ELVES: Computer-based assessment of the efficiency of component processes involved in reading comprehension

Reading ability comprises the efficient mastery of component processes of reading, as distinguished in hierarchical models of text comprehension. ELVES (efficiency of reading comprehension in adult readers according to the strategy model) is a computer-based instrument for the measurement of reading skills in trained adult readers. By combining accuracy and latency of responses, the 7 subtests of the instrument assess the efficiency of lower (microstructural) and higher (macrostrucrural) processes of reading (van Dijk & Kintsch, 1983). Four studies with student participants (N = 232) provided evidence for the construct and criterion validity. Scale intercorrelations and confirmatory factor analyses corroborated the distinction of micro- and macrostructural component skills. The instrument's subtests were correlated with performance in traditional reading tests from two content domains, as well as with situation model quality in a naturalistic reading task. A study based on test texts on different topics demonstrated that the higher ELVES subtests capture general reading skills which cannot be reduced to domain-specific knowledge.