Examining the Impact of Audio Presentation on Tests of Reading Comprehension

Abstract

This study examined the impact of a read-aloud accommodation on standardized test scores of reading comprehension at grades 4 and 8. Under a repeated measures design, students with and without reading-based learning disabilities took both a standard administration and a read-aloud administration of a reading comprehension test. Results show that the mean score on the audio version was higher than scores on the standard version for both groups of students at both grade levels. Students with reading-based learning disabilities at both levels benefited differentially more than students with no disability. This finding continues to hold after controlling for reading fluency and ceiling effects at both grades. The results also examined the relationship between test scores and teachers' ratings of reading comprehension to determine which measures are the better predictors of teachers' ratings of reading comprehension by grade and disability classification.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Funding was provided by Grant No. H324F040001 by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) National Center of Special Education Research (NCSER).

Notes

¹Reading fluency is a measure of reading speed and accuracy that is correlated with reading comprehension but is also a key indicator of the word-level and fluency-level reading disability subtypes described by Fletcher et al. (2006).