-specific effects modulate the cognitive expressions of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and raises the possibility that the dysfunctions underlying the reading difficulties observed in affected readers of regular orthographies involve different neurocognitive systems than the cortico-cerebellar circuits usually invoked.

  2. Language comprehenders retain implied shape and orientation of objects.

    PubMed

    Pecher, Diane; van Dantzig, Saskia; Zwaan, Rolf A; Zeelenberg, René

    2009-06-01

    According to theories of embodied cognition, language comprehenders simulate sensorimotor experiences to represent the meaning of what they read. Previous studies have shown that picture recognition is better if the object in the picture matches the orientation or shape implied by a preceding sentence. In order to test whether strategic imagery may explain previous findings, language comprehenders first read a list of sentences in which objects were mentioned. Only once the complete list had been read was recognition memory tested with pictures. Recognition performance was better if the orientation or shape of the object matched that implied by the sentence, both immediately after reading the complete list of sentences and after a 45-min delay. These results suggest that previously found match effects were not due to strategic imagery and show that details of sensorimotor simulations are retained over longer periods.

  3. Reading and visual processing in Greek dyslexic children: an eye-movement study.

    PubMed

    Hatzidaki, Anna; Gianneli, Maria; Petrakis, Eftichis; Makaronas, Nikolaos; Aslanides, Ioannis M

    2011-02-01

    We examined the impact of the effects of dyslexia on various processing and cognitive components (e.g., reading speed and accuracy) in a language with high phonological and orthographic consistency. Greek dyslexic children were compared with a chronological age-matched group on tasks that tested participants' phonological and orthographic awareness during reading and spelling, as well as their efficiency to detect a specific target-letter during a sequential visual search task. Dyslexic children showed impaired reading and spelling that was reflected in slow reading speed and error-prone performance, especially for non-words. Eye movement measures of text reading also provided supporting evidence for a reading deficit, with dyslexic participants producing more fixations and longer fixation duration as opposed to non-dyslexic participants. The results of the visual search task showed similar performance between the two groups, but when they were compared with the results of text reading, dyslexic participants were found to be able to process fewer stimuli (i.e., letters) at each fixation than non-dyslexics. Our findings further suggest that, although Greek dyslexics have the advantage of a consistent orthographic system which facilitates acquisition of reading and phonological awareness, they demonstrate more impaired access to orthographic forms than dyslexics of other transparent orthographies. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. A method to minimise the fading effects of LiF:Mg,Ti (TLD-600 and TLD-700) using a pre-heat technique.

    PubMed

    Lee, YoungJu; Won, Yuho; Kang, Kidoo

    2015-04-01

    Passive integrating dosemeters [thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)] are the only legally permitted individual dosemeters for occupational external radiation exposure monitoring in Korea. Also its maximum issuing cycle does not exceed 3 months, and the Korean regulations require personal dosemeters for official assessment of external radiation exposure to be issued by an approved or rather an accredited dosimetry service according to ISO/IEC 17025. KHNP (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, LTD), a unique operating company of nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Korea, currently has a plan to extend a TLD issuing cycle from 1 to 3 months under the authors' fading error criteria, ±10%. The authors have performed a feasibility study that minimises post-irradiation fading effects within their maximum reading cycle employing pre-heating technique. They repeatedly performed irradiation/reading a bare TLD chip to determine optimum pre-heating conditions by analysing each glow curve. The optimum reading conditions within the maximum reading cycle of 3 months were decided: a pre-heating temperature of 165°C, a pre-heating time of 9 s, a heating rate of 25°C s(-1), a reading temperature of 300°C and an acquisition time of 10 s. The fading result of TLD-600 and TLD-700 carried by newly developed time temperature profile (TTP) showed a much smaller fading effect than that of current TTP. The result showed that the fading error due to a developed TTP resulted in a ∼5% signal loss, whereas a current TTP caused a ∼15% loss. The authors also carried out a legal performance test on newly developed TTP to confirm its possibility as an official dosemeter. The legal performance tests that applied the developed TTP satisfied the criteria for all the test categories. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Three computer codes to read, plot and tabulate operational test-site recorded solar data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stewart, S. D.; Sampson, R. S., Jr.; Stonemetz, R. E.; Rouse, S. L.

    1980-01-01

    Computer programs used to process data that will be used in the evaluation of collector efficiency and solar system performance are described. The program, TAPFIL, reads data from an IBM 360 tape containing information (insolation, flowrates, temperatures, etc.) from 48 operational solar heating and cooling test sites. Two other programs, CHPLOT and WRTCNL, plot and tabulate the data from the direct access, unformatted TAPFIL file. The methodology of the programs, their inputs, and their outputs are described.

  6. Red Cloud Reading Test: American Indian Form of the Test of Individual Needs in Reading, a Competency Based Test of Reading Skills [and] Instructor's Manual.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gilliland, Hap

    The oral Red Cloud Reading Test provides a complete analysis of reading level and skills for American Indian students in grades 1-7 or for high school and adult students reading at or below high school levels. The test determines the basic and recreational reading levels, identifies reading problems, determines reading speeds, and analyzes the…

  7. Cognitive intervention in unemployed individuals with reading and writing disabilities.

    PubMed

    Jensen, J; Lindgren, M; Andersson, K; Ingvar, D H; Levander, S

    2000-01-01

    Sixty native-born Swedish unemployed participants with reading and writing disabilities (R&WD) participated in a 20-week educational program aimed at improving reading and writing, verbal memory, self-confidence, and flexibility of perspectives. They were tested with a comprehensive battery (interviews, questionnaires, neuropsychological tests, and tests of academic achievement) before and after the intervention. Sixteen controls, matched for sex, age, education, and nonverbal IQ, participated in the pre- and posttest sessions but received only standard unemployment interventions. The educational program participants' performance in tests assessing spelling, decoding of letters, self-confidence, and flexibility improved significantly in comparison with the controls after the intervention. A significantly larger number of the participants had obtained work or started a regular education than expected. A substantial proportion of unemployed participants have R&WD and it appears that an intensive but fairly short educational program can improve their accessibility to the labor market and their motivation for study.

  8. Neural Signatures of the Reading-Writing Connection: Greater Involvement of Writing in Chinese Reading than English Reading.

    PubMed

    Cao, Fan; Perfetti, Charles A

    2016-01-01

    Research on cross-linguistic comparisons of the neural correlates of reading has consistently found that the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) is more involved in Chinese than in English. However, there is a lack of consensus on the interpretation of the language difference. Because this region has been found to be involved in writing, we hypothesize that reading Chinese characters involves this writing region to a greater degree because Chinese speakers learn to read by repeatedly writing the characters. To test this hypothesis, we recruited English L1 learners of Chinese, who performed a reading task and a writing task in each language. The English L1 sample had learned some Chinese characters through character-writing and others through phonological learning, allowing a test of writing-on-reading effect. We found that the left MFG was more activated in Chinese than English regardless of task, and more activated in writing than in reading regardless of language. Furthermore, we found that this region was more activated for reading Chinese characters learned by character-writing than those learned by phonological learning. A major conclusion is that writing regions are also activated in reading, and that this reading-writing connection is modulated by the learning experience. We replicated the main findings in a group of native Chinese speakers, which excluded the possibility that the language differences observed in the English L1 participants were due to different language proficiency level.

  9. Neural Signatures of the Reading-Writing Connection: Greater Involvement of Writing in Chinese Reading than English Reading

    PubMed Central

    Cao, Fan; Perfetti, Charles A.

    2016-01-01

    Research on cross-linguistic comparisons of the neural correlates of reading has consistently found that the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) is more involved in Chinese than in English. However, there is a lack of consensus on the interpretation of the language difference. Because this region has been found to be involved in writing, we hypothesize that reading Chinese characters involves this writing region to a greater degree because Chinese speakers learn to read by repeatedly writing the characters. To test this hypothesis, we recruited English L1 learners of Chinese, who performed a reading task and a writing task in each language. The English L1 sample had learned some Chinese characters through character-writing and others through phonological learning, allowing a test of writing-on-reading effect. We found that the left MFG was more activated in Chinese than English regardless of task, and more activated in writing than in reading regardless of language. Furthermore, we found that this region was more activated for reading Chinese characters learned by character-writing than those learned by phonological learning. A major conclusion is that writing regions are also activated in reading, and that this reading-writing connection is modulated by the learning experience. We replicated the main findings in a group of native Chinese speakers, which excluded the possibility that the language differences observed in the English L1 participants were due to different language proficiency level. PMID:27992505

  10. Activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in a dual neuropsychological screening test: an fMRI approach.

    PubMed

    Tachibana, Atsumichi; Noah, J Adam; Bronner, Shaw; Ono, Yumie; Hirano, Yoshiyuki; Niwa, Masami; Watanabe, Kazuko; Onozuka, Minoru

    2012-05-28

    The Kana Pick-out Test (KPT), which uses Kana or Japanese symbols that represent syllables, requires parallel processing of discrete (pick-out) and continuous (reading) dual tasks. As a dual task, the KPT is thought to test working memory and executive function, particularly in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and is widely used in Japan as a clinical screen for dementia. Nevertheless, there has been little neurological investigation into PFC activity during this test. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate changes in the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal in young healthy adults during performance of a computerized KPT dual task (comprised of reading comprehension and picking out vowels) and compared it to its single task components (reading or vowel pick-out alone). Behavioral performance of the KPT degraded compared to its single task components. Performance of the KPT markedly increased BOLD signal intensity in the PFC, and also activated sensorimotor, parietal association, and visual cortex areas. In conjunction analyses, bilateral BOLD signal in the dorsolateral PFC (Brodmann's areas 45, 46) was present only in the KPT. Our results support the central bottleneck theory and suggest that the dorsolateral PFC is an important mediator of neural activity for both short-term storage and executive processes. Quantitative evaluation of the KPT with fMRI in healthy adults is the first step towards understanding the effects of aging or cognitive impairment on KPT performance.

  11. Incremental rate of prefrontal oxygenation determines performance speed during cognitive Stroop test: the effect of ageing.

    PubMed

    Endo, Kana; Liang, Nan; Idesako, Mitsuhiro; Ishii, Kei; Matsukawa, Kanji

    2018-02-19

    Cognitive function declines with age. The underlying mechanisms responsible for the deterioration of cognitive performance, however, remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that an incremental rate of prefrontal oxygenation during a cognitive Stroop test decreases in progress of ageing, resulting in a slowdown of cognitive performance. To test this hypothesis, we identified, using multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy, the characteristics of the oxygenated-hemoglobin concentration (Oxy-Hb) responses of the prefrontal cortex to both incongruent Stroop and congruent word-reading test. Spatial distributions of the significant changes in the three components (initial slope, peak amplitude, and area under the curve) of the Oxy-Hb response were compared between young and elderly subjects. The Stroop interference time (as a difference in total periods for executing Stroop and word-reading test, respectively) approximately doubled in elderly as compared to young subjects. The Oxy-Hb in the rostrolateral, but not caudal, prefrontal cortex increased during the Stroop test in both age groups. The initial slope of the Oxy-Hb response, rather than the peak and area under the curve, had a strong correlation with cognitive performance speed. Taken together, it is likely that the incremental rate of prefrontal oxygenation may decrease in progress of ageing, resulting in a decline in cognitive performance.

  12. Arithmetic Abilities in Children with Developmental Dyslexia: Performance on French ZAREKI-R Test

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Clercq-Quaegebeur, Maryse; Casalis, Séverine; Vilette, Bruno; Lemaitre, Marie-Pierre; Vallée, Louis

    2018-01-01

    A high comorbidity between reading and arithmetic disabilities has already been reported. The present study aims at identifying more precisely patterns of arithmetic performance in children with developmental dyslexia, defined with severe and specific criteria. By means of a standardized test of achievement in mathematics ("Calculation and…

  13. The Effect of Sex-Dependent Norms on Aggregated Reading and Mathematics Test Scores.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gramenz, Gary W.; And Others

    1986-01-01

    Differences between school reading and mathematics means, rank orderings, and change scores obtained from total-group and sex-dependent norms were examined for students in grades 2 through 9 in a Florida school district. A preliminary study investigated sex-related differences between verbal and quantitative performance of boys and girls on seven…

  14. The Effects of Self-Explanation and Reading Questions and Answers on Learning Computer Programming Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Nancy

    2013-01-01

    The current study explored the differential effects of two learning strategies, self-explanation and reading questions and answers, on students' test performance in the computer programming language JavaScript. Students' perceptions toward the two strategies as to their effectiveness in learning JavaScript was also explored by examining students'…

  15. The Effects of Cuento Therapy on Reading Achievement and Psychological Outcomes of Mexican-American Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ramirez, Sylvia Z.; Jain, Sachin; Flores-Torres, Leila L.; Perez, Roxanna; Carlson, Ralph

    2009-01-01

    This investigation evaluated the effects of cuento therapy (an intervention using Spanish-language tales) on children's self-esteem, affect, and reading test performance. The sample was composed of 58 third-grade Mexican-American students who were randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups. The results showed a mean self-esteem gain…

  16. Understanding Learner Strengths and Weaknesses: Assessing Performance on an Integrated Writing Task

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawaki, Yasuyo; Quinlan, Thomas; Lee, Yong-Won

    2013-01-01

    The present study examined the factor structures across features of 446 examinees' responses to a writing task that integrates reading and listening modalities as well as reading and listening comprehension items of the TOEFL iBT[R] (Internet-based test). Both human and automated scores obtained for the integrated essays were utilized. Based on a…

  17. Phonic Analysis Training and Beginning Reading Skills.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosner, Jerome

    The purposes of the study were to determine whether phonic analysis training could be used to prepare children to be successful on the Auditory Analysis Test (AAT) of phonic skills and to then relate phonic knowledge to reading performance. Subjects were 40 first graders in suburban Pittsburgh who had attended kindergarten together. A group of 16…

  18. The Impact of L2 German on Component Processes of Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schröter, Pauline; Schroeder, Sascha

    2017-01-01

    Background: In Germany, there is a substantial gap in reading literacy between monolingual children and their L2-speaking peers. Nevertheless, it is still unclear where these performance differences are rooted. Methods: We investigated children of grades 5, 6 and 7 with comparable socio-economic status, who completed a battery of tests assessing…

  19. The Effectiveness of Immersive Multimedia Learning with Peer Support on English Speaking and Reading Aloud

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muslem, Asnawi; Abbas, Merza

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the impacts of the immersive multimedia learning strategy with peer support on production skills in reading and speaking. Moreover, the effects of it on performance were investigated by student achievement. The quasi-experimental design with post-test was employed for the study. 80 first-year university students enrolled in…

  20. States Raise Proficiency Standards in Math and Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peterson, Paul E.; Ackerman, Matthew

    2015-01-01

    Since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was enacted into federal law in 2002, states have been required to test students in grades 3 through 8 and again in high school to assess math and reading achievement. The federal law also asks states to establish the performance level students must reach on the exams in order to be identified as…

  1. The Utility of Blended Learning in EFL Reading and Grammar: A Case for Moodle

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bataineh, Ruba Fahmi; Mayyas, Mais Barjas

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the effect of Moodle-enhanced instruction on Jordanian EFL students' reading comprehension and grammar performance. The study uses a quasi-experimental, pre- /post-test design. A purposeful sample of 32 students, enrolled in a language requirement course at a Jordanian state university, was randomly divided into an experimental…

  2. A Logistic Approach to Predicting Student Success in Online Database Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garman, George

    2010-01-01

    This paper examines the affects of reading comprehension on the performance of online students in a beginning database management class. Reading comprehension is measured by the results of a Cloze Test administered online to the students during the first week of classes. Using data collected from 2002 through 2008, the significance of the Cloze…

  3. Prosodic Awareness Skills and Literacy Acquisition in Spanish

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Defior, Sylvia; Gutierrez-Palma, Nicolas; Cano-Marin, Maria Jose

    2012-01-01

    There has been very little research in Spanish on the potential role of prosodic skills in reading and spelling acquisition, which is the subject of the present study. A total of 85 children in 5th year of Primary Education (mean age 10 years and 9 months) performed tests assessing memory, stress awareness, phonological awareness, reading and…

  4. Differential Effects of Headings on High- and Low-Knowledge Readers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilhite, Stephen C.

