Adult Reading Assessment
The Resource
A series of easy-to-use adult reading tests referenced to the International Adult Literacy Survey
This new adult reading assessment resource contains:
These paper-and-pencil tests take one hour or less to write and integrate easily into the curriculum for a variety of programs including literacy, basic education, vocational, essential skills, upgrading, GED, workplace and college.
The series uses familiar texts that reflect where everyday reading takes place: in the home, the community and the workplace. It is divided into 6 successive segments, based on skill development, and contains 5 different tests for each segment.
The resource consists of a paperback User Guide and a USB flash drive with PDFs of all the other components.
Click on the links above for more detailed information.
Segment A is first in the series and is informally referenced to the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) mid-Level 1. The skills being targeted at this level include:
- Identify and use familiar words
- Know where to write your name in a form
- Understand simple lists such as shopping lists and simple menus
- Choose words from a list of words
- Use common structures such as phone numbers, addresses and prices
Sample question: When was the dog lost?
Click below for a sample of an entire Segment A test.
Segment B is second in the series and is informally referenced to IALS high-Level 1. The skills being targeted at this level include:
- Understand common words in text
- Relate common words to other words in nearby text
- Know where to write personal information in a form
- Interpret a short text
- Select from choices
- Make choices based on meaning
Sample question: On what date was the phone bill paid?
Click below for a sample of a portion of a Segment B test.
Segment C is third in the series and is informally referenced to IALS low-Level 2. The skills being targeted at this level include:
- Relate information to other information that is further away in the text, not only to nearby text
- Find complex information by searching for it in the text
- Cycle through text to find more than one piece of information, for example, to answer questions like “Which class starts the earliest?” by reading a chart that lists all the start times for each class and determining which is the earliest
- Make comparisons between items or people mentioned in the text
- Use comparisons to find other information
- Select among choices in a short text, such as by answering the question “Which pizza deal costs the least?” using a text that lists three or more pizza deals and costs
Sample question: Which name existed first, the National Indian Brotherhood or the
Assembly of First Nations?
Click below for a sample of an entire Segment C test.
Segment D is forth in the series and is informally referenced to IALS mid-Level 2. The skills being targeted at this level include:
- Manage conditional information, for example, by answering the questions “If your blood pressure is 118/76, do you have high blood pressure? Why or why not?” by using a text that explains different categories of blood pressure but does not speak directly about a blood pressure reading of 118/76
- Use text structure to find information such as headings, subheadings and map legends
- Complete complex searches for information including combining information from two separate charts
- Manage distracting information such as the use of synonyms and the presence of more information than is needed to answer the question
- Read longer and more complex texts
- Use information from the text to find further information in the text
- Understand relationships between different parts of the text, for example using a text with a chart about a clothes washer in which one column lists problems and another column lists solutions to answer a question that requires the use of both columns
- Identify a subset of examples, such as answering the question “Name four animals the agency adopts,” based on a text that includes more than four animals
Sample question: Who is responsible for backing up critical data on staff computers?
Click below for a sample of a portion of a Segment D test.
Segment E is fifth in the series and is informally referenced to IALS high-Level 2. The skills being targeted at this level include:
- Navigate through longer and more complex texts than in Segment D
- Manage conditional information in the longer and more complex texts
- Complete complex cycling processes
- Identify and choose multiple pieces of information including all examples within a set, such as by listing all causes of migraines based on a text that lists multiple causes in separate paragraphs
Sample question: During which phases was the work able to be completed without a subject matter expert reviewing and signing off on the material?
Click below for a sample of an entire Segment E test.
Segment F is sixth in the series and is informally referenced to IALS low-Level 3. The skills being targeted at this level include:
- Navigate through longer and more complex texts than in Segment E
- Manage conditional information in the longer and more complex texts
- Complete complex cycling processes
- Identify, compare and contrast multiple pieces of information, including all examples within a set such as by naming the lakes and rivers that anglers prefer based on a text that discusses multiple lakes and rivers and mentions that some are preferred and some are not
- Put the set in a requested order, for example by listing the rivers from the anglers’ most to least favourite, based on a text that discusses all the rivers in no particular order
- Generate ideas and opinions by integrating information from a text with background knowledge from outside the text
Sample question: Which section of the bylaw may be interpreted differently by different people? Support your answer.
Click below for a sample of a portion of a Segment F test.
To mark a test, use the answer key for each specific test. The answer key includes the question and the complete answer. The answer key represents the optimal answer. Possible alternate answers are indicated one of two ways: by a circle around the correct answer, or by a bulleted list of acceptable answers. Optional information is included in parentheses ( ); the answer would be correct whether it includes this information or not. This is important because if a learner writes down too much information, the answer should be marked incorrect.
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Have a new learner? Not sure where to start? Read Forward has two locator tests that will help you determine which of the six segments is the best starting place for each learner. The first locator tests the skills associated with the lower three reading levels and the second locator focuses on the middle and upper range of skills. They are accompanied with answer keys and score sheets that allow you to easily see where to start each learner.
Sample Score Sheet
Providing feedback is crucial to reading development. Read Forward comes with a separate Results Feedback form for each test segment. This allows you to highlight the skills being tested, what the learners accomplished, and what the next steps are to improving their reading abilities.
Full of real examples and easy-to-follow instructions on how to:
- Prepare for the tests
- Administer the tests
- Mark the tests
- Provide feedback to learners
- Use the answer keys
- Use the locator tests and score sheets
- Use the accompanying USB flash drive