Developing Parallelised Word Lists for a Repeated Testing of Dyslectic Children

Objective: In the course of the long-term treatment of developmental dyslexia it is important to continuously observe the progress of the individual reader. Considering the lack of reading tests with parallel forms which can be repeatedly administered without learning effects, and which are quick to perform, this is a big challenge in German-speaking regions. The aim of this study, therefore, was to create such an instrument in the form of several parallelised word lists. At the same time, the lists should allow a specific testing of both the lexical and the non-lexical route of reading, based on items with different linguistic properties. Method: 4 parallel lists were created, each composed of a wide range of different word material. To this end, word frequency, orthographic regularity, and morphological complexity were taken into account as linguistic criteria. To ensure that the lists were parallel with regard to the 3 parameters reading rate, accuracy and preferred reading strategy, they were presented to 28 third graders in a first test series. The lists were then revised and once again presented to 24 different children for final evaluation. Results: Whereas the statistical analysis of the first test series still differed with respect to the 3 above-mentioned parameters, in the revised version of the reading lists no more significant differences were found according to the linguistic criteria. As a consequence, as soon as an independent control sample has confirmed their parallelism, the lists will be ready for use for measuring the development of individual reading skills in dyslexic children.