    Two experiments investigated to what extent schema activation is involved in any facilitative effect that headings may have on multiple-choice test performance following the reading of a passage. In the first experiment, 1,116 college students read a 1,760-word passage on human sexuality with headings either present or absent. An analysis of the…

  5. Examining and Dealing with the Issue of Reading Strategy Use by Iranian EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Naeini, Ma'ssoumeh Bemani; Rezaei, Reyhaneh

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' performance on a reading comprehension test and their pattern of using cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies. Analysis of the data obtained from 190 Iranian intermediate EFL learners (70 males and 120 females, aged 17-25) revealed a strong relationship between reading…

  6. Effects of Dual-Language Immersion Programs on Student Achievement: Evidence from Lottery Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steele, Jennifer L.; Slater, Robert O.; Zamarro, Gema; Miller, Trey; Li, Jennifer; Burkhauser, Susan; Bacon, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Using data from seven cohorts of language immersion lottery applicants in a large, urban school district, we estimate the causal effects of immersion programs on students' test scores in reading, mathematics, and science and on English learners' (EL) reclassification. We estimate positive intent-to-treat (ITT) effects on reading performance in…

  7. Effects of Dual-Language Immersion Programs on Student Achievement: Evidence from Lottery Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steele, Jennifer L.; Slater, Robert O.; Zamarro, Gema; Miller, Trey; Li, Jennifer; Burkhauser, Susan; Bacon, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Using data from seven cohorts of language immersion lottery applicants in a large, urban school district, we estimate the causal effects of immersion programs on students' test scores in reading, mathematics, and science, and on English learners' (EL) reclassification. We estimate positive intent-to-treat (ITT) effects on reading performance in…

  8. Follow Through Pupil Achievement Characteristics in Philadelphia, 1971-1972 through 1975-1976. Report No. 77121.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKinney, John T.

    This report provides achievement information from the Philadelphia, Pa. Follow Through program in Mathematics and Reading for the five years, 1971-1972 through 1975-1976. The data are drawn from cross-sectional analyses, focusing primarily on mean score performance in Total Mathematics and Total Reading on city-wide tests. The principal findings…

  9. The Impact of Question-Answer Relationships on Thai Reading Comprehension of Economically Disadvantaged Students: A Mixed Methods Study in Thailand

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mongkolrat, Raveema

    2017-01-01

    Thailand's education has not succeeded in meeting the Ministry of Education Thailand's goals for Thai language. The problem manifests in students' substandard Thai reading comprehension. Results of the Thailand's standardized national test showed that students, especially those with economical disadvantages, have performed poorly in Thai reading…

  10. Goats Don't Wear Coats: An Examination of Semantic Interference in Rhyming Assessments of Reading Readiness for English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moreira, Sylvia; Hamilton, Maryellen

    2006-01-01

    Rhyming tests have historically been used in the education system to assess reading readiness. English language learners (ELLs) have consistently scored poorly on these assessment tools. The current article examines a possible reason for this poor performance by ELLs. Specifically, the authors examined the relationship between semantic…

  11. What about Me?: Individual Self-Assessment by Skill and Level of Language Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brantmeier, Cindy; Vanderplank, Robert; Strube, Michael

    2012-01-01

    In an investigation with advanced language learners, Brantmeier [Brantmeier, C., 2006. "Advanced L2 learners and reading placement: self-assessment, computer based testing, and subsequent performance." "System" 34 (1), 15-35.] reports that self-assessment (SA) of second language (L2) reading ability, when measured with self-rated scales, is not an…

  12. Oral Language, Sex and Socio-Economic Status as Predictors of Reading Achievement.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ebert, Dorothy Jo Williamson

    This study was designed to discover the degree of relationship between a number of predictor variables and reading achievement for 65 black second grade students in two Austin, Texas, schools. The seven predictor variables used were: oral language performance as measured by the Gloria and David Beginning English, Series 20, Test 6 (GDBE); an…

  13. The Alignment of State Standards and Assessments in Elementary Reading. CIERA Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wixson, Karen K.; Fisk, Maria Chesley; Dutro, Elizabeth; McDaniel, Julie

    A study examined the alignment between state standards and assessments in elementary reading. The impetus for the study was a request by the National Research Council's Committee on Title I Testing and Assessment for information on the extent to which students' performance on state assessments could be assumed to provide evidence of their level of…

  14. [Developmental changes of rapid automatized naming and Hiragana reading of Japanese in elementary-school children].

    PubMed

    Kobayashi, Tomoka; Inagaki, Masumi; Gunji, Atsuko; Yatabe, Kiyomi; Kita, Yosuke; Kaga, Makiko; Gotoh, Takaaki; Koike, Toshihide

    2011-11-01

    Two hundred and seven Japanese elementary school children aged from 6 (Grade 1) to 12 (Grade 6) years old were tested for their abilities to name numbers and pictured objects along with reading Hiragana characters and words. These children all showed typical development and their classroom teachers judged that they were not having any problems with reading or writing. The children were randomly divided into two groups, the first group was assigned to two naming tasks;the rapid automatized naming (RAN) of "numbers" and "pictured objects," the second group was assigned to two rapid alternative stimulus (RAS) naming tasks using numbers and pictured objects. All children were asked to perform two reading tasks that were written in Hiragana script: single mora reading task and four syllable word reading task. The total articulation time for naming and reading and performance in terms of accuracy were measured for each task. Developmental changes in these variables were evaluated. The articulation time was significantly longer for the first graders, and it gradually shortened as they moved through to the upper grades in all tasks. The articulation time reached a plateau in the 5th grade for the number naming, while gradual change continued after drastic change in the lower grades for the pictured object naming. The articulation times for the single mora reading and RAN of numbers correlated strongly. The articulation time for the RAS naming was significantly longer compared to that for the RAN, though there were very few errors. The RAS naming showed the highest correlation with the four syllable word reading. This study demonstrated that the performance in rapid automatized naming of numbers and pictures were closely related with performance on reading tasks. Thus Japanese children with reading disorders such as developmental dyslexia should also be evaluated for rapid automatized naming.

  15. The Wechsler Test of Adult Reading as a Measure of Premorbid Intelligence Following Traumatic Brain Injury.

    PubMed

    Steward, Kayla A; Novack, Thomas A; Kennedy, Richard; Crowe, Michael; Marson, Daniel C; Triebel, Kristen L

    2017-02-01

    The current study sought to determine whether the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR) provides a stable estimate of premorbid intellectual ability in acutely injured patients recovering from traumatic brain injury (TBI). A total of 135 participants (43 mild TBI [mTBI], 40 moderate/severe TBI [msevTBI], 52 healthy controls) were administered the WTAR at 1 and 12 months post-injury. Despite similar demographic profiles, participants with msevTBI performed significantly worse than controls on the WTAR at both time points. Moreover, the msevTBI group had a significant improvement in WTAR performance over the 1-year period. In contrast, those participants with mTBI did not significantly differ from healthy controls and both the mTBI and control groups demonstrated stability on the WTAR over time. Results indicate that word-reading tests may underestimate premorbid intelligence during the immediate recovery period for patients with msevTBI. Clinicians should consider alternative estimation measures in this TBI subpopulation. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. How Is RAN Related to Reading Fluency? A Comprehensive Examination of the Prominent Theoretical Accounts

    PubMed Central

    Papadopoulos, Timothy C.; Spanoudis, George C.; Georgiou, George K.

    2016-01-01

    We examined the prominent theoretical explanations of the RAN-reading relationship in a relatively transparent language (Greek) in a sample of children (n = 286) followed from Grade 1 to Grade 2. Specifically, we tested the fit of eight different models, as defined by the type of reading performance predicted (oral vs. silent word reading fluency), the type of RAN tasks (non-alphanumeric vs. alphanumeric), and the RAN effects (direct vs. indirect). Working memory, attention, processing speed, and motor skills were used as “common cause” variables predicting both RAN and reading fluency and phonological awareness and orthographic processing were used as mediators of RAN's effects on reading fluency. The findings of both concurrent and longitudinal analyses indicated that RAN is a unique predictor of oral reading fluency, but not silent reading fluency. Using alphanumeric or non-alphanumeric RAN did not particularly affect the RAN-reading relationship. Both phonological awareness and orthographic processing partly mediated RAN's effects on reading fluency. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. PMID:27605918

  17. Time for bed: associations with cognitive performance in 7-year-old children: a longitudinal population-based study

    PubMed Central

    Kelly, Yvonne; Kelly, John; Sacker, Amanda

    2013-01-01

    Background Little is known about the links between the time that young children go to bed and their cognitive development. In this paper we seek to examine whether bedtimes in early childhood are related to cognitive test scores in 7-year-olds. Methods We examined data on bedtimes and cognitive test (z-scores) for reading, maths and spatial abilities for 11 178 7-year-old children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Results At age 7, not having a regular bedtime was related to lower cognitive test scores in girls: reading (β: −0.22), maths (β: −0.26) and spatial (β: −0.15), but not for boys. Non-regular bedtimes at age 3 were independently associated, in girls and boys, with lower reading (β: −0.10, −0.20), maths (β: −0.16, −0.11) and spatial (β: −0.13, −0.16) scores. Cumulative relationships were apparent. Girls who never had regular bedtimes at ages 3, 5 and 7 had significantly lower reading (β: −0.36), maths (β: −0.51) and spatial (β: −0.40) scores, while for boys this was the case for those having non-regular bedtimes at any two ages (3, 5 or 7 years): reading (β: −0.28), maths (β: −0.22) and spatial (β: −0.26) scores. In boys having non-regular bedtimes at all three ages (3, 5 and 7 years) were non-significantly related to lower reading, maths and spatial scores. Conclusions The consistent nature of bedtimes during early childhood is related to cognitive performance. Given the importance of early child development, there may be knock on effects for health throughout life. PMID:23835763

  18. Time for bed: associations with cognitive performance in 7-year-old children: a longitudinal population-based study.

    PubMed

    Kelly, Yvonne; Kelly, John; Sacker, Amanda

    2013-11-01

    Little is known about the links between the time that young children go to bed and their cognitive development. In this paper we seek to examine whether bedtimes in early childhood are related to cognitive test scores in 7-year-olds. We examined data on bedtimes and cognitive test (z-scores) for reading, maths and spatial abilities for 11 178 7-year-old children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. At age 7, not having a regular bedtime was related to lower cognitive test scores in girls: reading (β: -0.22), maths (β: -0.26) and spatial (β: -0.15), but not for boys. Non-regular bedtimes at age 3 were independently associated, in girls and boys, with lower reading (β: -0.10, -0.20), maths (β: -0.16, -0.11) and spatial (β: -0.13, -0.16) scores. Cumulative relationships were apparent. Girls who never had regular bedtimes at ages 3, 5 and 7 had significantly lower reading (β: -0.36), maths (β: -0.51) and spatial (β: -0.40) scores, while for boys this was the case for those having non-regular bedtimes at any two ages (3, 5 or 7 years): reading (β: -0.28), maths (β: -0.22) and spatial (β: -0.26) scores. In boys having non-regular bedtimes at all three ages (3, 5 and 7 years) were non-significantly related to lower reading, maths and spatial scores. The consistent nature of bedtimes during early childhood is related to cognitive performance. Given the importance of early child development, there may be knock on effects for health throughout life.

  19. The relationship between brain reaction and English reading tests for non-native English speakers.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Pei-Wen; Tian, Yu-Jie; Kuo, Ting-Hua; Sun, Koun-Tem

    2016-07-01

    This research analyzed the brain activity of non-native English speakers while engaged in English reading tests. The brain wave event-related potentials (ERPs) of participants were used to analyze the difference between making correct and incorrect choices on English reading test items. Three English reading tests of differing levels were designed and 20 participants, 10 males and 10 females whose ages ranged from 20 to 24, voluntarily participated in the experiment. Experimental results were analyzed by performing independent t-tests on the ERPs of participants for gender, difficulty level, and correct versus wrong options. Participants who chose incorrect options elicited a larger N600, verifying results found in the literature. Another interesting result was found: For incorrectly answered items, different areas of brain showing a significant difference in ERPs between the chosen and non-chosen options corresponded to gender differences; for males, this area was located in the right hemisphere whereas for females, it was located in the left. Experimental results imply that non-native English speaking males and females employ different areas of the brain to comprehend the meaning of difficult items. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Reading performance of monofocal pseudophakic patients with and without glasses under normal and dim light conditions.

    PubMed

    Radner, Wolfgang; Radner, Stephan; Raunig, Valerian; Diendorfer, Gabriela

    2014-03-01

    To evaluate reading performance of patients with monofocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) (Acrysof SN60WF) with or without reading glasses under bright and dim light conditions. Austrian Academy of Ophthalmology, Vienna, Austria. Evaluation of a diagnostic test or technology. In pseudophakic patients, the spherical refractive error was limited to between +0.50 diopter (D) and -0.75 D with astigmatism of 0.75 D (mean spherical equivalent: right eye, -0.08 ± 0.43 [SD]; left eye, -0.15 ± 0.35). Near addition was +2.75 D. Reading performance was assessed binocularly with or without reading glasses at an illumination of 100 candelas (cd)/m(2) and 4 cd/m(2) using the Radner Reading Charts. In the 25 patients evaluated, binocularly, the mean corrected distance visual acuity was -0.07 ± 0.06 logMAR and the mean uncorrected distance visual acuity was 0.01 ± 0.11 logMAR. The mean reading acuity with reading glasses was 0.02 ± 0.10 logRAD at 100 cd/m(2) and 0.12 ± 0.14 logRAD at 4 cd/m(2). Without reading glasses, it was 0.44 ± 0.13 logRAD and 0.56 ± 0.16 logRAD, respectively (P < .05). Without reading glasses and at 100 cd/m(2), 40% of patients read 0.4 logRAD at more than 80 words per minute (wpm), 68% exceeded this limit at 0.5 logRAD, and 92% exceeded it at 0.6 logRAD. The mean reading speed at 0.5 logRAD was 134.76 ± 48.22 wpm; with reading glasses it was 167.65 ± 32.77 wpm (P < .05). A considerable percentage of patients with monofocal IOLs read newspaper print size without glasses under good light conditions. Copyright © 2014 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. An fMRI study of nonverbally gifted reading disabled adults: has deficit compensation effected gifted potential?

    PubMed Central

    Gilger, Jeffrey W.; Talavage, Thomas M.; Olulade, Olumide A.

    2013-01-01

    Neuroscience has advanced our understanding of the neurological basis of reading disability (RD). Yet, no functional imaging work has been reported on the twice-exceptional dyslexic: individuals exhibiting both non-verbal-giftedness and RD. We compared groups of reading-disabled (RD), non-verbally-gifted (G), non-verbally-gifted-RD (GRD), and control (C) adults on validated word-rhyming and spatial visualization fMRI tasks, and standardized psychometric tests, to ascertain if the neurological functioning of GRD subjects was similar to that of typical RD or G subjects, or perhaps some unique RD subtype. Results demonstrate that GRD adults resemble non-gifted RD adults in performance on paper-and-pencil reading, math and spatial tests, and in patterns of functional activation during rhyming and spatial processing. Data are consistent with what may be a shared etiology of RD and giftedness in GRD individuals that yields a lifespan interaction with reading compensation effects, modifying how their adult brain processes text and spatial stimuli. PMID:24009572

  2. Automaticity in reading and the Stroop task: testing the limits of involuntary word processing.

    PubMed

    Brown, Tracy L; Joneleit, Kelly; Robinson, Cathy S; Brown, Carli Rose

    2002-01-01

    We investigated the parameters of involuntary word reading in the Stroop task in 7 experiments. Experiments 1-4 varied response modality and the presence of congruent word trials in a test of the claim that presenting a Stroop color word with only one letter in the target color eliminates the Stroop effect. Experiments 5 and 6 addressed the roles of spatial attention and orthographic processing as possible mechanisms behind the reduction of Stroop effects with the single-letter format. Experiment 7 investigated the limits of involuntary reading under optimal conditions for selective processing of rectangular color patch targets. We found that the single-letter format reduced but never eliminated Stroop effects, spatial attention but not orthographic processing plays a role in the effect of the single-letter format, and word reading is not completely prevented even with austere presentation conditions. We conclude with a defense of the involuntariness criterion for automaticity in the Stroop task, particularly when word reading is viewed in the context of a skilled performance.

