A COMPARISON OF 2 METHODS OF ADMINISTERING GROUP READING INVENTORIES TO DIVERSE LEARNERS - COMPUTER VERSUS PENCIL AND PAPER

This study examined the level of agreement between two methods of admi nistering group reading inventories, computer and pencil and paper, le ading to placing 72 secondary students, 38 males and 34 females, into three instructional group-teacher directed, dyadic, and independent. T he students, 13 with learning disabilities, 16 remedial, and 43 normal ly achieving, were enrolled in science and social studies classes in m iddle school and high school. In one condition, students read textbook passages presented on computer, completed study guides, and took 15-i tem tests on computer. In the other condition, the same students read passages from their textbooks, completed study guides, and took 15-ite m tests with pencil and paper. An equivalent time samples design was a rranged, with four computer assessments and four pencil-and-paper asse ssments randomly assigned. The dependent measures consisted of two typ es of test items, factual and interpretive. The results of group analy sis significantly favored the computer overall on factual questions, w ith individual analyses indicating few significant differences resulti ng from the two types of group reading inventories. On interpretive te st items, the results of group analysis revealed no significant differ ence between the two assessment methods, a finding generally corrobora ted by the individual analyses. Correlation coefficients substantiated significant positive relationships between the dependent measures and the group reading inventories. Overall, the placement of students in three instructional groups was identical for each type of group readin g inventory in 72% of individual comparisons. Several recommendations for teachers are presented and discussed.