Read, Understand, Learn, & Excel (RULE): Development and Feasibility of a Reading Comprehension Measure for Postsecondary Learners

Abstract

Purpose There is a lack of quick, reliable, and valid standardized reading comprehension assessments appropriate for postsecondary readers. We attempted to address this gap by designing Read, Understand, Learn, & Excel (RULE), a reading comprehension measure that employs sentence verification and recall tasks to assess reading comprehension. This article describes the exploratory study undertaken to construct RULE and then examines the preliminary concurrent validity and alternate form reliability of this measure. Method The RULE measure was first developed by designing reading stimuli, test items for the sentence verification task, and directions for the recall test for 2 forms based on previous work (Griffiths, Sohlberg, Kirk, Fickas, & Biancarosa, 2016). Thirty undergraduate students who identified themselves as typical readers were administered the RULE measure as well as the Nelson–Denny Reading Test (Brown, Fishco, & Hanna, 1993). Students also completed questionnaires and participated in informal interviews to provide information regarding study and learning habits and academic background. Results There was preliminary evidence of alternate form reliability between the sentence verification task sets of 2 chapters of RULE ( r = .38, p < .05). Preliminary evidence for concurrent validity between RULE and the Nelson–Denny Reading Test was provided by correlation coefficients in the low to moderate range (.03–.38). Conclusion RULE design and preliminary findings of concurrent validity and alternate form reliability provide “proof of concept” for an ecologically valid testing format that assesses comprehension skills appropriate for the postsecondary level. Suggestions for strengthening validity and reliability of the tool are provided, and clinical contributions of RULE are discussed. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6987371