  3. When pretesting fails to enhance learning concepts from reading texts.

    PubMed

    Hausman, Hannah; Rhodes, Matthew G

    2018-05-03

    Prior research suggests that people can learn more from reading a text when they attempt to answer pretest questions first. Specifically, pretests on factual information explicitly stated in a text increases the likelihood that participants can answer identical questions after reading than if they had not answered pretest questions. Yet, a central goal of education is to develop deep conceptual understanding. The present experiments investigated whether conceptual pretests facilitate learning concepts from reading texts. In Experiment 1, participants were given factual or conceptual pretest questions; a control group was not given a pretest. Participants then read a passage and took a final test consisting of both factual and conceptual questions. Some of the final test questions were repeated from the pretest and some were new. Although factual pretesting improved learning for identical factual questions, conceptual pretesting did not enhance conceptual learning. Conceptual pretest errors were significantly more likely to be repeated on the final test than factual pretest errors. Providing correct answers (Experiment 2) or correct/incorrect feedback (Experiment 3) following pretest questions enhanced performance on repeated conceptual test items, although these benefits likely reflect memorization and not conceptual understanding. Thus, pretesting appears to provide little benefit for learning conceptual information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. Semantic and phonological coding in poor and normal readers.

    PubMed

    Vellutino, F R; Scanlon, D M; Spearing, D

    1995-02-01

    Three studies were conducted evaluating semantic and phonological coding deficits as alternative explanations of reading disability. In the first study, poor and normal readers in second and sixth grade were compared on various tests evaluating semantic development as well as on tests evaluating rapid naming and pseudoword decoding as independent measures of phonological coding ability. In a second study, the same subjects were given verbal memory and visual-verbal learning tasks using high and low meaning words as verbal stimuli and Chinese ideographs as visual stimuli. On the semantic tasks, poor readers performed below the level of the normal readers only at the sixth grade level, but, on the rapid naming and pseudoword learning tasks, they performed below the normal readers at the second as well as at the sixth grade level. On both the verbal memory and visual-verbal learning tasks, performance in poor readers approximated that of normal readers when the word stimuli were high in meaning but not when they were low in meaning. These patterns were essentially replicated in a third study that used some of the same semantic and phonological measures used in the first experiment, and verbal memory and visual-verbal learning tasks that employed word lists and visual stimuli (novel alphabetic characters) that more closely approximated those used in learning to read. It was concluded that semantic coding deficits are an unlikely cause of reading difficulties in most poor readers at the beginning stages of reading skills acquisition, but accrue as a consequence of prolonged reading difficulties in older readers. It was also concluded that phonological coding deficits are a probable cause of reading difficulties in most poor readers.

  5. Traditional lecture versus jigsaw learning method for teaching Medication Therapy Management (MTM) core elements.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Jennifer A; Pegram, Angela H; Battise, Dawn M; Robinson, April M

    2017-11-01

    To determine if traditional didactic lecture or the jigsaw learning method is more effective to teach the medication therapy management (MTM) core elements in a first year pharmacy course. Traditional didactic lecture and a pre-class reading assignment were used in the fall semester cohort, and the jigsaw method was used in the spring semester cohort. Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy requiring students to assume responsibility for learning, and subsequently teaching peers. The students were responsible for reading specific sections of the pre-class reading, and then teaching other students in small groups about their specific reading assignments. To assess potential differences, identical pre- and post-tests were administered before and after the MTM section. Additionally, grade performance on an in-class project and final exam questions were compared, and students were surveyed on perceptions of teaching method used. A total of 45 and 43 students completed both the pre- and post-test in the fall and spring (96% and 93% response rate), respectively. Improvement in post-test scores favored the traditional method (p = 0.001). No statistical differences were noted between groups with grade performance on the in-class project and final exam questions. However, students favored the jigsaw method over traditional lecture and perceived improvements in problem solving skills, listening/communication skills and encouragement of cooperative learning (p = 0.018, 0.025 and 0.031). Although students favored the jigsaw learning method, traditional didactic lecture was more effective for the pre- and post-knowledge test performance. This may indicate that traditional didactic lecture is more effective for more foundational content. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Video gaming and gender differences in digital and printed reading performance among 15-year-olds students in 26 countries.

    PubMed

    Borgonovi, Francesca

    2016-04-01

    Video games are a favorite leisure-time activity among teenagers worldwide. This study examines cross-national gender differences in reading achievement and video gaming and whether video gaming explains gender differences in reading achievement and differences in performance between paper-based and computer-based reading. We use data from a representative sample of 145,953 students from 26 countries who sat the PISA 2012 assessments and provided self-reports on use of video games. Although boys tend to have poorer results in both the computer-based and the paper-based reading assessments, boys' under achievement is smaller when the assessment is delivered on computer than when it is delivered on paper. Boys underperformance compared to girls in the two reading assessments is particularly pronounced among low-achieving students. Among both boys and girls moderate use of single-player games is associated with a performance advantage. However, frequent engagement with collaborative online games is generally associated with a steep reduction in achievement, particularly in the paper-based test and particularly among low-achieving students. Excessive gaming may hinder academic achievement, but moderate gaming can promote positive student outcomes. In many countries video gaming explains the difference in the gender gap in reading between the paper-based and the computer-based assessments. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Effects of a Randomized Reading Intervention Study Aimed at 9-Year-Olds: A 5-Year Follow-up.

    PubMed

    Wolff, Ulrika

    2016-05-01

    The present paper reports on a 5-year follow-up of a randomized reading intervention in grade 3 in Sweden. An intervention group (n = 57) received daily training for 12 weeks in phoneme/grapheme mapping, reading comprehension and reading speed, whereas a control group (n = 55) participated in ordinary classroom activities. The main aim was to investigate if there were remaining effects of the intervention on reading-related skills. Previous analyses showed that the intervention group performed significantly better than the control group on spelling, reading speed, reading comprehension and phoneme awareness at the immediate post-test with sustained effects 1 year later. Results from the 5-year follow-up show that the only significant difference between the intervention (n = 47) and the control group (n = 37) was on word decoding. There was also a significant interaction effect of group assignment and initial word decoding, in the way that the lowest-performing students benefitted the most from the intervention. Another aim was to examine if the children identified in a screening (n = 2212) as poor readers in grade 2 still performed worse than typical readers. The analyses showed that the typically developing students (n = 66) outperformed the students identified as poor readers in grade 2 on working memory, spelling, reading comprehension and word decoding. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. A Family-Based Association Analysis and Meta-Analysis of the Reading Disabilities Candidate Gene DYX1C1

    PubMed Central

    Tran, C.; Gagnon, F.; Wigg, K.G.; Feng, Y.; Gomez, L.; Cate-Carter, T.D.; Kerr, E.N.; Field, L.L.; Kaplan, B.J.; Lovett, M.W.; Barr, C.L.

    2017-01-01

    Reading disabilities (RD) have a significant genetic basis and have shown linkage to multiple regions including chromosome 15q. Dyslexia susceptibility 1 candidate gene 1 (DYX1C1) on chromosome 15q21 was originally proposed as a candidate gene with two potentially functional polymorphisms at the −3G/A and 1249G/T positions showing association with RD. However, subsequent studies have yielded mixed results. We performed a literature review and meta-analysis of the −3G/A and 1249G/T polymorphisms, including new unpublished data from two family-based samples. Ten markers in DYX1C1 were genotyped in the two independently ascertained samples. Single marker and −3G/A:1249G/T haplotype analyses were performed for RD in both samples, and quantitative trait analyses using standardized reading-related measures was performed in one of the samples. For the meta-analysis, we used a random-effects model to summarize studies that tested for association between −3G/A or 1249G/T and RD. No significant association was found between the DYX1C1 SNPs and RD or any of the reading-related measures tested after correction for the number of tests performed. The previously reported risk haplotype (−3A:1249T) was not biased in transmission. A total of 9 and 10 study samples were included in the meta-analysis of the −3G/A and 1249G/T polymorphisms, respectively. Neither polymorphism reached statistical significance, but the heterogeneity for the 1249G/T polymorphism was high. The results of this study do not provide evidence for association between the putatively functional SNPs −3G/A and 1249G/T and RD. PMID:23341075

  9. Visual recognition of permuted words

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rashid, Sheikh Faisal; Shafait, Faisal; Breuel, Thomas M.

    2010-02-01

    In current study we examine how letter permutation affects in visual recognition of words for two orthographically dissimilar languages, Urdu and German. We present the hypothesis that recognition or reading of permuted and non-permuted words are two distinct mental level processes, and that people use different strategies in handling permuted words as compared to normal words. A comparison between reading behavior of people in these languages is also presented. We present our study in context of dual route theories of reading and it is observed that the dual-route theory is consistent with explanation of our hypothesis of distinction in underlying cognitive behavior for reading permuted and non-permuted words. We conducted three experiments in lexical decision tasks to analyze how reading is degraded or affected by letter permutation. We performed analysis of variance (ANOVA), distribution free rank test, and t-test to determine the significance differences in response time latencies for two classes of data. Results showed that the recognition accuracy for permuted words is decreased 31% in case of Urdu and 11% in case of German language. We also found a considerable difference in reading behavior for cursive and alphabetic languages and it is observed that reading of Urdu is comparatively slower than reading of German due to characteristics of cursive script.

  10. Effect of using a treadmill workstation on performance of simulated office work tasks.

    PubMed

    John, Dinesh; Bassett, David; Thompson, Dixie; Fairbrother, Jeffrey; Baldwin, Debora

    2009-09-01

    Although using a treadmill workstation may change the sedentary nature of desk jobs, it is unknown if walking while working affects performance on office-work related tasks. To assess differences between seated and walking conditions on motor skills and cognitive function tests. Eleven males (24.6 +/- 3.5 y) and 9 females (27.0 +/- 3.9 y) completed a test battery to assess selective attention and processing speed, typing speed, mouse clicking/drag-and-drop speed, and GRE math and reading comprehension. Testing was performed under seated and walking conditions on 2 separate days using a counterbalanced, within subjects design. Participants did not have an acclimation period before the walking condition. Paired t tests (P < .05) revealed that in the seated condition, completion times were shorter for mouse clicking (26.6 +/- 3.0 vs. 28.2 +/- 2.5s) and drag-and-drop (40.3 +/- 4.2 vs. 43.9 +/- 2.5s) tests, typing speed was greater (40.2 +/- 9.1 vs. 36.9 +/- 10.2 adjusted words x min(-1)), and math scores were better (71.4 +/- 15.2 vs. 64.3 +/- 13.4%). There were no significant differences between conditions in selective attention and processing speed or in reading comprehension. Compared with the seated condition, treadmill walking caused a 6% to 11% decrease in measures of fine motor skills and math problem solving, but did not affect selective attention and processing speed or reading comprehension.

  11. Alternatives to Standardized Tests in Reading Education: Cognitive Styles and Informal Measures.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scales, Alice M.

    1987-01-01

    Although cognitive style affects test results, students of various cognitive styles are expected to perform equally well on standardized tests. Informal tests seem to be better for both impulsive and reflective style students. Perhaps a combination of standardized and informal testing is appropriate for making educational decisions about students.…

  12. Ohio Proficiency Tests for Grade 12. Practice Test.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ohio State Dept. of Education, Columbus.

    High school seniors in Ohio who have passed all parts of the ninth-grade proficiency tests are required to take the twelfth-grade proficiency tests. These tests, in writing, reading, mathematics, citizenship, and science, are designed to measure twelfth-grade performance and to evaluate the learning that goes on between the minimum competencies of…

  13. A Principled Relation between Reading and Naming in Acquired and Developmental Anomia: Surface Dyslexia Following Impairment in the Phonological Output Lexicon

    PubMed Central

    Gvion, Aviah; Friedmann, Naama

    2016-01-01

    Lexical retrieval and reading aloud are often viewed as two separate processes. However, they are not completely separate—they share components. This study assessed the effect of an impairment in a shared component, the phonological output lexicon, on lexical retrieval and on reading aloud. Because the phonological output lexicon is part of the lexical route for reading, individuals with an impairment in this lexicon may be forced to read aloud via the sublexical route and therefore show a reading pattern that is typical of surface dyslexia. To examine the effect of phonological output lexicon deficit on reading, we tested the reading of 16 Hebrew-speaking individuals with phonological output lexicon anomia, eight with acquired anomia following brain damage and eight with developmental anomia. We established that they had a phonological output lexicon deficit according to the types of errors and the effects on their naming in a picture naming task, and excluded other deficit loci in the lexical retrieval process according to a line of tests assessing their picture and word comprehension, word and non-word repetition, and phonological working memory. After we have established that the participants have a phonological output lexicon deficit, we tested their reading. To assess their reading and type of reading impairment, we tested their reading aloud, lexical decision, and written word comprehension. We found that all of the participants with phonological output lexicon impairment showed, in addition to anomia, also the typical surface dyslexia errors in reading aloud of irregular words, words with ambiguous conversion to phonemes, and potentiophones (words like “now” that, when read via the sublexical route, can be sounded out as another word, “know”). Importantly, the participants performed normally on pseudohomophone lexical decision and on homophone/potentiophone reading comprehension, indicating spared orthographic input lexicon and spared access to it and from it to lexical semantics. This pattern was shown both by the adults with acquired anomia and by the participants with developmental anomia. These results thus suggest a principled relation between anomia and dyslexia, and point to a distinct type of surface dyslexia. They further show the possibility of good comprehension of written words when the phonological output stages are impaired. PMID:27065897

  14. Reading at a distance: implications for the design of text in children's big books.

    PubMed

    Hughes, Laura E; Wilkins, Arnold J

    2002-06-01

    Visual acuity, typically measured by the ability to name letters at a distance, is poorer when letters are small and closely spaced. It has been suggested that reading can be affected by letter size and spacing. To determine the effect of text size and spacing on the ability to read at a distance, with a view to helping with the design of text in children's 'Big Books'. The visual acuity of 200 children aged between 6 and 12 was measured. A subset of 66 children was given further reading tests. From a viewing distance of 3m children were required (1) to identify words and (2) to read passages of text rapidly. A repeated measures design was used to compare the effects of different size and spacing of text on performance of the two tasks. Performance improved when the spacing of words and size of letters was greater than is typical in 'Big Books'. For a given letter density, increasing the spacing improved performance more than increasing the letter size. The text in children's books could be made easier to read by expanding the spacing between words and also by increasing the size of the print. The maximum viewing distance should be reduced from 15ft (4.6m) to 10ft (3.0m).

  15. Executive Dysfunction Among Children With Reading Comprehension Deficits

    PubMed Central

    Locascio, Gianna; Mahone, E. Mark; Eason, Sarah H.; Cutting, Laurie E.

    2010-01-01

    Emerging research supports the contribution of executive function (EF) to reading comprehension; however, a unique pattern has not been established for children who demonstrate comprehension difficulties despite average word recognition ability (specific reading comprehension deficit; S-RCD). To identify particular EF components on which children with S-RCD struggle, a range of EF skills was compared among 86 children, ages 10 to 14, grouped by word reading and comprehension abilities: 24 average readers, 44 with word recognition deficits (WRD), and 18 S-RCD. An exploratory principal components analysis of EF tests identified three latent factors, used in subsequent group comparisons: Planning/Spatial Working Memory, Verbal Working Memory, and Response Inhibition. The WRD group exhibited deficits (relative to controls) on Verbal Working Memory and Inhibition factors; S-RCD children performed more poorly than controls on the Planning factor. Further analyses suggested the WRD group’s poor performance on EF factors was a by-product of core deficits linked to WRD (after controlling for phonological processing, this group no longer showed EF deficits). In contrast, the S-RCD group’s poor performance on the planning component remained significant after controlling for phonological processing. Findings suggest reading comprehension difficulties are linked to executive dysfunction; in particular, poor strategic planning/organizing may lead to reading comprehension problems. PMID:20375294

  16. Executive dysfunction among children with reading comprehension deficits.

    PubMed

    Locascio, Gianna; Mahone, E Mark; Eason, Sarah H; Cutting, Laurie E

    2010-01-01

    Emerging research supports the contribution of executive function (EF) to reading comprehension; however, a unique pattern has not been established for children who demonstrate comprehension difficulties despite average word recognition ability (specific reading comprehension deficit; S-RCD). To identify particular EF components on which children with S-RCD struggle, a range of EF skills was compared among 86 children, ages 10 to 14, grouped by word reading and comprehension abilities: 24 average readers, 44 with word recognition deficits (WRD), and 18 S-RCD. An exploratory principal components analysis of EF tests identified three latent factors, used in subsequent group comparisons: Planning/ Spatial Working Memory, Verbal Working Memory, and Response Inhibition. The WRD group exhibited deficits (relative to controls) on Verbal Working Memory and Inhibition factors; S-RCD children performed more poorly than controls on the Planning factor. Further analyses suggested the WRD group's poor performance on EF factors was a by-product of core deficits linked to WRD (after controlling for phonological processing, this group no longer showed EF deficits). In contrast, the S-RCD group's poor performance on the planning component remained significant after controlling for phonological processing. Findings suggest reading comprehension difficulties are linked to executive dysfunction; in particular, poor strategic planning/organizing may lead to reading comprehension problems.

