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Assessment Details

Burt Word Reading Test
Assessment Area English-Reading
Year level 2-9
NZ origin? Yes
Standardised? Yes , the test was revised and standardised for use in New Zealand in 1981
Administration to individual or group? Individual
What does it assess? Word recognition and decoding skills
Purpose A quick and easy assessment of word recognition skills to enable a broad estimate of a child’s reading achievement. It should be used in conjunction with other reading assessments.
Validity There is a reasonable correlation between word recognition scores and reading comprehension.
Reliability There is evidence of test/retest reliability.
What measures does it give? Equivalent age bands
How long does it take to administer? 5 minutes per student
How much training is needed? Minimal, just a thorough read of the manual
Scoring and data analysis Simple to score and analyse
Does it provide 'what next' strategies? No
Is it available in te reo Maori? No
Cost? Sample Costs: September 2017, including GST: Manual $8.50; Starter Kit test $9.50 Test card $1.15
Author, date of publication and publisher Gilmore, Croft, & Reid, 1981 NZCER Press
Availability

Available on the NZCER website. Registration is required.

A 1974 version of the Burt Word Recognition test is available but please note that this version is not NZ calibrated.

Further Information

This is an individually administered, untimed measure consisting of 110 selected words in isolation printed in differing sizes of type and graded in order of difficulty. The stimulus words are presented on a card from which the student reads orally, pronouncing each word until 10 consecutive words are read incorrectly.
Used in conjunction with other information, the Burt Word Reading Test should allow teachers to form a broad estimate of a child's reading achievement to aid decisions about appropriate teaching and reading materials, instructional groupings, etc. In addition, the Burt Word Reading Test should prove useful as an indicator of possible wider reading problems.