Reading Tasks in a Digital Psychodiagnostic Test Battery: A Digital Screening Tool for Reading Performance

Abstract

Background and aims: We present a new method of measuring reading performance, based on a newly developed test package called the Digital Psychodiagnostic Test Battery. This test battery contains several modules, one of which is the Reading Module; we introduce this module in the present study. Our aim is to enrich the methodology of reading assessment in special education and developmental psychology. The test battery is designed to test word reading and word comprehension in early school age; we intend it as a tool for screening reading disorders. Modular and online test administration is an important novelty of our tests compared to other reading tests currently in use in our country. Another important feature is that, unlike the classical word and pseudo-word reading task, our procedures test word reading, and word comprehension based on a lexical decision paradigm. We present a psychometric examination of our test battery based on a small sample.

Method: After a review of theories and methodological approaches we created a vocabulary and image collection of the reading material, followed by software development in an online framework. Using the software, we collected reading data in a pilot study. This pilot study involved 193 typically developing children in grades 2-4, aged 8-12.

Results: The data collected from the sample was subjected to a psychometric analysis to establish its dimensional structure, and reference values for reading performance. A summary of the results of the psychometric analysis is offered.

Keywords: reading, word coding, online framework