  17. Readability of New Aviation Chart Symbology in Day and NVG Reading Conditions.

    PubMed

    Wagstaff, Anthony S; Larsen, Terje

    2017-11-01

    The Swedish Air Force (SwAF) conducted a study in 2010 to harmonize portrayal of aeronautical info (AI) on SwAF charts with NATO standards. A mismatch was found concerning vertical obstructions (VO). Norway regarded Sweden's existing symbology as a way to solve the problem of overcrowded air charts and the two countries started to cooperate. The result of this development was a new set of symbology for obstacles. The aim of this study was to test the readability of the new obstacle and power line symbols compared to the old symbols. We also wished to assess the readability in NVG illumination conditions, particularly regarding the new symbols compared to the old. In a randomized controlled study design, 21 volunteer military pilots from the Norwegian and Swedish Air Force were asked to perform tracking and chart-reading tests. The chart-reading test scored both errors and readability using a predefined score index. Subjective scoring was also done at the end of the test day. Overall response time improved by approximately 20% using the new symbology and error rate decreased by approximately 30-90% where statistically significant differences were found. The tracking test turned out to be too difficult due to several factors in the experimental design. Even though some caution should be shown in drawing conclusions from this study, the general trends seem well supported with the number of aircrew subjects we were able to recruit.Wagstaff AS, Larsen T. Readability of new aviation chart symbology in day and NVG reading conditions. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(11):978-984.

  18. Assessment of the Apple iPad as a low-vision reading aid.

    PubMed

    Morrice, E; Johnson, A P; Marinier, J-A; Wittich, W

    2017-06-01

    PurposeLow-vision clients frequently report having problems with reading. Using magnification, reading performance (as measured by reading speed) can be improved by up to 200%. Current magnification aids can be expensive or bulky; therefore, we explored if the Apple iPad offers comparable performance in improving reading speeds, in comparison with a closed-circuit television (CCTV) video magnifier, or other magnification devices.MethodsWe recruited 100 participants between the ages of 24-97 years, with low vision who were literate and cognitively capable, of whom 57 had age-related macular degeneration. To assess reading, participants read standardized iReST texts and were tested for comprehension. We compared reading speed on the Apple iPad (10 inch) with that of the CCTV, home magnification devices, and baseline measures.ResultsAll assistive devices improved reading rates in comparison to baseline (P<0.001, Hedge's g>1), however, there was no difference in improvement across devices (P>0.05, Hedge's g<0.1). When experience was taken into account, those with iPad experience read, on average, 30 words per minute faster than first time iPad users, whereas CCTV experience did not influence reading speed.ConclusionsIn our sample, the Apple iPad was as effective as currently used technologies for improving reading rates. Moreover, exposure to, and experience with the Apple iPad might increase reading speed with that device. A larger sample size, however, is needed to do subgroup analysis on who would optimally benefit from each type of magnification device.

  19. Language-related values, reading amount, and reading comprehension in students with migration backgrounds.

    PubMed

    El-Khechen, Wahiba; Ferdinand, Hanna D; Steinmayr, Ricarda; McElvany, Nele

    2016-06-01

    Although various studies on general language performance have investigated determinants of students' reading comprehension (e.g., reading amount), they have paid insufficient attention to how students perceive parental values influence their language-related values and behaviour - and, as a consequence, their performance. This is particularly the case for bilingual students with a migration background. The present study aims to examine the impact of how students perceive parental values regarding German (attainment, utility, and cost), students' (utility) value of German/Turkish, and students' reading amount in German/Turkish on German reading comprehension. A total of 118 Grade 4 students in Germany with Turkish as their family language. Reading comprehension was measured with a 15-item standardized test. Whereas students' reading amount (German/Turkish) was assessed through students' self-reports on three questions, students' utility value (German/Turkish) and perceived parental values regarding German (attainment, utility, and cost) were each measured with two items. Results of path modelling supported the hypotheses that students' utility value regarding German and their reading amount in German would positively predict their German reading comprehension, whereas their utility value regarding Turkish and their reading amount in Turkish would negatively predict their German reading comprehension. Data also confirmed a direct effect of the negatively perceived parental cost value of German on German reading comprehension. The new evidence is of practical relevance for teachers, educational scientists, and psychologists who are striving to improve the educational outcomes of bilingual students. Further research needs and the significance of the results for educational practice and home environment are discussed. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  20. Assessment of the Apple iPad as a low-vision reading aid

    PubMed Central

    Morrice, E; Johnson, A P; Marinier, J-A; Wittich, W

    2017-01-01

    Purpose Low-vision clients frequently report having problems with reading. Using magnification, reading performance (as measured by reading speed) can be improved by up to 200%. Current magnification aids can be expensive or bulky; therefore, we explored if the Apple iPad offers comparable performance in improving reading speeds, in comparison with a closed-circuit television (CCTV) video magnifier, or other magnification devices. Methods We recruited 100 participants between the ages of 24–97 years, with low vision who were literate and cognitively capable, of whom 57 had age-related macular degeneration. To assess reading, participants read standardized iReST texts and were tested for comprehension. We compared reading speed on the Apple iPad (10 inch) with that of the CCTV, home magnification devices, and baseline measures. Results All assistive devices improved reading rates in comparison to baseline (P<0.001, Hedge’s g>1), however, there was no difference in improvement across devices (P>0.05, Hedge’s g<0.1). When experience was taken into account, those with iPad experience read, on average, 30 words per minute faster than first time iPad users, whereas CCTV experience did not influence reading speed. Conclusions In our sample, the Apple iPad was as effective as currently used technologies for improving reading rates. Moreover, exposure to, and experience with the Apple iPad might increase reading speed with that device. A larger sample size, however, is needed to do subgroup analysis on who would optimally benefit from each type of magnification device. PMID:28157222

  1. Mendelian randomization shows sex-specific associations between long-chain PUFA-related genotypes and cognitive performance in Danish schoolchildren.

    PubMed

    Lauritzen, Lotte; Sørensen, Louise B; Harsløf, Laurine B; Ritz, Christian; Stark, Ken D; Astrup, Arne; Dyssegaard, Camilla B; Egelund, Niels; Michaelsen, Kim F; Damsgaard, Camilla T

    2017-07-01

    Background: Dietary and endogenously formed long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) are hypothesized to improve cognitive development, but results are inconclusive, with suggestions of sex specificity. One study suggested that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs1535 and rs174448 in the fatty acid desaturase ( FADS ) gene cluster have opposite effects on erythrocyte LCPUFAs at 9 mo. Objective: To explore whether SNPs in FADS and elongase ( ELOVL ) genes were associated with school performance in a sex-specific manner, we performed a Mendelian randomization study using data from the Optimal well-being, development and health for Danish children through a healthy New Nordic Diet (OPUS) School Meal Study with 765 Danish schoolchildren 8-11 y old. Design: Associations between selected FADS1/2 SNPs (rs1535, rs174448, and rs174468) and ELOVL5 rs2397142, whole-blood fatty acid composition, and performance in the d2 Test of Attention and a reading test were analyzed in multiple regression models including all SNPs, SNP-sex interactions, and covariates related to testing conditions. Results: FADS , rs1535 minor allele carriage associated with lower whole-blood arachidonic acid ( P ≤ 0.002), and minor alleles of rs174448 tended to associate with lower docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ( P = 0.052). We identified sex interactions in 50% of the SNP performance sets. Sex-dependent associations were observed for rs174448 and rs1535 on the d2 Test of Attention outcomes ( P < 0.03) and for the associations between reading scores and rs174448 and rs2397142 ( P < 0.01). All of the sex-specific analyses showed associations in opposite directions in girls and boys. The minor allele carriage of rs174448 was associated with lower d2 Test of Attention performance ( P < 0.02) and reading scores ( P < 0.001) in boys but with better reading scores in girls ( P ≤ 0.002). The associations were consistently the opposite for rs1535 minor allele carriage ( P < 0.05). Associations with rs2397142 also appeared to be opposite of those of rs174448, but only for reading and not significant after adjustment for parental educational level and whole-blood DHA. Conclusions: This study showed associations between rs1535 minor allele homozygosity and rs174448 major allele carriage and improved performance in 8- to 11-y-old boys but not in girls, thereby counteracting existing sex differences. This may be a consequence of increased endogenous DHA synthesis in infancy but not at school-age. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01457794. © 2017 American Society for Nutrition.

  2. Accuracy and speed of orthographic processing in persons with developmental dyslexia.

    PubMed

    King, Wayne M; Lombardino, Linda L; Ahmed, Sarah

    2005-08-01

    A group of 39 persons (20 male and 19 female, 11.0 to 32.5 yr.) with developmental dyslexia and 42 controls (21 male and 21 female, 11.2 to 32.3 years) were compared on computerized tests of sight word reading, nonword decoding, and spelling recognition. The subjects with developmental dyslexia performed significantly slower and less accurately than controls on all tasks. Further, the effect size of the group differences was larger for the older group. Within-group analyses showed a significant difference by age group on accuracy. Only the control group showed a significant age difference between groups on response time. Mean accuracy and response times for the reading-disabled subjects resembled shifted versions of the control group means. These results agree with previous reports that phonological deficits persist for reading-disabled adults and suggest a test of whether the discrepancy between reading-disabled and typically achieving readers may actually increase across age groups.

  3. Reading Performance Is Enhanced by Visual Texture Discrimination Training in Chinese-Speaking Children with Developmental Dyslexia

    PubMed Central

    Meng, Xiangzhi; Lin, Ou; Wang, Fang; Jiang, Yuzheng; Song, Yan

    2014-01-01

    Background High order cognitive processing and learning, such as reading, interact with lower-level sensory processing and learning. Previous studies have reported that visual perceptual training enlarges visual span and, consequently, improves reading speed in young and old people with amblyopia. Recently, a visual perceptual training study in Chinese-speaking children with dyslexia found that the visual texture discrimination thresholds of these children in visual perceptual training significantly correlated with their performance in Chinese character recognition, suggesting that deficits in visual perceptual processing/learning might partly underpin the difficulty in reading Chinese. Methodology/Principal Findings To further clarify whether visual perceptual training improves the measures of reading performance, eighteen children with dyslexia and eighteen typically developed readers that were age- and IQ-matched completed a series of reading measures before and after visual texture discrimination task (TDT) training. Prior to the TDT training, each group of children was split into two equivalent training and non-training groups in terms of all reading measures, IQ, and TDT. The results revealed that the discrimination threshold SOAs of TDT were significantly higher for the children with dyslexia than for the control children before training. Interestingly, training significantly decreased the discrimination threshold SOAs of TDT for both the typically developed readers and the children with dyslexia. More importantly, the training group with dyslexia exhibited significant enhancement in reading fluency, while the non-training group with dyslexia did not show this improvement. Additional follow-up tests showed that the improvement in reading fluency is a long-lasting effect and could be maintained for up to two months in the training group with dyslexia. Conclusion/Significance These results suggest that basic visual perceptual processing/learning and reading ability in Chinese might at least partially rely on overlapping mechanisms. PMID:25247602

  4. Impaired reading comprehension in schizophrenia: evidence for underlying phonological processing deficits.

    PubMed

    Arnott, Wendy; Sali, Lauren; Copland, David

    2011-05-15

    The present study examined reading ability in high functioning people with schizophrenia. To this end, 16 people with schizophrenia who were living in the community and 12 matched controls completed tests of passage reading (comprehension, accuracy, and rate), word recognition, and phonological processing (phonological awareness, phonological memory and rapid naming) and ratings of reading self-concept and practices. Performance of the participants with schizophrenia was impaired relative to control participants on reading comprehension and rapid naming and relative to the population norms on phonological awareness, and rapid naming. In addition, self-rating data revealed that participants with schizophrenia had poorer perceptions of their reading ability and engaged in reading activities less frequently than their control counterparts. Consistent with earlier research, significant correlations were found between phonological awareness and reading comprehension. These findings expand on previous research in the area to suggest that community-based individuals with schizophrenia experience problems with reading comprehension that may have a phonological basis. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. 40 CFR 90.411 - Post-test analyzer procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Post-test analyzer procedures. 90.411... Test Procedures § 90.411 Post-test analyzer procedures. (a) Perform a HC hang-up check within 60...), the test is void. (d) Read and record the post-test data specified in § 90.405(e). (e) For a valid...

  6. 40 CFR 90.411 - Post-test analyzer procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Post-test analyzer procedures. 90.411... Test Procedures § 90.411 Post-test analyzer procedures. (a) Perform a HC hang-up check within 60...), the test is void. (d) Read and record the post-test data specified in § 90.405(e). (e) For a valid...

  7. 40 CFR 90.411 - Post-test analyzer procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Post-test analyzer procedures. 90.411... Test Procedures § 90.411 Post-test analyzer procedures. (a) Perform a HC hang-up check within 60...), the test is void. (d) Read and record the post-test data specified in § 90.405(e). (e) For a valid...

  8. 40 CFR 90.411 - Post-test analyzer procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Post-test analyzer procedures. 90.411... Test Procedures § 90.411 Post-test analyzer procedures. (a) Perform a HC hang-up check within 60...), the test is void. (d) Read and record the post-test data specified in § 90.405(e). (e) For a valid...

  9. 40 CFR 90.411 - Post-test analyzer procedures.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Post-test analyzer procedures. 90.411... Test Procedures § 90.411 Post-test analyzer procedures. (a) Perform a HC hang-up check within 60...), the test is void. (d) Read and record the post-test data specified in § 90.405(e). (e) For a valid...

  10. Read distance performance and variation of 5 low-frequency radio frequency identification panel transceiver manufacturers.

    PubMed

    Ryan, S E; Blasi, D A; Anglin, C O; Bryant, A M; Rickard, B A; Anderson, M P; Fike, K E

    2010-07-01

    Use of electronic animal identification technologies by livestock managers is increasing, but performance of these technologies can be variable when used in livestock production environments. This study was conducted to determine whether 1) read distance of low-frequency radio frequency identification (RFID) transceivers is affected by type of transponder being interrogated; 2) read distance variation of low-frequency RFID transceivers is affected by transceiver manufacturer; and 3) read distance of various transponder-transceiver manufacturer combinations meet the 2004 United States Animal Identification Plan (USAIP) bovine standards subcommittee minimum read distance recommendation of 60 cm. Twenty-four transceivers (n = 5 transceivers per manufacturer for Allflex, Boontech, Farnam, and Osborne; n = 4 transceivers for Destron Fearing) were tested with 60 transponders [n = 10 transponders per type for Allflex full duplex B (FDX-B), Allflex half duplex (HDX), Destron Fearing FDX-B, Farnam FDX-B, and Y-Tex FDX-B; n = 6 for Temple FDX-B (EM Microelectronic chip); and n = 4 for Temple FDX-B (HiTag chip)] presented in the parallel orientation. All transceivers and transponders met International Organization for Standardization 11784 and 11785 standards. Transponders represented both one-half duplex and full duplex low-frequency air interface technologies. Use of a mechanical trolley device enabled the transponders to be presented to the center of each transceiver at a constant rate, thereby reducing human error. Transponder and transceiver manufacturer interacted (P < 0.0001) to affect read distance, indicating that transceiver performance was greatly dependent upon the transponder type being interrogated. Twenty-eight of 30 combinations of transceivers and transponders evaluated met the minimum recommended USAIP read distance. The mean read distance across all 30 combinations was 45.1 to 129.4 cm. Transceiver manufacturer and transponder type interacted to affect read distance variance (P < 0.05). Maximum read distance performance of low-frequency RFID technologies with low variance can be achieved by selecting specific transponder-transceiver combinations.

  11. Polish Adult Reading Test (PART) - construction of Polish test for estimating the level of premorbid intelligence in schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Karakuła-Juchnowicz, Hanna; Stecka, Mariola

    2017-08-29

    In view of unavailability in Poland of the standardized methods to measure PIQ, the aim of the work was to develop a Polish test to assess the premorbid level of intelligence - PART(Polish AdultReading Test) and to measureits psychometric properties, such as validity, reliability as well as standardization in the group of schizophrenia patients. The principles of PART construction were based on the idea of popular worldwide National Adult Reading Test by Hazel Nelson. The research comprised a group of 122 subjects (65 schizophrenia patients and 57 healthy people), aged 18-60 years, matched for age and gender. PART appears to be a method with high internal consistency and reliability measured by test-retest, inter-rater reliability, and the method with acceptable diagnostic and prognostic validity. The standardized procedures of PART have been investigated and described. Considering the psychometric values of PART and a short time of its performance, the test may be a useful diagnostic instrument in the assessment of premorbid level of intelligence in a group of schizophrenic patients.

