title: Printed cards for measuring low-vision reading speed.
abstract: There is a growing consensus that clinical evaluation of the real-world consequences of eye disease requires new performance-based tests. This is because Snellen acuity and other common clinical tests are often poor predictors of everyday function. Ahn and Legge [(1995) Vision Research, 35, 1931-1938] validated a computerized test of reading speed by showing that it provides an accurate prediction of low-vision reading performance with magnifiers. Here, we describe development of a printed-card version of the test suitable for clinical use. This printed-card test retains key design features of the validated computerized test, including the same set of sentences and display format. Data from 23 low-vision subjects showed that a very simple testing procedure using printed cards and a stop watch could be used effectively to estimate reading speed. Reading speed based on a single card was quite accurate (SD equal to about 18% of the mean) and showed no practice effects from one card to the next. Reading speeds obtained with printed cards correlated highly (r = 0.887) with those from computerized testing. We conclude that a simple test, using printed cards, can be used to obtain useful estimates of low-vision reading speed.
authors.affiliation: Minnesota Laboratory for Low-vision Research, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Legge
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luebker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007909:Lenses; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011932:Reading; D013997:Time Factors; D014787:Vision Tests / Q000379:methods*; D015354:Vision, Low / Q000503:physiopathology*