Reading Success Test

Copyright: KBkids.com

Standardized testing of any type comes with much controversy. People either love it or absolutely hate it. If you are one who has no problem with standardized testing, this reading assessment may help you analyze your child's reading abilities.

The Reading Success Test tests in a very traditional format. What you see on the screen will look something like a workbook. They have added a friendly monkey who guides and encourages your child through the testing procedure. Games for "rest" have been added at the end of each sub-test. This test is a criterion-referenced test, meaning it does not compare your child to others in the nation, but tells you which skill have, or have not been mastered.

This test will take some time to administer. The complete test takes approximately three hours, but may take several days or as much as a week to complete in all reality. This is much more than most children can handle in one sitting. If you are considering this program, you may already have some concerns about your child's reading abilities. Children who are struggling with reading will have a hard time sitting through this test. Remember, that your child's self-concept regarding his or her ability to read is far more important than any test results you may obtain.

The Reading Success Test will tell you how your child is doing in ten areas:

• Basic Reading Comprehension
• Passage Comprehension
• Phonological Awareness
• Structural Analysis
• Spelling
• Word Comprehension
• Capitalization/Punctuation
• Phonetic Analysis
• Visual Matching
• Listening Comprehension

If these terms are completely foreign to you, the test may not give you the information you need. While the booklet explains each of these terms, there is not much in the way of concrete follow-up suggestions. A correlated book of activities would have been very helpful, and worth a little more money. Being told that your child can't spell, and needs work in phonetic analysis may leave you saying, "So, NOW what do I do?" The booklet suggests ways to approach the school for help, but this is not always what a parent wants, nor in the child's best interest. The test was well done, but lacked follow-through for the parent.

Two other concerns were noted during testing. A test reaching the sixth grade level might have been more valuable in the long run since this test is meant to be re-administered in the future. Also, while this test gives you accurate results (as far as any standardized test can be accurate,) it does not give you the valuable observational and anecdotal information which can be had from a live tester. This test may, however, be a good starting point for future intervention or just reassurance that your child is doing fine.

Bottom Line: A well done test. Lacking follow-through activities, and may be rather tedious and long for children who are already struggling.

This program is no longer available, watch for it on Ebay.com