  12. The Relationship between Brainstem Temporal Processing and Performance on Tests of Central Auditory Function in Children with Reading Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Billiet, Cassandra R.; Bellis, Teri James

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: Studies using speech stimuli to elicit electrophysiologic responses have found approximately 30% of children with language-based learning problems demonstrate abnormal brainstem timing. Research is needed regarding how these responses relate to performance on behavioral tests of central auditory function. The purpose of the study was to…

  13. Measuring the Impact of Language-Learning Software on Test Performance of Chinese Learners of English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nicholes, Justin

    2016-01-01

    This classroom quasi-experiment aimed to learn if and to what degree supplementing classroom instruction with Rosetta Stone (RS), Tell Me More (TMM), Memrise (MEM), or ESL WOW (WOW) impacted high-stakes English test performance in areas of university-level writing, reading, speaking, listening, and grammar. Seventy-eight (N = 78) Chinese learners…

  14. Predictive Utility and Classification Accuracy of Oral Reading Fluency and the Measures of Academic Progress for the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ball, Carrie R.; O'Connor, Edward

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the predictive validity and classification accuracy of two commonly used universal screening measures relative to a statewide achievement test. Results indicated that second-grade performance on oral reading fluency and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), together with special education status, explained 68% of the…

  15. Adults with Poor Reading Skills: How Lexical Knowledge Interacts with Scores on Standardized Reading Comprehension Tests

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKoon, Gai; Ratcliff, Roger

    2016-01-01

    Millions of adults in the United States lack the necessary literacy skills for most living wage jobs. For students from adult learning classes, we used a lexical decision task to measure their knowledge of words and we used a decision-making model (Ratcliff's, 1978, diffusion model) to abstract the mechanisms underlying their performance from…

  16. Analysis of Reading Fluency and Comprehension Measures for Sixth Grade Students. Technical Report #24

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alonzo, Julie; Tindal, Gerald

    2004-01-01

    The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has increased the importance of assessment in K-12 education. Designed to ensure that all students meet high academic standards, the law currently requires states receiving Title I funds to test all children annually in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and report student performance disaggregated by…

  17. Evaluation of the performance and response of the bacharach TLV sniffer and H-Nu photoionization gas analyzer to common hydrocarbon solvents.

    PubMed

    Chelton, C F; Zakraysek, N; Lautner, G M; Confer, R G

    1983-10-01

    Two direct reading instruments, the H-Nu PI 101 photoionization analyzer and the J.W. Bacharach TLV Sniffer, were evaluated under laboratory conditions to determine their performance characteristics when challenged by vapors of common hydrocarbon solvent mixtures. Each instrument was evaluated against the manufacturer's recommended test solvent for rise time, fall time, noise, span drift, zero drift, position sensitivity, battery life, and recharge time. The precision, accuracy, and operating linear range were also determined for the test solvents and some petroleum solvent mixtures which are common refinery products. For these latter mixtures, correction factors are presented which allow for an improved estimate of ambient concentrations when monitoring with each of these instruments. All tests except operating humidity range were performed by challenging each instrument with a known concentration of hydrocarbon generated by evaporating calculated liquid volumes into a static chamber. Humidity tests were performed using a dynamic dilution apparatus generating a fixed concentration of hydrocarbon while relative humidity was varied. Concentrations in both systems were verified by gas injection into gas chromatograph. Each instrument performed well when challenged by manufacturers' recommended test solvents. Humidity was shown to influence each instrument's readings. Also, the instruments were shown to have application as monitors of airborne concentrations of common hydrocarbon solvent mixtures.

  18. Reading the Mind in the Eyes or Reading between the Lines? Theory of Mind Predicts Collective Intelligence Equally Well Online and Face-To-Face

    PubMed Central

    Engel, David; Woolley, Anita Williams; Jing, Lisa X.; Chabris, Christopher F.; Malone, Thomas W.

    2014-01-01

    Recent research with face-to-face groups found that a measure of general group effectiveness (called “collective intelligence”) predicted a group’s performance on a wide range of different tasks. The same research also found that collective intelligence was correlated with the individual group members’ ability to reason about the mental states of others (an ability called “Theory of Mind” or “ToM”). Since ToM was measured in this work by a test that requires participants to “read” the mental states of others from looking at their eyes (the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test), it is uncertain whether the same results would emerge in online groups where these visual cues are not available. Here we find that: (1) a collective intelligence factor characterizes group performance approximately as well for online groups as for face-to-face groups; and (2) surprisingly, the ToM measure is equally predictive of collective intelligence in both face-to-face and online groups, even though the online groups communicate only via text and never see each other at all. This provides strong evidence that ToM abilities are just as important to group performance in online environments with limited nonverbal cues as they are face-to-face. It also suggests that the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test measures a deeper, domain-independent aspect of social reasoning, not merely the ability to recognize facial expressions of mental states. PMID:25514387

  19. Effects of reading picture books on kindergartners' mathematics performance.

    PubMed

    van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Marja; Elia, Iliada; Robitzsch, Alexander

    2016-02-07

    This article describes a field experiment with a pretest-posttest control group design which investigated the potential of reading picture books to children for supporting their mathematical understanding. The study involved 384 children from 18 kindergarten classes in 18 schools in the Netherlands. During three months, the children in the nine experimental classes were read picture books. Data analysis revealed that, when controlled for relevant covariates, the picture book reading programme had a positive effect ( d  = .13) on kindergartners' mathematics performance as measured by a project test containing items on number, measurement and geometry. Compared to the increase from pretest to posttest in the control group, the increase in the experimental group was 22% larger. No significant differential intervention effects were found between subgroups based on kindergarten year, age, home language, socio-economic status and mathematics and language ability, but a significant intervention effect was found for girls and not for boys.

  20. Effects of reading picture books on kindergartners’ mathematics performance

    PubMed Central

    van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Marja; Elia, Iliada; Robitzsch, Alexander

    2016-01-01

    This article describes a field experiment with a pretest–posttest control group design which investigated the potential of reading picture books to children for supporting their mathematical understanding. The study involved 384 children from 18 kindergarten classes in 18 schools in the Netherlands. During three months, the children in the nine experimental classes were read picture books. Data analysis revealed that, when controlled for relevant covariates, the picture book reading programme had a positive effect (d = .13) on kindergartners’ mathematics performance as measured by a project test containing items on number, measurement and geometry. Compared to the increase from pretest to posttest in the control group, the increase in the experimental group was 22% larger. No significant differential intervention effects were found between subgroups based on kindergarten year, age, home language, socio-economic status and mathematics and language ability, but a significant intervention effect was found for girls and not for boys. PMID:26855457

  1. What Do Diagnostic Reading Tests Really Diagnose?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winkley, Carol K.

    A study was made of nine reading tests, including both group and individually-administered measures, which are claimed to be chiefly diagnostic. Instruments analyzed were the following: Silent Reading Diagnostic Tests (Bond, Balow, and Hoyt), Botel Reading Inventory, Durrell Analysis of Reading Difficulty, Gates-McKillop Reading Diagnostic Tests,…

  2. "Passageless" Administration of the Nelson-Denny Reading Comprehension Test: Associations with IQ and Reading Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ready, Rebecca E.; Chaudhry, Maheen F.; Schatz, Kelly C.; Strazzullo, Sarah

    2013-01-01

    There are few tests that assess reading comprehension in adults, but these tests are needed for a comprehensive assessment of reading disorders (RD). "The Nelson-Denny Reading Test" (NDRT) has a long-passage reading comprehension component that can be used with adolescents and adults. A problem with the NDRT is that reading comprehension…

  3. The Effects of Essay Placement and Prompt Type on Performance on the New SAT®. Research Report No. 2006-7. ETS RR-06-34

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oh, Hyeon-Joo; Walker, Michael E.

    2007-01-01

    This study evaluated (1) whether essay placement (either at the beginning or at the end of the test battery) impacts test-takers' performance on the critical reading, mathematics, and writing multiple choice measures; and (2) whether essay prompt type (either a simple one-line prompt or a prompt including a short passage) affects test-takers'…

  4. [Role of creative discussion in the learning of critical reading of scientific articles].

    PubMed

    Cobos-Aguilar, Héctor; Viniegra-Velázquez, Leonardo; Pérez-Cortés, Patricia

    2011-01-01

    To compare two active educational strategies on critical reading (two and three stages) for research learning in medical students. Four groups were conformed in a quasi-experimental design. The medical student group, related to three stages (critical reading guide resolution, creative discussion, group discussion) g1, n = 9 with school marks > 90 and g2, n = 19 with a < 90, respectively. The two-stage groups (guide resolution and group discussion) were conformed by pre-graduate interns, g3, n = 17 and g4, n = 12, who attended social security general hospitals. A validated and consistent survey with 144 items was applied to the four groups before and after educational strategies. Critical reading with its subcomponents: interpretation, judgment and proposal were evaluated with 47, 49 and 48 items, respectively. The case control studies, cohort studies, diagnostic test and clinical trial designs were evaluated. Nonparametric significance tests were performed to compare the groups and their results. A bias calculation was performed for each group. The highest median was obtained by the three-stage groups (g1 and g2) and so were the medians in interpretation, judgment and proposal. The several research design results were higher in the same groups. An active educational strategy with three stages is superior to another with two stages in medical students. It is advisable to perform these activities in goal of better learning in our students.

  5. Injecting Errors for Testing Built-In Test Software

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gender, Thomas K.; Chow, James

    2010-01-01

    Two algorithms have been conceived to enable automated, thorough testing of Built-in test (BIT) software. The first algorithm applies to BIT routines that define pass/fail criteria based on values of data read from such hardware devices as memories, input ports, or registers. This algorithm simulates effects of errors in a device under test by (1) intercepting data from the device and (2) performing AND operations between the data and the data mask specific to the device. This operation yields values not expected by the BIT routine. This algorithm entails very small, permanent instrumentation of the software under test (SUT) for performing the AND operations. The second algorithm applies to BIT programs that provide services to users application programs via commands or callable interfaces and requires a capability for test-driver software to read and write the memory used in execution of the SUT. This algorithm identifies all SUT code execution addresses where errors are to be injected, then temporarily replaces the code at those addresses with small test code sequences to inject latent severe errors, then determines whether, as desired, the SUT detects the errors and recovers

  6. The effect of selected "desirable difficulties" on the ability to recall anatomy information.

    PubMed

    Dobson, John L; Linderholm, Tracy

    2015-01-01

    "Desirable difficulties" is a theory from cognitive science used to promote learning in a variety of contexts. The basic premise is that creating a cognitively challenging environment at the learning acquisition phase, by actively engaging learners in the retrieval of to-be-learned materials, promotes long-term retention. In this study, the degree of desirable difficulties was varied to identify how cognitively challenging the learning acquisition phase must be to benefit university-level students' learning of anatomy concepts. This is important to investigate as applied studies of desirable difficulties are less frequent than laboratory-based studies and the implementation of this principle may need to be tailored to the specific field of study, such as anatomy. As such, a read-read-read-read (R-R-R-R) condition was compared to read-generate-read-generate (R-G-R-G) and read-test-read-test (R-T-R-T) conditions. The three conditions varied in terms of how effortful the retrieval task was during the learning acquisition phase. R-R-R-R required little effort because participants passively read the materials four times. R-G-R-G required some effort to generate a response as participants completed a word fragment task during the learning acquisition phase. R-T-R-T was thought to be most demanding as participants performed a free recall task twice during the learning phase. With regard to the absolute amount of anatomy information recalled, the R-T-R-T condition was superior at both immediate and delayed (one week) assessment points. Thus, instructors and learners of anatomy would benefit from embedding more free recall components, or self-testing, into university-level course work or study practices. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.

  7. Developmental dyscalculia and basic numerical capacities: a study of 8-9-year-old students.

    PubMed

    Landerl, Karin; Bevan, Anna; Butterworth, Brian

    2004-09-01

    Thirty-one 8- and 9-year-old children selected for dyscalculia, reading difficulties or both, were compared to controls on a range of basic number processing tasks. Children with dyscalculia only had impaired performance on the tasks despite high-average performance on tests of IQ, vocabulary and working memory tasks. Children with reading disability were mildly impaired only on tasks that involved articulation, while children with both disorders showed a pattern of numerical disability similar to that of the dyscalculic group, with no special features consequent on their reading or language deficits. We conclude that dyscalculia is the result of specific disabilities in basic numerical processing, rather than the consequence of deficits in other cognitive abilities.

  8. Single-Event Effect Performance of a Conductive-Bridge Memory EEPROM

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chen, Dakai; Wilcox, Edward; Berg, Melanie; Kim, Hak; Phan, Anthony; Figueiredo, Marco; Seidleck, Christina; LaBel, Kenneth

    2015-01-01

    We investigated the heavy ion SEE characteristics of an EEPROM based on CBRAM technology. SEFI is the dominant type of SEE for each operating mode (standby, read-only, write/read). We also observed single bit upsets in the CBRAM cell, during write/read tests. the SEULET threshold is between 10 and 20 MeV * sq cm/mg, with an upper fluence limit of 3 × 10(exp 6) cm(exp -2) at 10 MeV * sq cm/mg. In the stand by mode, the CBRAM array appears immune to bit upsets.

  9. Investigating the Construct Measured by Banked Gap-Fill Items: Evidence from Eye-Tracking

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCray, Gareth; Brunfaut, Tineke

    2018-01-01

    This study investigates test-takers' processing while completing banked gap-fill tasks, designed to test reading proficiency, in order to test theoretically based expectations about the variation in cognitive processes of test-takers across levels of performance. Twenty-eight test-takers' eye traces on 24 banked gap-fill items (on six tasks) were…

  10. A functional connectivity-based neuromarker of sustained attention generalizes to predict recall in a reading task.

    PubMed

    Jangraw, David C; Gonzalez-Castillo, Javier; Handwerker, Daniel A; Ghane, Merage; Rosenberg, Monica D; Panwar, Puja; Bandettini, Peter A

    2018-02-01

    Sustaining attention to the task at hand is a crucial part of everyday life, from following a lecture at school to maintaining focus while driving. Lapses in sustained attention are frequent and often problematic, with conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. Recent work has had some success in finding signatures of sustained attention in whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) measures during basic tasks, but since FC can be dynamic and task-dependent, it remains unclear how fully these signatures would generalize to a more complex and naturalistic scenario. To this end, we used a previously defined whole-brain FC network - a marker of attention that was derived from a sustained attention task - to predict the ability of participants to recall material during a free-viewing reading task. Though the predictive network was trained on a different task and set of participants, the strength of FC in the sustained attention network predicted reading recall significantly better than permutation tests where behavior was scrambled to simulate chance performance. To test the generalization of the method used to derive the sustained attention network, we applied the same method to our reading task data to find a new FC network whose strength specifically predicts reading recall. Even though the sustained attention network provided significant prediction of recall, the reading network was more predictive of recall accuracy. The new reading network's spatial distribution indicates that reading recall is highest when temporal pole regions have higher FC with left occipital regions and lower FC with bilateral supramarginal gyrus. Right cerebellar to right frontal connectivity is also indicative of poor reading recall. We examine these and other differences between the two predictive FC networks, providing new insight into the task-dependent nature of FC-based performance metrics. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  11. A patch test confirmed phenobarbital-induced fixed drug eruption in a child.

    PubMed

    Chadly, Zohra; Aouam, Karim; Chaabane, Amel; Belhadjali, Hichem; Abderrazzak Boughattas, Naceur; Zili, Jamel Eddine

    2014-06-01

    A-10-year-old girl was referred to our department for multiple hyperpigmented plaques. One week previously, she had been given one suppository of acetylsalicylic acid - phenobarbital for fever. Twelve hours after the drug intake the child developed pruritic red plaques on the left thigh. Six weeks after resolution of the acute reaction, patch tests were performed separately, with phenobarbital and acetylsalicylic acid. On 48-hour reading, only the phenobarbital patch test on residual pigmented lesion was positive. Because of possible cross-reactions between aromatic anticonvulsants, subsequent patch tests using carbamazepine and phenytoin on residual pigmented lesions were performed. They were all negative at 48-hour reading. To our knowledge, only two isolated pediatric cases of Phenobarbital-induced FDE have been reported in the literature. In this case report, as it was difficult to determine whether phenobarbital or acetylsalicylic acid was responsible for this reaction, subsequent patch tests allowed the identification of the culprit component since it was positive to phenobarbital.

  12. Increased resting-state functional connectivity of visual- and cognitive-control brain networks after training in children with reading difficulties

    PubMed Central

    Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; DiFrancesco, Mark; Kay, Benjamin; Wang, Yingying; Holland, Scott K.

