AUTOreading Overview
AUTOreadingTM is a suite of eight subtests that measure the accuracy and rate of phonological (sound), orthographic (spelling), and semantic (meaning) skills. AUTOreadingTM can be used by students in grades K through 12. When used for screening, specific sets of subtests are used together, with the screening subtests varying by grade level. When used for progress monitoring, one subtest is selected to be used each week. All administrations begin with a practice test that includes pictures that the student identifies by clicking on them. The AUTOreadingTM subtests are described below.
- Letter Names: The letter names decision task measures whether a student can accurately and automatically identify all upper- and lowercase letter names. Each item consists of a target letter name and two distractors.
- Letter Sounds: The letter sounds decision task measures if a student can accurately and automatically identify all letter sounds including dual sounds for “c” and “g”. Each item consists of a target letter sound and two distractors.
- Encoding: The Word Encoding decision task measures if a student can accurately and automatically encode the appropriate spelling for a given word based on appropriate sound-spelling correspondence. Each item consists of a target word and two distractor pseudo homophones.
- Word Identification: The Word Identification decision task measures if a student can accurately and automatically identify frequently occurring words (Zeno, 1995). Each item consists of a target word and two distractor words.
- Vocabulary: The Vocabulary Definitions task measures how well students know the definitions of tier 2 words, or words that are used in multiple contexts but may require some vocabulary instruction to help children learn them (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002).
- Matching Synonyms: The Matching Synonyms task assessed students’ accuracy and speed in matching words that were similar in meaning. Half of the words have high imageability, which are words that can easily be seen. The other half are low-imageability items, or abstract words that are difficult to make a mental image of (Paivio, Yuille, & Madigan, 1968).
- Decoding: The Word Decoding decision task measures if a student can accurately and automatically read decodable non-words based on decodability levels that represent appropriate developmental progress in word reading (Compton, Appleton & Hosp, 2004; Menton & Hiebert, 1999). Each item consists of a target non-word and two distractor non-words.
- Morphology: The Word Morphology decision task measures if a student can accurately and automatically identify word structures and relationships based on the appropriate use of morphemes, roots, and affixes. Each item (N = 30) consists of two words. The second word of the two stimuli consisted of words that were morphologically related or unrelated to the first word.
Materials and Procedure: Screening
Students complete AUTOreadingTM subtests using a computer or tablet device that is connected to the internet and attached to headphones. Audio is provided to the student, which might be a letter name, word, or definition, that is followed by multiple choices. Color shading on each option changes from green to yellow to red over a period of 6 seconds. The student is encouraged to respond quickly and accurately. Each AUTOreadingTM subtest takes 45 to 120 seconds to complete. The included screening subtests by season and grade level are:
Materials and Procedure: Progress Monitoring
When used for progress monitoring, one AUTOreadingTM subtest is selected and the student completes it on a computer or tablet weekly. Selection of the best subtest for progress monitoring should be based on the specific reading skill that the student is learning as part of an intervention.
All of the AUTOreading tests are computer-administered. They can be launched by a Group Proctor, or by setting up Student Login Access so the students can log in themselves to take the assessments.
- Information on setting up a Group Proctor account can be found here: Managing User Accounts
- Information on setting up Student Login Access can be found here: Setting Up Student Login Access
Scores
There are two types of AUTOreadingTM scores: Composite and Subtest.
- Composite Scores: All of the subtests used for screening are combined to generate a Composite score indicating the student’s overall reading automaticity. The AUTOreadingTM Composite score is a scaled score that uses the same scale as the aReadingTM assessment. These scores range from 350-650.
- Subtest Scores: The student’s raw score for each subtest is also available. This score shows the student’s accuracy on that subtest. The range of AUTOreadingTM subtest scores vary by subtest.
Both the Composite and subtest scores can be compared with the FastBridgeTM benchmarks and norms to identify students who might benefit from intervention and to compare growth over time.