How to Test Reading Competency
The ability to read and comprehend is a prerequisite for success in many fields. Throughout the educational process, teachers work to build their students' reading competency by providing them with extensive opportunities to practice reading and increase their fluency and vocabulary. Periodically, it is necessary to test children's reading competency to determine how much progress they have made toward accomplishing their reading goals. Testing reading competency is quite simple and can help educators and parents in determining how much practice the child still requires to master the skill of reading.
Instructions
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Provide the child with a picture book, section of a chapter book or a passage of non-fiction text to test his reading skills. Choose a section of no fewer than 100 words, but no more than 200. Use a grade-level appropriate textbook to ensure that the passage is written at the requisite skill level.
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Listen to the child read aloud. Do not intervene or help her with words with which she is struggling. Instead, require that she read the passage independently to ensure that you get an accurate measure of her ability.
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Mark reading errors. As the child reads, keep track of any words that he skips, replaces or mispronounces. All of these count as errors. You do not have to keep track of the type of error he makes, but should record the number of errors by making tally marks on a small slip of paper.
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Count the number of errors. If the child made four or more errors while reading, the passage presented to her is likely too difficult for her to read.
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Provide the child with a lower-level passage and repeat the procedure if the child struggled with the original reading. To determine a child's competency and grade level, move down the reading levels offering continually easy passages until he can successfully read the provided text without making four or more errors.
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References
- Photo Credit child reading 2 image by Photoeyes from Fotolia.com
