Australian comparison data for the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE)

Abstract

This paper reports provisional Australian comparison data and scoring instructions for the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE). The TOWRE is a popular reading fluency test used in reading research, classroom assessment and clinical practice. Approximate ‘norms’ were obtained from children attending four primary schools in New South Wales. Results suggested that the US norms for the TOWRE may overestimate the reading level of Australian children in lower grades and that the performance on the two parallel forms (A and B) of the subtests (Sight Word Efficiency and Phonemic Decoding Efficiency) of the TOWRE did not differ from each other. While no performance differences were found between boys and girls overall, it was noted that the youngest boys outperformed the youngest girls on Form A of the Sight Word Efficiency subtest, and the youngest girls outperformed the youngest boys on Form B of the Sight Word Efficiency subtest. Limitations of the current study are discussed and a brief reference is made to a new (2012) edition of TOWRE (TOWRE-2).

Keywords::

• word reading fluency
• comparison data
• TOWRE

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a Macquarie Faculty Research Infrastructure Fund, which was awarded to the third author. We are extremely grateful to the staff and students of Penrith Christian School, St Paul's Grammar School, Arndell Anglican College Primary School and All Saints Primary School. In particular, we would like to thank Janelle Christie, Erica Galbraith, Mary Zahn and Thomas Psomas for their co-operation and assistance. We would also like to thank our diligent testers and their coordinator Thushara Anandakumar. Finally, we would like to thank Professor Joseph Torgesen for granting permission to display the items of the phonemic decoding efficiency subtests in this paper.