Self-Assessment in Reading Competence: Memory, Attention, and Inference

Abstract

There are many reading competence tests in Spanish on the market and available in institutions like libraries or universities; some are scientifically validated whereas others lack theoretical support. Among the users of the AECL (Asociación Española de Comprensión Lectora: Spanish Association for Reading Comprehension) platform, there is an increasing demand for an easy-to-use tool aimed at older teenagers and adults, so that people can become aware of their strengths and limitations in reading comprehension. After a review of the reading competence tests in which individuals’ own recognized limitations have been included, the self-perception of the three dimensions that constitute the backbone of the Self-Assessment in Reading Competence: Memory, Attention, and Inference (MAI) instrument, which is based, in a simplified way, on the guidelines of the validated TEECLED tool, is analyzed. In a sample of 360 university students, the MAI tool has been tested in parallel with the scientifically validated reading proficiency test ComLec. The results of the analysis of the multidimensional tool MAI show significant internal consistency in both the separate dimensions (attention, memory, and inference) and the global tool, and a correspondence in the results with the ComLec reading proficiency test through multiple regression analysis. In addition, among all the dimensions, attention to memory and inference stand out; this suggests that one of the causes of not understanding what is read may, in fact, be our lack of attention during the process and not a problem with an individual’s reading ability.