    2015-01-01

    The Reading Acceleration Program, a computerized reading-training program, increases activation in neural circuits related to reading. We examined the effect of the training on the functional connectivity between independent components related to visual processing, executive functions, attention, memory, and language during rest after the training. Children 8–12 years old with reading difficulties and typical readers participated in the study. Behavioral testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed before and after the training. Imaging data were analyzed using an independent component analysis approach. After training, both reading groups showed increased single-word contextual reading and reading comprehension scores. Greater positive correlations between the visual-processing component and the executive functions, attention, memory, or language components were found after training in children with reading difficulties. Training-related increases in connectivity between the visual and attention components and between the visual and executive function components were positively correlated with increased word reading and reading comprehension, respectively. Our findings suggest that the effect of the Reading Acceleration Program on basic cognitive domains can be detected even in the absence of an ongoing reading task. PMID:26199874

  13. Increased resting-state functional connectivity of visual- and cognitive-control brain networks after training in children with reading difficulties.

    PubMed

    Horowitz-Kraus, Tzipi; DiFrancesco, Mark; Kay, Benjamin; Wang, Yingying; Holland, Scott K

    2015-01-01

    The Reading Acceleration Program, a computerized reading-training program, increases activation in neural circuits related to reading. We examined the effect of the training on the functional connectivity between independent components related to visual processing, executive functions, attention, memory, and language during rest after the training. Children 8-12 years old with reading difficulties and typical readers participated in the study. Behavioral testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed before and after the training. Imaging data were analyzed using an independent component analysis approach. After training, both reading groups showed increased single-word contextual reading and reading comprehension scores. Greater positive correlations between the visual-processing component and the executive functions, attention, memory, or language components were found after training in children with reading difficulties. Training-related increases in connectivity between the visual and attention components and between the visual and executive function components were positively correlated with increased word reading and reading comprehension, respectively. Our findings suggest that the effect of the Reading Acceleration Program on basic cognitive domains can be detected even in the absence of an ongoing reading task.

  14. Color-Word Stroop test performance across the adult life span.

    PubMed

    Uttl, B; Graf, P

    1997-06-01

    In the Color-Word Stroop test (CWST), the basic task is to name the ink color of rows of XXXs, and performance in this condition is compared with performance in naming the ink-color of color words under conditions where word meanings and ink colors mismatch or are incongruent (e.g., the word red printed in green ink). The present study investigated whether Stroop test interference, defined as the cost associated with ink-color naming in the incongruous stimulus condition versus in the basic color-naming condition, provides positive evidence for a kind of processing qualitatively different than that which is required for color naming or for word reading. Does the pattern of age-related differences in Stroop interference force the conclusion that the incongruous condition taps a qualitatively different kind of processing than that required for color naming or for word reading? We gave the CWST to 310 healthy adults. Their performance in each condition of the test replicates and extends previous findings. Structural equation modeling of the data showed a significant, direct link between age and performance in the latent factor associated with the incongruent condition. However, this direct link with age produced a relatively small increase in the model's fit; it amounted to only a .024 increase in the proportion of variance explained in the incongruent condition. In light of this small direct influence due to age, the most parsimonious explanation of our findings is that age effects in Stroop interference are due to age-related slowing (which is also indexed by color naming and by word reading) primarily; the findings do not provide evidence for a qualitatively different kind of processing that declines with age.

  15. Vision Problems and Reduced Reading Outcomes in Queensland Schoolchildren.

    PubMed

    Hopkins, Shelley; Sampson, Geoff P; Hendicott, Peter L; Wood, Joanne M

    2017-03-01

    To assess the relationship between vision and reading outcomes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous schoolchildren to determine whether vision problems are associated with lower reading outcomes in these populations. Vision testing and reading assessments were performed on 508 Indigenous and non-Indigenous schoolchildren in Queensland, Australia divided into two age groups: Grades 1 and 2 (6-7 years of age) and Grades 6 and 7 (12-13 years of age). Vision parameters measured included cycloplegic refraction, near point of convergence, heterophoria, fusional vergence range, rapid automatized naming, and visual motor integration. The following vision conditions were then classified based on the vision findings: uncorrected hyperopia, convergence insufficiency, reduced rapid automatized naming, and delayed visual motor integration. Reading accuracy and reading comprehension were measured with the Neale reading test. The effect of uncorrected hyperopia, convergence insufficiency, reduced rapid automatized naming, and delayed visual motor integration on reading accuracy and reading comprehension were investigated with ANCOVAs. The ANCOVAs explained a significant proportion of variance in both reading accuracy and reading comprehension scores in both age groups, with 40% of the variation in reading accuracy and 33% of the variation in reading comprehension explained in the younger age group, and 27% and 10% of the variation in reading accuracy and reading comprehension, respectively, in the older age group. The vision parameters of visual motor integration and rapid automatized naming were significant predictors in all ANCOVAs (P < .01). The direction of the relationship was such that reduced reading results were explained by reduced visual motor integration and rapid automatized naming results. Both reduced rapid automatized naming and visual motor integration were associated with poorer reading outcomes in Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. This is an important finding given the recent emphasis placed on Indigenous children's reading skills and the fact that reduced rapid automatized naming and visual motor integration skills are more common in this group.

  16. Mayo's Older African Americans Normative Studies: norms for Boston Naming Test, Controlled Oral Word Association, Category Fluency, Animal Naming, Token Test, WRAT-3 Reading, Trail Making Test, Stroop Test, and Judgment of Line Orientation.

    PubMed

    Lucas, John A; Ivnik, Robert J; Smith, Glenn E; Ferman, Tanis J; Willis, Floyd B; Petersen, Ronald C; Graff-Radford, Neill R

    2005-06-01

    Normative data for older African Americans are presented for several clinical neuropsychological measures, including Boston Naming Test, Controlled Oral Word Association, Category Fluency, Token Test, WRAT-3 Reading, Trail Making Test, Stroop Color and Word Test, and Judgment of Line Orientation. Age-adjusted norms were derived from a sample of 309 cognitively normal, community-dwelling individuals, aged 56 through 94, participating in Mayo's Older African Americans Normative Studies (MOAANS). Years of education were modelled on age-scaled scores to derive regression Equations that may be applied for further demographic correction. These data should enhance interpretation of individual test performances and facilitate analysis of neuropsychological profile patterns in older African American patients who present for dementia evaluations.

  17. A study of perceptual and verbal skills of disabled readers in grades 4, 5 and 6.

    PubMed

    Solan, H A; Ficarra, A P

    1990-08-01

    This investigation addresses the role of the optometrist in diagnosing and treating children in grades 4, 5, and 6 who have been identified as reading disabled. Fifty-one subjects with average intelligence, but whose reading comprehension skills were below the 31st percentile (mean, 20th percentile), were evaluated using verbal and perceptual tests. When the performance of this experimental group was compared with the mean scores from standardized test norms for each of the various tasks, the disabled readers scored significantly lower in seven of the eight perceptual and five of the six verbal tasks. These results lend support to the hypothesis that both perceptual and verbal deficits are related to reading comprehension. Using step-wise multiple correlation analysis, three perceptual factors; eye-movements, Auditory-Visual Integration Test (AVIT), and grooved peg-board, contributed 38 percent of the variance whereas the addition of two verbal factors (digit span and token test) provided just 2 percent. That is, 38 percent of the variations in reading comprehension could be accounted for by variations in perceptual skills in the disabled readers. The results were interpreted in terms of spatial-simultaneous and verbal-successive processing skills.

  18. High Stakes Testing and Reading Assessment. National Reading Conference Policy Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Afflerbach, Peter

    2005-01-01

    This National Reading Conference Policy Brief provides information related to high stakes reading tests and reading assessment. High stakes reading tests are those with highly consequential outcomes for students, teachers, and schools. These outcomes may include student promotion or retention, student placement in reading groups, school funding…

  19. Exogenous attention and color perception: performance and appearance of saturation and hue.

    PubMed

    Fuller, Stuart; Carrasco, Marisa

    2006-11-01

    Exogenous covert attention is an automatic, transient form of attention that can be triggered by sudden changes in the periphery. Here we test for the effects of attention on color perception. We used the methodology developed by Carrasco, Ling, and Read [Carrasco, M., Ling, S., & Read, S. (2004). Attention alters appearance. Nature Neuroscience, 7 (3) 308-313] to explore the effects of exogenous attention on appearance of saturation (Experiment 1) and of hue (Experiment 2). We also tested orientation discrimination performance for single stimuli defined by saturation or hue (Experiment 3). The results indicate that attention increases apparent saturation, but does not change apparent hue, notwithstanding the fact that it improves orientation discrimination for both saturation and hue stimuli.

  20. Identifying subassemblies by ultrasound to prevent fuel handling error in sodium fast reactors: First test performed in water

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Paumel, Kevin; Lhuillier, Christian

    2015-07-01

    Identifying subassemblies by ultrasound is a method that is being considered to prevent handling errors in sodium fast reactors. It is based on the reading of a code (aligned notches) engraved on the subassembly head by an emitting/receiving ultrasonic sensor. This reading is carried out in sodium with high temperature transducers. The resulting one-dimensional C-scan can be likened to a binary code expressing the subassembly type and number. The first test performed in water investigated two parameters: width and depth of the notches. The code remained legible for notches as thin as 1.6 mm wide. The impact of the depthmore » seems minor in the range under investigation. (authors)« less

  1. Factors Related to Competency Test Performance for High School Learning Disabled Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Julia; And Others

    1985-01-01

    This study explored some factors associated with learning disabled high school students who passed the North Carolina Minimum Competency Test on the second administration. Factors examined include reading score on the first competency test, intelligence quotient, locus of control, mother's education, teacher support, student/teacher ratio, and…

  2. Measuring adult literacy students' reading skills using the Gray Oral Reading Test.

    PubMed

    Greenberg, Daphne; Pae, Hye Kyeong; Morris, Robin D; Calhoon, Mary Beth; Nanda, Alice O

    2009-12-01

    There are not enough reading tests standardized on adults who have very low literacy skills, and therefore tests standardized on children are frequently administered. This study addressed the complexities and problems of using a test normed on children to measure the reading comprehension skills of 193 adults who read at approximately third through fifth grade reading grade equivalency levels. Findings are reported from an analysis of the administration of Form A of the Gray Oral Reading Tests-Fourth Edition (Wiederholt & Bryant, 2001a, b). Results indicated that educators and researchers should be very cautious when interpreting test results of adults who have difficulty reading when children's norm-referenced tests are administered.

  3. Physical fitness and academic performance in middle school students.

    PubMed

    Bass, Ronald W; Brown, Dale D; Laurson, Kelly R; Coleman, Margaret M

    2013-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether physical fitness is linked to academic success in middle school students. The FITNESSGRAM test battery assessed students (n = 838) in the five components of health-related fitness. The Illinois Standardized Achievement Test (ISAT) was used to assess academic achievement in reading and math. The largest correlations were seen for aerobic fitness and muscular endurance (ranging from 0.12 to 0.27, all p < 0.05). Boys in the Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) for aerobic fitness or muscular endurance were 2.5-3 times more likely to pass their math or reading exams. Girls in the HFZ for aerobic fitness were approximately 2-4 times as likely to meet or exceed reading and math test standards. Aerobic capacity and muscular endurance seem to positively affect academic achievement in middle school students. ©2013 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. The costs and benefits of mind-wandering: a review.

    PubMed

    Mooneyham, Benjamin W; Schooler, Jonathan W

    2013-03-01

    Substantial evidence suggests that mind-wandering typically occurs at a significant cost to performance. Mind-wandering-related deficits in performance have been observed in many contexts, most notably reading, tests of sustained attention, and tests of aptitude. Mind-wandering has been shown to negatively impact reading comprehension and model building, impair the ability to withhold automatized responses, and disrupt performance on tests of working memory and intelligence. These empirically identified costs of mind-wandering have led to the suggestion that mind-wandering may represent a pure failure of cognitive control and thus pose little benefit. However, emerging evidence suggests that the role of mind-wandering is not entirely pernicious. Recent studies have shown that mind-wandering may play a crucial role in both autobiographical planning and creative problem solving, thus providing at least two possible adaptive functions of the phenomenon. This article reviews these observed costs and possible functions of mind-wandering and identifies important avenues of future inquiry.

  5. The influence of working memory on reading growth in subgroups of children with reading disabilities.

    PubMed

    Swanson, H Lee; Jerman, Olga

    2007-04-01

    This 3-year longitudinal study determined whether (a) subgroups of children with reading disabilities (RD) (children with RD only, children with both reading and arithmetic deficits, and low verbal IQ readers) and skilled readers varied in working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM) growth and (b) whether growth in an executive system and/or a phonological storage system mediated growth in reading performance. A battery of memory and reading measures was administered to 84 children (11-17 years of age) across three testing waves spaced 1 year apart. The results showed that skilled readers yielded higher WM growth estimates than did the RD groups. No significant differentiation among subgroups of children with RD on growth measures emerged. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that WM (controlled attention), rather than STM (phonological loop), was related to growth in reading comprehension and reading fluency. The results support the notion that deficient growth in the executive component of WM underlies RD.

  6. High Reading Skills Mask Dyslexia in Gifted Children.

    PubMed

    van Viersen, Sietske; Kroesbergen, Evelyn H; Slot, Esther M; de Bree, Elise H

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated how gifted children with dyslexia might be able to mask literacy problems and the role of possible compensatory mechanisms. The sample consisted of 121 Dutch primary school children that were divided over four groups (typically developing [TD] children, children with dyslexia, gifted children, gifted children with dyslexia). The test battery included measures of literacy (reading/spelling) and cognitive abilities related to literacy and language (phonological awareness [PA], rapid automatized naming [RAN], verbal short-term memory [VSTM], working memory [WM], grammar, and vocabulary). It was hypothesized that gifted children with dyslexia would outperform children with dyslexia on literacy tests. In addition, a core-deficit model including dyslexia-related weaknesses and a compensational model involving giftedness-related strengths were tested using Bayesian statistics to explain their reading/spelling performance. Gifted children with dyslexia performed on all literacy tests in between children with dyslexia and TD children. Their cognitive profile showed signs of weaknesses in PA and RAN and strengths in VSTM, WM, and language skills. Findings indicate that phonology is a risk factor for gifted children with dyslexia, but this is moderated by other skills such as WM, grammar, and vocabulary, providing opportunities for compensation of a cognitive deficit and masking of literacy difficulties. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

  7. Pathways of the inferior frontal occipital fasciculus in overt speech and reading.

    PubMed

    Rollans, Claire; Cheema, Kulpreet; Georgiou, George K; Cummine, Jacqueline

    2017-11-19

    In this study, we examined the relationship between tractography-based measures of white matter integrity (ex. fractional anisotropy [FA]) from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and five reading-related tasks, including rapid automatized naming (RAN) of letters, digits, and objects, and reading of real words and nonwords. Twenty university students with no reported history of reading difficulties were tested on all five tasks and their performance was correlated with diffusion measures extracted through DTI tractography. A secondary analysis using whole-brain Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) was also used to find clusters showing significant negative correlations between reaction time and FA. Results showed a significant relationship between the left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus FA and performance on the RAN of objects task, as well as a strong relationship to nonword reading, which suggests a role for this tract in slower, non-automatic and/or resource-demanding speech tasks. There were no significant relationships between FA and the faster, more automatic speech tasks (RAN of letters and digits, and real word reading). These findings provide evidence for the role of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus in tasks that are highly demanding of orthography-phonology translation (e.g., nonword reading) and semantic processing (e.g., RAN object). This demonstrates the importance of the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus in basic naming and suggests that this tract may be a sensitive predictor of rapid naming performance within the typical population. We discuss the findings in the context of current models of reading and speech production to further characterize the white matter pathways associated with basic reading processes. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Effect of pH Test-Strip Characteristics on Accuracy of Readings.

