Effectiveness of a Partial Read-Aloud Test Accommodation to Assess Reading Comprehension in Students With a Reading Disability

This experiment examined whether a partial read-aloud accommodation with pacing (PRAP) would improve the reading comprehension of poor decoders but not average decoders compared to standard testing procedures. Participants were 82 third graders with at least average listening comprehension skills: 28 were poor decoders, and 54 were average decoders; mean age 8 years, 9 months (8:9). In the PRAP condition, students' were paced through the Gates MacGinitie reading comprehension test. The examiner read aloud only directions, proper nouns, and questions with multiple choice answers while students read the passages independently. PRAP was compared to a standard testing condition and a pacing only condition. Poor decoders' reading comprehension was significantly higher under PRAP than under either the pacing or standard testing (p < .01), whereas average decoders did not benefit from the PRAP procedure. Results support PRAP as a valid test accommodation procedure for readers who struggle with decoding but not listening comprehension. Results support the simple view of reading and show its value in the design of test accommodations for a specific type of reading disability.