WHAT DO STANDARDIZED TESTS OF READING-COMPREHENSION MEASURE IN TERMS OF EFFICIENCY, ACCURACY, AND RATE

THIS RESEARCH investigated the factors measured by tests of reading comprehension. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT), the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP), and other tests were administered to over 300 students in Grades 3-8 and to 64 college students. Four different factor analyses of these data consistently resulted in an Efficiency Level factor when there was one factor; when there were two factors, one was interpreted as an Accuracy Level factor and the other as a Rate Level factor. The results suggested that (a) the that the ITBS measures Efficiency Level and Accuracy Level very well but does not measure Rate Level, (b) the NDRT measures all three factors but measure only accuracy level well, and (c) the DRP measures Accuracy Level very well and also measures Rate Level and Efficiency Level even though it does not purport to reflect rate. These results also suggest that the most important factor involved in tests that measure reading comprehension, or general reading ability, is efficiency level, which includes the ability to read fast.