    PubMed

    Metheny, Norma A; Gunn, Emily M; Rubbelke, Cynthia S; Quillen, Terrilynn Fox; Ezekiel, Uthayashanker R; Meert, Kathleen L

    2017-06-01

    Little is known about characteristics of colorimetric pH test strips that are most likely to be associated with accurate interpretations in clinical situations. To compare the accuracy of 4 pH test strips with varying characteristics (ie, multiple vs single colorimetric squares per calibration, and differing calibration units [1.0 vs 0.5]). A convenience sample of 100 upper-level nursing students with normal color vision was recruited to evaluate the accuracy of the test strips. Six buffer solutions (pH range, 3.0 to 6.0) were used during the testing procedure. Each of the 100 participants performed 20 pH tests in random order, providing a total of 2000 readings. The sensitivity and specificity of each test strip was computed. In addition, the degree to which the test strips under- or overestimated the pH values was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Our criterion for correct readings was an exact match with the pH buffer solution being evaluated. Although none of the test strips evaluated in our study was 100% accurate at all of the measured pH values, those with multiple squares per pH calibration were clearly superior overall to those with a single test square. Test strips with multiple squares per calibration were associated with greater overall accuracy than test strips with a single square per calibration. However, because variable degrees of error were observed in all of the test strips, use of a pH meter is recommended when precise readings are crucial. ©2017 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

  9. Effectiveness of a novel home-based testing device for the detection of rupture of membranes.

    PubMed

    Bornstein, Jacob; Ohel, Gonen; Sorokin, Yoram; Reape, Kathleen Z; Shnaider, Oleg; Kessary-Shoham, Hadar; Ophir, Ella

    2009-01-01

    We evaluated the ability of a testing panty liner (TPL) embedded with a pH/ammonia indicator polymer to differentiate amniotic fluid leakage from urine. A multicenter, open-label study in which 339 pregnant women (age 18 to 45 years, minimum 16 weeks' gestation, presenting with unexplained vaginal wetness) were enrolled. The TPL was worn and the results read by the subject and a health care provider (HCP) who was blinded to the subject's reading. Results were compared with the standard clinical diagnosis, as determined by direct visualization of vaginal pooling, crystallization (ferning), and nitrazine tests, performed by a second blinded HCP. Subject experience with the test was assessed with a brief questionnaire. The TPL accurately detected 154 of the 161 subjects found to have amniotic fluid leakage by the standard diagnosis; thus, the sensitivity of the TPL was 95.65%. The specificity was 84.46% (% true negative readings), as the TPL demonstrated a negative result for 125 of the 148 subjects whose clinical diagnosis was negative for amniotic fluid leakage. The overall agreement between the TPL readings of the clinician and that of the subject was 97.40%. The TPL is a reliable test to determine the presence of amniotic fluid leakage.

  10. Oral Reading Fluency as a Predictor of Silent Reading Fluency at Secondary and Postsecondary Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seok, Soonhwa; DaCosta, Boaventura

    2014-01-01

    This research investigated oral reading fluency as a predictor of silent reading fluency at the secondary and postsecondary levels. Several measures were used, including the Gray Oral Reading Test, the Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency, the Test of Silent Contextual Reading Fluency, and the Reading Observation Scale. A total of 223 students…

  11. Reading Comprehension and Tolerance against Comprehension Ambiguities: An Empirical Study of Iranian GFL-Learners in Communicative Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haghani, Nader; Bahmannejad, Fereshteh

    2018-01-01

    The present study examines the influence of ambiguity tolerance on the performance of Iranian GFL-learners (Note 1) at level B1 in the processing of gap-filling-text tests. It is assumed that learners with more tolerance of ambiguity achieve better results in the reading comprehension or in the contextual guessing of the omitted words. 34 GFL…

  12. The Simple View, Instructional Level, and the Plight of Struggling Fifth-/Sixth-Grade Readers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morris, Darrell; Meyer, Carla; Trathen, Woodrow; McGee, Jennifer; Vines, Nora; Stewart, Trevor; Gill, Tom; Schlagal, Robert

    2017-01-01

    This study explored print-processing and vocabulary differences among a group of 5th- and 6th-grade students who had scored below the 50th percentile on a standardized reading test. Guided by the simple view of reading, we applied cut scores (low/high) to the students' performance on print-processing and vocabulary tasks. The design allowed for…

  13. The Objective Measurement of Reading Comprehension: In Response to Technical Questions Raised by the California Department of Education Technical Study Group.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stenner, A. Jackson; Burdick, Donald S.

    This document discusses in depth the theoretical background of the Lexile Framework, which is based on the assumption that reading comprehension is the best predictor of success in higher education and job performance, and that it is the most tested construct in education. The first section defines measurement and differentiates between specific…

  14. Understanding Language in Education and Grade 4 Reading Performance Using a "Natural Experiment" of Botswana and South Africa

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shepherd, Debra Lynne

    2018-01-01

    The regional and cultural closeness of Botswana and South Africa, as well as differences in their political histories and language policy stances, offers a unique opportunity to evaluate the role of language in reading outcomes. This study aims to empirically test the effect of exposure to mother tongue and English instruction on the reading…

  15. Speech and Pause Characteristics in Multiple Sclerosis: A Preliminary Study of Speakers with High and Low Neuropsychological Test Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feenaughty, Lynda; Tjaden, Kris; Benedict, Ralph H. B.; Weinstock-Guttman, Bianca

    2013-01-01

    This preliminary study investigated how cognitive-linguistic status in multiple sclerosis (MS) is reflected in two speech tasks (i.e. oral reading, narrative) that differ in cognitive-linguistic demand. Twenty individuals with MS were selected to comprise High and Low performance groups based on clinical tests of executive function and information…

  16. Testing the Importance of Individual Growth Curves in Predicting Performance on a High-Stakes Reading Comprehension Test in Florida. REL 2014-006

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Petscher, Yaacov; Kershaw, Sarah; Koon, Sharon; Foorman, Barbara R.

    2014-01-01

    Districts and schools use progress monitoring to assess student progress, to identify students who fail to respond to intervention, and to further adapt instruction to student needs. Researchers and practitioners often use progress monitoring data to estimate student achievement growth (slope) and evaluate changes in performance over time for…

  17. Cognitive Linguistic Performances of Multilingual University Students Suspected of Dyslexia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindgren, Signe-Anita; Laine, Matti

    2011-01-01

    High-performing adults with compensated dyslexia pose particular challenges to dyslexia diagnostics. We compared the performance of 20 multilingual Finnish university students with suspected dyslexia with 20 age-matched and education-matched controls on an extensive test battery. The battery tapped various aspects of reading, writing, word…

  18. The unique role of executive function skills in predicting Hong Kong kindergarteners' reading comprehension.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yingyi; Sun, Huilin; Lin, Dan; Li, Hong; Yeung, Susanna Siu-Sze; Wong, Terry Tin-Yau

    2018-01-15

    Word reading and linguistic comprehension skills are two crucial components in reading comprehension, according to the Simple View of Reading (SVR). Some researchers have posited that a third component should be involved in reading and understanding texts, namely executive function (EF) skills. This study was novel in two ways. Not only did we tested EF skills as a predictor of reading comprehension in a non-alphabetic language (i.e., Chinese) to extend the theoretical model of SVR, we also examined reading comprehension further in kindergarten children (age 5) in Hong Kong, in the attempt to reveal possible early precursors of reading comprehension. A group of 170 K3 kindergarteners was recruited in Hong Kong. Children's word reading was assessed. Their linguistic comprehension was assessed with phonological awareness, verbal short-term memory, and vocabulary knowledge. Using a structured observation task, Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS), we measured their composite scores for EF skills. Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders performance predicted unique variance in children's Chinese reading comprehension concurrently beyond word reading and a set of linguistic comprehension skills. The results highlight the important role of EF skills in beginning readers' reading comprehension. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

  19. Evaluation of the King-Devick test as a concussion screening tool in high school football players.

    PubMed

    Seidman, Daniel H; Burlingame, Jennifer; Yousif, Lina R; Donahue, Xinh P; Krier, Joshua; Rayes, Lydia J; Young, Rachel; Lilla, Muareen; Mazurek, Rochelle; Hittle, Kristie; McCloskey, Charles; Misra, Saroj; Shaw, Michael K

    2015-09-15

    Concussion is the most common type of traumatic brain injury, and results from impact or impulsive forces to the head, neck or face. Due to the variability and subtlety of symptoms, concussions may go unrecognized or be ignored, especially with the pressure placed on athletes to return to competition. The King-Devick (KD) test, an oculomotor test originally designed for reading evaluation, was recently validated as a concussion screening tool in collegiate athletes. A prospective study was performed using high school football players in an attempt to study the KD as a concussion screening tool in this younger population. 343 athletes from four local high school football teams were recruited to participate. These athletes were given baseline KD tests prior to competition. Individual demographic information was collected on the subjects. Standard team protocol was employed to determine if a concussion had occurred during competition. Immediately after diagnosis, the KD test was re-administered to the concussed athlete for comparison to baseline. Post-season testing was also performed in non-concussed individuals. Of the 343 athletes, nine were diagnosed with concussions. In all concussed players, cumulative read times for the KD test were significantly increased (p<0.001). Post-season testing of non-concussed athletes revealed minimal change in read times relative to baseline. Univariate analysis revealed that history of concussion was the only demographic factor predictive of concussion in this cohort. The KD test is an accurate and easily administered sideline screening tool for concussion in adolescent football players. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Reading literary fiction improves theory of mind.

    PubMed

    Kidd, David Comer; Castano, Emanuele

    2013-10-18

    Understanding others' mental states is a crucial skill that enables the complex social relationships that characterize human societies. Yet little research has investigated what fosters this skill, which is known as Theory of Mind (ToM), in adults. We present five experiments showing that reading literary fiction led to better performance on tests of affective ToM (experiments 1 to 5) and cognitive ToM (experiments 4 and 5) compared with reading nonfiction (experiments 1), popular fiction (experiments 2 to 5), or nothing at all (experiments 2 and 5). Specifically, these results show that reading literary fiction temporarily enhances ToM. More broadly, they suggest that ToM may be influenced by engagement with works of art.

  1. Adults with poor reading skills: How lexical knowledge interacts with scores on standardized reading comprehension tests

    PubMed Central

    McKoon, Gail; Ratcliff, Roger

    2016-01-01

    Millions of adults in the United States lack the necessary literacy skills for most living wage jobs. For students from adult learning classes, we used a lexical decision task to measure their knowledge of words and we used a decision-making model (Ratcliff’s, 1978, diffusion model) to abstract the mechanisms underlying their performance from their RTs and accuracy. We also collected scores for each participant on standardized IQ tests and standardized reading tests used commonly in the education literature. We found significant correlations between the model’s estimates of the strengths with which words are represented in memory and scores for some of the standardized tests but not others. The findings point to the feasibility and utility of combining a test of word knowledge, lexical decision, that is well-established in psycholinguistic research, a decision-making model that supplies information about underlying mechanisms, and standardized tests. The goal for future research is to use this combination of approaches to understand better how basic processes relate to standardized tests with the eventual aim of understanding what these tests are measuring and what the specific difficulties are for individual, low-literacy adults. PMID:26550803

  2. Adults with poor reading skills: How lexical knowledge interacts with scores on standardized reading comprehension tests.

    PubMed

    McKoon, Gail; Ratcliff, Roger

    2016-01-01

    Millions of adults in the United States lack the necessary literacy skills for most living wage jobs. For students from adult learning classes, we used a lexical decision task to measure their knowledge of words and we used a decision-making model (Ratcliff's, 1978, diffusion model) to abstract the mechanisms underlying their performance from their RTs and accuracy. We also collected scores for each participant on standardized IQ tests and standardized reading tests used commonly in the education literature. We found significant correlations between the model's estimates of the strengths with which words are represented in memory and scores for some of the standardized tests but not others. The findings point to the feasibility and utility of combining a test of word knowledge, lexical decision, that is well-established in psycholinguistic research, a decision-making model that supplies information about underlying mechanisms, and standardized tests. The goal for future research is to use this combination of approaches to understand better how basic processes relate to standardized tests with the eventual aim of understanding what these tests are measuring and what the specific difficulties are for individual, low-literacy adults. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Size as a determinant of reading speed

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bailey, I.; Clear, R.; Berman, S.

    1992-03-01

    The speed of reading unrelated words as a function of luminance, size, and contrast, was measured with an eye movement monitor for fifteen young adults. Subjects read up to 5,000 words in a test session, with the exact number depending upon their acuity. The size of the smallest legible print at a given luminance and contrast for these subjects was found to fit well to the Blackwell-Taylor detection threshold data above about 1 minute of arc. At lower sizes inclusion of a resolution size term provided an excellent fit. Reading speed was fit to a number of visual performance models.more » It was found that for most subjects that a ratio of the print size to an estimate of the threshold print size (a VL{sub size}) gave the best fits to the data. The threshold size was computed with a fit to the Blackwell-Taylor detection threshold data, modified to include a resolution size term as above. For the sole remaining subject a slightly better fit was obtained with a VL{sub contrast} model, where again the thresholds were modified by a limiting size term. The implication of these results for visual performance modeling is discussed. The reading speed for all subjects varied rapidly with size near the acuity limit, but became almost independent of visibility parameters as long as size is two times the acuity limit. These results show that size is a powerful determinant of reading speed, and suggest that minification of about 1/2 power could be used as a field test for adequate visibility.« less

  4. Size as a determinant of reading speed

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bailey, I.; Clear, R.; Berman, S.

    1992-03-01

    The speed of reading unrelated words as a function of luminance, size, and contrast, was measured with an eye movement monitor for fifteen young adults. Subjects read up to 5,000 words in a test session, with the exact number depending upon their acuity. The size of the smallest legible print at a given luminance and contrast for these subjects was found to fit well to the Blackwell-Taylor detection threshold data above about 1 minute of arc. At lower sizes inclusion of a resolution size term provided an excellent fit. Reading speed was fit to a number of visual performance models.more » It was found that for most subjects that a ratio of the print size to an estimate of the threshold print size (a VL[sub size]) gave the best fits to the data. The threshold size was computed with a fit to the Blackwell-Taylor detection threshold data, modified to include a resolution size term as above. For the sole remaining subject a slightly better fit was obtained with a VL[sub contrast] model, where again the thresholds were modified by a limiting size term. The implication of these results for visual performance modeling is discussed. The reading speed for all subjects varied rapidly with size near the acuity limit, but became almost independent of visibility parameters as long as size is two times the acuity limit. These results show that size is a powerful determinant of reading speed, and suggest that minification of about 1/2 power could be used as a field test for adequate visibility.« less

  5. Evaluation of the effects of insufficient blood volume samples on the performance of blood glucose self-test meters.

    PubMed

    Pfützner, Andreas; Schipper, Christina; Ramljak, Sanja; Flacke, Frank; Sieber, Jochen; Forst, Thomas; Musholt, Petra B

    2013-11-01

    Accuracy of blood glucose readings is (among other things) dependent on the test strip being completely filled with sufficient sample volume. The devices are supposed to display an error message in case of incomplete filling. This laboratory study was performed to test the performance of 31 commercially available devices in case of incomplete strip filling. Samples with two different glucose levels (60-90 and 300-350 mg/dl) were used to generate three different sample volumes: 0.20 µl (too low volume for any device), 0.32 µl (borderline volume), and 1.20 µl (low but supposedly sufficient volume for all devices). After a point-of-care capillary reference measurement (StatStrip, NovaBiomedical), the meter strip was filled (6x) with the respective volume, and the response of the meters (two devices) was documented (72 determinations/meter type). Correct response was defined as either an error message indicating incomplete filling or a correct reading (±20% compared with reference reading). Only five meters showed 100% correct responses [BGStar and iBGStar (both Sanofi), ACCU-CHEK Compact+ and ACCU-CHEK Mobile (both Roche Diagnostics), OneTouch Verio (LifeScan)]. The majority of the meters (17) had up to 10% incorrect reactions [predominantly incorrect readings with sufficient volume; Precision Xceed and Xtra, FreeStyle Lite, and Freedom Lite (all Abbott); GlucoCard+ and GlucoMen GM (both Menarini); Contour, Contour USB, and Breeze2 (all Bayer); OneTouch Ultra Easy, Ultra 2, and Ultra Smart (all LifeScan); Wellion Dialog and Premium (both MedTrust); FineTouch (Terumo); ACCU-CHEK Aviva (Roche); and GlucoTalk (Axis-Shield)]. Ten percent to 20% incorrect reactions were seen with OneTouch Vita (LifeScan), ACCU-CHEK Aviva Nano (Roche), OmniTest+ (BBraun), and AlphaChek+ (Berger Med). More than 20% incorrect reactions were obtained with Pura (Ypsomed), GlucoCard Meter and GlucoMen LX (both Menarini), Elite (Bayer), and MediTouch (Medisana). In summary, partial and incomplete blood filling of glucose meter strips is often associated with inaccurate reading. These findings underline the importance of appropriate patient education on this aspect of blood glucose self-monitoring. © 2013 Diabetes Technology Society.

  6. Progressive Achievement Tests in Reading: Comprehension & Vocabulary. Teacher's Handbook. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Australian Council for Educational Research, Hawthorn.

