Development and Validation of Graded Reading Test for Children with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Formal reading tests are unavailable in the country. This study seeks to develop, standardize and validate a reading protocol to profile reading errors and ascertain grade level performance. A standard group comparison design is used to empirically validate ‘foundation’ and ‘intermediate’ levels of a proposed 3-layered protocol comprising of 17-item examination list covering a sample of 302 children with learning disabilities with lag in reading between nursery-class four. Following standard procedure of tool construction, the developed instrument is shown to be amenable for routine clinical administration, scoring and interpretation based on norms derived in this study. Results show a developmental trend in achieving reading competencies with an identified list of errors. The reliability-validity estimate of the tool and qualitative observations on item analysis are reported while claiming its utility in diagnostic decision making as well as for planning remediation programs for such affected children.