title: Passageless comprehension on the Nelson-Denny reading test: well above chance for university students.
abstract: The comprehension section of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) is widely used to assess the reading comprehension skills of adolescents and adults in the United States. In this study, the authors explored the content validity of the NDRT Comprehension Test (Forms G and H) by asking university students (with and without at-risk status for learning disorders) to answer the multiple-choice comprehension questions without reading the passages. Overall accuracy rates were well above chance for both NDRT forms and both groups of students. These results raise serious questions about the validity of the NDRT and its use in the identification of reading disabilities.
authors.affiliation: University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. ccoleman@uga.edu
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lindstrom
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lindstrom
authors.forename: K Noël
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Gregg
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002755:Choice Behavior; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007807:Language Tests / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011932:Reading; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult