About the measure
Versionⓘ
Third Edition (ART3)
Previous version(s)ⓘ
ART, ART2
Subject
Literacy
Education Endowment Foundation: Access Reading Tests – Third Edition
Assessment screening
Subscalesⓘ
Scores for 4 different strands (literal comprehension, vocabulary, comprehension requiring inference and comprehension requiring analysis). However, they are all administered within the same test (not subtests).
Publisher
RS Assessment from Hodder Education
Test source
https://www.risingstars-uk.com/subjects/assessment/art
Guidelines available?ⓘ
Yes
Norm-referenced scores
Yes
Age rangeⓘ
11 – 14 years
Key Stage
Key Stage 3
UK standardisation sample
Yes
Publication date
2018
Re-norming date
N/a
Eligibility
Validity measures available?
Yes
Reliability measures available?
Yes
note whether shortlisted, and reasons why not if relevant
Shortlisted
Administration format
Additional information about what the test measures
Reading (comprehension, vocabulary)
Are additional versions available?
Forms A and B are parallel forms for upper primary or lower secondary. Forms C and D are parallel forms for upper secondary or adulthood. There is an ART interactive version (digital) as well as the paper version.
Can subtests be administered in isolation?
No
Administration Group Size
Individual, Small group, Whole class
Administration duration
30 minutes
Description of materials needed to administer test
Booklet and pen or pencil. Interactive version on computer or tablet.
Any special testing conditions?
N/a
Response format
Response mode
Paper and Pencil
What device is required?
Computer or tablet
Progress through questions
Flat
Assessor requirements
Is any prior knowledge/training/profession accreditation required for administration?
Not stated (no)
Is administration scripted?
N/a
Assessor requirements
Description of materials needed to score test
User manual
Types and range of available scores
Raw scores, percentiles, age standardised scores (by age (range 70 – 130) and cohort/year (range 60 – 149)), reading age equivalents (5/6 years to 20 years), patterns of strength and weakness.
Score transformation for standard score
Two alternative standardised scores: (1) by year cohort and (2) age standardised scores.
Age bands used for norming
1 month for age standardised scores below age 12, 2 months for scores age 12; 0 and above.
Scoring procedures
Simple manual scores key (clerical skills required) or computer scoring with manual entry of responses from paper form using an online service.
Automatised norming
Online
Construct Validity
Rating Construct
Does it reflect the multidimensionality of the subject?
Specific literacy (reading comprehension)
Construct validity comments (and reference for source)
Specific measure of literacy measuring reading comprehension. The correlation between age and raw performance is reported: form A, Pearsons r = 0.713; form B, Pearsons r = 0.633. No correlations with age reported for forms C and D. No measures of construct validity are reported in the administration manual (McCarty & Crumpler, 2018).
Criterion Validity
Rating Criterion
Summarise available comparisons
None available to review.
Reliability
Rating Reliability
Summarise available comparisons
Excellent internal consistency is reported in the administration manual for forms A (Cronbachs alpha 0.95) and B (Cronbach’s alpha 0.94), but not for forms C and D (McCarty & Crumpler, 2018). However, no information is given about the sample. Good equivalence reliability is reported in the administration manual (McCarty & Crumpler, 2018), but only for a restricted age range (11 – 14 years) and only for 2 forms. Correlations between two different forms of the test taken within two weeks of each other were between 0.79 and 0.85. Authors report that this study was with a large and representative sample of Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils from 10 secondary schools.
Is the norm-derived population appropriate and free from bias?
Does the standardisation sample represent the target/general population well?
If any biases are noted in sampling, these will be indicated here.
Norming sample size is excellent, however no information is given about sample selection or representativeness. All testing for forms A and B took place between Sept and Dec 2005, i.e. at the start of the school year, so may not reflect performance at other points in the school year. In 2013, students in Years 7, 8 and 9 took two of the four forms. Forms A and B were presented in an invariant order (e.g. A followed by B), which may result in order effects.
Sources
Sources
McCarty, C., & Crumpler, M. (2018). Access Reading Tests: Forms A, B, C & D: Third Edition manual. London, UK: RS Assessment from Hodder Education.