    The teacher handbook for Progressive Achievement Tests (PATs) in Reading presents an overall description of these survey tests in reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge for school years 3 to 9. There are two alternative forms of each test: (1) the Reading Comprehension tests are designed to measure two major aspects of reading skills…

  7. Stereotypes influence false memories for imagined events.

    PubMed

    Kleider, Heather M; Goldinger, Stephen D; Knuycky, Leslie

    2008-02-01

    Two experiments tested the influences of vivid imagery and person schemata on eyewitness accuracy. Participants watched an event sequence including actors performing stereotype-consistent and inconsistent actions. Additionally, participants either read descriptions of actions (Experiment 1) or vividly imagined actions (Experiment 2). After either 30 minutes or 2 days, recognition memory, source memory, and remember/know judgements were made. After 2 days, false alarms to imagined events increased, relative to the 30-minute test; those false alarms were more often misattributed to stereotype-consistent actors, relative to the same actions in the reading condition. In addition, the accompanying remember judgements were higher for false alarms to imagined events, relative to read events, regardless of stereotype consistency. Overall the results suggest that, over time, vivid imagery reinforces schema activation, increasing stereotype-consistent false memories.

  8. Nature, nurture, and expertise

    PubMed Central

    Plomin, Robert; Shakeshaft, Nicholas G.; McMillan, Andrew; Trzaskowski, Maciej

    2014-01-01

    Rather than investigating the extent to which training can improve performance under experimental conditions (‘what could be’), we ask about the origins of expertise as it exists in the world (‘what is’). We used the twin method to investigate the genetic and environmental origins of exceptional performance in reading, a skill that is a major focus of educational training in the early school years. Selecting reading experts as the top 5% from a sample of 10,000 12-year-old twins assessed on a battery of reading tests, three findings stand out. First, we found that genetic factors account for more than half of the difference in performance between expert and normal readers. Second, our results suggest that reading expertise is the quantitative extreme of the same genetic and environmental factors that affect reading performance for normal readers. Third, growing up in the same family and attending the same schools account for less than a fifth of the difference between expert and normal readers. We discuss implications and interpretations (‘what is inherited is DNA sequence variation’; ‘the abnormal is normal’). Finally, although there is no necessary relationship between ‘what is’ and ‘what could be’, the most far-reaching issues about the acquisition of expertise lie at the interface between them (‘the nature of nurture: from a passive model of imposed environments to an active model of shaped experience’). PMID:24948844

  9. Enhancing reading abilities of learners with intellectual impairments through computer technology

    PubMed Central

    Warnick, Albert M.

    2017-01-01

    Background Developments in the teaching of children with disabilities support pedagogy that emphasises learners’ strengths as opposed to their assumed deficiencies. Educators and mediators who advocate this view continually strive for tools and methodologies that enhance learner participation in academic environments. Computer technology is one of the tools recognised for its potential to enrich learning experiences of learners with an intellectual impairment. Objectives We sought to assess the influence of text-to-speech stories on the reading ability of intellectually challenged learners. Method A qualitative action research study that involves learners at a special school in Cape Town, South Africa. Pre- and post-test data of the reading performance of learners are analysed with a focus on how they demonstrate change. Results Although no claims can be made about the explicit influence on reading performance, computer-assisted learning has the potential in isolating reading processes that classroom-based interventions can address. In addition, computers enhance motivation and enthusiasm to learn. Conclusion A need for education based on inclusion and positive differentiation remains the key driver in any educational interventions. PMID:28951849

  10. Intelligence and Psychopathy Do Not Influence Malingering.

    PubMed

    Demakis, George; Rimland, Casey; Reeve, Charlie; Ward, Jonathan

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the influence of psychopathy and intelligence on malingering in a simulated malingering design. We hypothesized that participants high in both traits would be more adept at evading detection on performance validity tests (PVTs). College students (N = 92) were first administered the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading, a reading measure that estimates intelligence, and the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Short Form under standard conditions. They were then asked to imagine as if they had suffered a concussion a year ago and were instructed to fake or exaggerate symptoms in a believable fashion to improve their settlement as part of a lawsuit. Participants were subsequently administered a brief neuropsychological battery that included the Word Memory Test, Rey 15-Item Test with Recognition, Finger-Tapping Test, and Digit Span from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition. Moderated multiple regressions with hierarchical entry were conducted. Intelligence, psychopathy, and the interaction of intelligence and psychopathy were not related to performance on any of the PVTs. In other words, participants who scored higher on intelligence and psychopathy did not perform differently on these measures compared with other participants. Though a null finding, implications of this study are discussed in terms of the broader research and clinical literature on malingering.

  11. [Eyes test performance among unaffected mothers of patients with schizophrenia].

    PubMed

    Birdal, Seval; Yıldırım, Ejder Akgün; Arslan Delice, Mehtap; Yavuz, Kasım Fatih; Kurt, Erhan

    2015-01-01

    Theory of Mind (ToM) deficit is a widely accepted feature of schizophrenia. A number of studies have examined ToM deficits of first degree relatives of schizophrenic patients as genetic markers of schizophrenia. Examination of mentalization capacity among mothers of schizophrenia patients may improve our understanding of theory of mind impairments in schizophrenia. The aim of this study is to use Reading Mind in the Eyes test to examine theory of mind capacity among mothers of schizophrenic patients. Performance during the test "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" (Eyes Test) was compared between the mothers of schizophrenic patients (n=47) and mothers whose children have no psychotic mental illness (n=47). Test results were analyzed based on the categorization of test items as positive, negative, and neutral. Mothers of schizophrenic patients displayed poorer performance during the Eyes Test compare to mothers in the control group, particularly in the recognition of positive and neutral mental representations. There was no statistically significant difference in the recognition of negative mental representations between mothers of patients and the control groups. The results of this study indicate that mothers of schizophrenic patients differ in some theory of mind patterns. Theory of mind may be an important developmental or endophenotipic factor in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and should be further evaluated using other biological markers.

  12. Explaining the sex difference in dyslexia.

    PubMed

    Arnett, Anne B; Pennington, Bruce F; Peterson, Robin L; Willcutt, Erik G; DeFries, John C; Olson, Richard K

    2017-06-01

    Males are diagnosed with dyslexia more frequently than females, even in epidemiological samples. This may be explained by greater variance in males' reading performance. We expand on previous research by rigorously testing the variance difference theory, and testing for mediation of the sex difference by cognitive correlates. We developed an analytic framework that can be applied to group differences in any psychiatric disorder. Males' overrepresentation in the low performance tail of the reading distribution was accounted for by mean and variance differences across sex. There was no sex difference at the high performance tail. Processing speed (PS) and inhibitory control partially mediated the sex difference. Verbal reasoning emerged as a strength in males. Our results complement a previous finding that PS partially mediates the sex difference in symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and helps explain the sex difference in both dyslexia and ADHD and their comorbidity. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  13. Optimizing text for an individual's visual system: The contribution of visual crowding to reading difficulties.

    PubMed

    Joo, Sung Jun; White, Alex L; Strodtman, Douglas J; Yeatman, Jason D

    2018-06-01

    Reading is a complex process that involves low-level visual processing, phonological processing, and higher-level semantic processing. Given that skilled reading requires integrating information among these different systems, it is likely that reading difficulty-known as dyslexia-can emerge from impairments at any stage of the reading circuitry. To understand contributing factors to reading difficulties within individuals, it is necessary to diagnose the function of each component of the reading circuitry. Here, we investigated whether adults with dyslexia who have impairments in visual processing respond to a visual manipulation specifically targeting their impairment. We collected psychophysical measures of visual crowding and tested how each individual's reading performance was affected by increased text-spacing, a manipulation designed to alleviate severe crowding. Critically, we identified a sub-group of individuals with dyslexia showing elevated crowding and found that these individuals read faster when text was rendered with increased letter-, word- and line-spacing. Our findings point to a subtype of dyslexia involving elevated crowding and demonstrate that individuals benefit from interventions personalized to their specific impairments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. LAMP kit for diagnosis of non-falciparum malaria in Plasmodium ovale infected patients.

    PubMed

    Cuadros, Juan; Martin Ramírez, Alexandra; González, Iveth J; Ding, Xavier C; Perez Tanoira, Ramon; Rojo-Marcos, Gerardo; Gómez-Herruz, Peña; Rubio, Jose Miguel

    2017-01-07

    Microscopy and rapid diagnosis tests have a limited sensitivity in diagnosis of malaria by Plasmodium ovale. The LAMP kit (LoopAMP®) can be used in the field without special equipment and could have an important role in malaria control programmes in endemic areas and for malaria diagnosis in returned travellers. The performance of the Pan primer of the kit in detecting malaria by P. ovale was compared with the results of standard nPCR in samples of patients returning from P. ovale endemic areas. Plasmodium ovale positive samples (29, tested by PCR and/or microscopy) and malaria negative specimens (398, tested by microscopy and PCR) were collected in different hospitals of Europe from June 2014 to March 2016 and frozen at -20 °C. Boil and spin method was used to extract DNA from all samples and amplification was performed with LoopAMP® MALARIA kit (Eiken Chemical, Japan) in an automated turbidimeter (Eiken 500). The results of LAMP read by turbidimetry and with the naked eye were compared. The kit showed a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 97.24% with positive and negative predictive values of 72.5 and 100%, respectively. Naked eyed readings were in accordance with turbidimetry readings (sensitivity, 92.5%, specificity, 98.96% and positive and negative predictive values, respectively, 90.24 and 99.22%). The limit of detection of LAMP assay for P. ovale was between 0.8 and 2 parasites/µl. The Pan primer of the Malaria kit LoopAMP® can detect P. ovale at very low-levels and showed a predictive negative value of 100%. This tool can be useful in malaria control and elimination programmes and in returned travellers from P. ovale endemic areas. Naked eye readings are equivalent to automated turbidimeter readings in specimens obtained with EDTA.

  15. Reading instead of reasoning? Predictors of arithmetic skills in children with cochlear implants.

    PubMed

    Huber, Maria; Kipman, Ulrike; Pletzer, Belinda

    2014-07-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the arithmetic achievement of children with cochlear implants (CI) was lower or comparable to that of their normal hearing peers and to identify predictors of arithmetic achievement in children with CI. In particular we related the arithmetic achievement of children with CI to nonverbal IQ, reading skills and hearing variables. 23 children with CI (onset of hearing loss in the first 24 months, cochlear implantation in the first 60 months of life, atleast 3 years of hearing experience with the first CI) and 23 normal hearing peers matched by age, gender, and social background participated in this case control study. All attended grades two to four in primary schools. To assess their arithmetic achievement, all children completed the "Arithmetic Operations" part of the "Heidelberger Rechentest" (HRT), a German arithmetic test. To assess reading skills and nonverbal intelligence as potential predictors of arithmetic achievement, all children completed the "Salzburger Lesetest" (SLS), a German reading screening, and the Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT), a nonverbal intelligence test. Children with CI did not differ significantly from hearing children in their arithmetic achievement. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that in children with CI, arithmetic achievement was significantly (positively) related to reading skills, but not to nonverbal IQ. Reading skills and nonverbal IQ were not related to each other. In normal hearing children, arithmetic achievement was significantly (positively) related to nonverbal IQ, but not to reading skills. Reading skills and nonverbal IQ were positively correlated. Hearing variables were not related to arithmetic achievement. Children with CI do not show lower performance in non-verbal arithmetic tasks, compared to normal hearing peers. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  16. The Influence of Testing Accommodations on Academic Performance and Disciplinary Rates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to look at two testing accommodations (e.g., read aloud and calculator use) within an "educational" setting. Previous research regarding testing accommodations has most often been conducted within an experimental setting, and the results are conflicting. Therefore, this study was conducted to look at whether…

  17. The Effects of Background Information on Standarized Test Scores.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feeley, Joan T.; Wepner, Shelley B.

    A study was conducted to determine the effects of exposure to the topics included on the comprehension subtest of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (ND), Form F, on college freshmen's performance on the test. In addition, the study investigated whether those students with background information would indicate their awareness of this knowledge on a…

  18. Reading impairments in schizophrenia relate to individual differences in phonological processing and oculomotor control: evidence from a gaze-contingent moving window paradigm.

    PubMed

    Whitford, Veronica; O'Driscoll, Gillian A; Pack, Christopher C; Joober, Ridha; Malla, Ashok; Titone, Debra

    2013-02-01

    Language and oculomotor disturbances are 2 of the best replicated findings in schizophrenia. However, few studies have examined skilled reading in schizophrenia (e.g., Arnott, Sali, Copland, 2011; Hayes & O'Grady, 2003; Revheim et al., 2006; E. O. Roberts et al., 2012), and none have examined the contribution of cognitive and motor processes that underlie reading performance. Thus, to evaluate the relationship of linguistic processes and oculomotor control to skilled reading in schizophrenia, 20 individuals with schizophrenia and 16 demographically matched controls were tested using a moving window paradigm (McConkie & Rayner, 1975). Linguistic skills supporting reading (phonological awareness) were assessed with the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (R. K. Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 1999). Eye movements were assessed during reading tasks and during nonlinguistic tasks tapping basic oculomotor control (prosaccades, smooth pursuit) and executive functions (predictive saccades, antisaccades). Compared with controls, schizophrenia patients exhibited robust oculomotor markers of reading difficulty (e.g., reduced forward saccade amplitude) and were less affected by reductions in window size, indicative of reduced perceptual span. Reduced perceptual span in schizophrenia was associated with deficits in phonological processing and reduced saccade amplitudes. Executive functioning (antisaccade errors) was not related to perceptual span but was related to reading comprehension. These findings suggest that deficits in language, oculomotor control, and cognitive control contribute to skilled reading deficits in schizophrenia. Given that both language and oculomotor dysfunction precede illness onset, reading may provide a sensitive window onto cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia vulnerability and be an important target for cognitive remediation. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

  19. Using the Rasch analysis for the psychometric validation of the Irregular Word Reading Test (TeLPI): A Portuguese test for the assessment of premorbid intelligence.

    PubMed

    Freitas, Sandra; Prieto, Gerardo; Simões, Mário R; Nogueira, Joana; Santana, Isabel; Martins, Cristina; Alves, Lara

    2018-05-03

    The present study aims to analyze the psychometric characteristics of the TeLPI (Irregular Words Reading Test), a Portuguese premorbid intelligence test, using the Rasch model for dichotomous items. The results reveal an overall adequacy and a good fit of values regarding both items and persons. A high variability of cognitive performance level and a good quality of the measurements were also found. The TeLPI has proved to be a unidimensional measure with reduced DIF effects. The present findings contribute to overcome an important gap in the psychometric validity of this instrument and provide good evidence of the overall psychometric validity of TeLPI results.

  20. Measuring premorbid IQ in traumatic brain injury: an examination of the validity of the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR).

    PubMed

    Green, Robin E A; Melo, Brenda; Christensen, Bruce; Ngo, Le-Anh; Monette, Georges; Bradbury, Cheryl

    2008-02-01

    Estimation of premorbid IQ in traumatic brain injury (TBI) is clinically and scientifically valuable because it permits the quantification of the cognitive impact of injury. This is achieved by comparing performances on tests of current ability to estimates of premorbid IQ, thereby enabling current capacity to be interpreted in light of preinjury ability. However, the validity of premorbid IQ tests that are commonly used for TBI has been questioned. In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties of a recently developed test, the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR), which has yet to be examined for TBI. The cognitive performance of a group of 24 patients recovering from TBI (with a mean Glasgow Coma Scale score in the severely impaired range) was measured at 2 and 5 months postinjury. On both occasions, patients were administered three tests that have been used to measure premorbid IQ (the WTAR and the Vocabulary and Matrix Reasoning subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 3rd Edition, WAIS-III) and three tests of current ability (Symbol Digit Modalities Test-Oral and Similarities and Block Design subtests of the WAIS-III). We found that performance significantly improved on tests of current cognitive ability, confirming recovery. In contrast, stable performance was observed on the WTAR from Assessment 1 (M = 34.25/50) to Assessment 2 (M = 34.21/50; r = .970, p < .001). Mean improvement across assessments was negligible (t = -0.086, p = .47; Cohen's d = -.005), and minimal individual participant change was observed (modal scaled score change = 0). WTAR scores were also highly similar to scores on a demographic estimate of premorbid IQ. Thus, converging evidence--high stability during recovery from TBI and similar IQ estimates to those of a demographic equation suggests that the WTAR is a valid measure of premorbid IQ for TBI. Where word pronunciation tests are indicated (i.e., in patients for whom English is spoken and read fluently), these results endorse the use of the WTAR for patients with TBI.

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