Interpreting Secondary Students’ Performance on a Timed, Multiple-Choice Reading Comprehension Assessment

Abstract

Standardized measures are often used as an index of students’ reading comprehension and scores have important implications, particularly for students who perform below expectations. This study examined secondary-level students’ patterns of responding and the prevalence and impact of non-attempted items on a timed, group-administered, multiple-choice test of reading comprehension. The Reading Comprehension subtest from the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test was administered to 694 students in Grades 7 to 9. Students were categorized according to their test performance (low-, middle-, and high-achieving). Scores of the lowest achieving subgroup were affected significantly by high rates of non-attempted items, particularly on the later third of the test. Furthermore, the percentage of students who completed the assessment was far below that reported by the test authors. The results send a cautionary message to researchers and educators that, when text comprehension is the primary assessment target, to consider rates of non-attempted items and their impact on interpreting students’ text processing skills. Practical considerations are presented.