The Letter-Sound Test (LeST): a reliable and valid comprehensive measure of grapheme–phoneme knowledge

Abstract

Children who have difficulty learning to read are at increased risk for academic failure, poor self-esteem, anxiety and depression, and unemployment. To help reduce these risks, it is important to identify and treat weaknesses in a child's reading as early as possible. The aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable comprehensive standardized test of a key reading sub-skill called grapheme–phoneme correspondence (GPC) knowledge. In Phase 1 of the study, we selected a comprehensive evidence-based list of the most important GPC rules for learning to read in English. In Phase 2, we administered this list to a representative sample of Australian children to calculate age- and grade-based norms. In Phase 3, we established that the test had robust inter-rater and test–retest reliability, and appropriate criterion validity. We hope that this new test, which is called the Letter-Sound Test, proves useful to clinicians, teachers, and researcher as a comprehensive test of GPC knowledge.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the teachers and children of Arndell Anglican College and All Saints Grammar for their time and effort donated to this research. We would also like to thank Dr Eva Marinus and Thushara Anandakumar for their invaluable help on this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship (MQRES), a Macquarie Faculty Research Infrastructure Fund grant, a National Health and Medical Research Council Project [grant number 488518], an Australian Research Council Discovery Project [grant number 0879556], and an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship [grant number 120100102].