Reading Test for Reading Problems

To identify a reading problem is relatively easy. If you suspect your child has a reading problem, do the following reading test with him:

Ask the child to read aloud a short passage from his school reader. Select a passage that the child has not read before. Watch out for any of the pointers mentioned below. Afterwards, ask the child a few simple questions on the passage, to test if he was able to comprehend what was read.

POINTERS TO READING PROBLEMS:

1. Does he reverse letters like b and d when reading, or does he sometimes read words like rat for tar or won for now?
2. Does he invert letters, reading n as u, m as w, d as q, p as b, f as t?
3. Does he put letters in the wrong order, reading felt as left, act as cat, reserve as reverse, expect as except?
4. Does he omit letters, reading words like cat for cart, wet for went, sing for string?
5. Does he misread little words, such as a for and, the for a, from for for, then for there, were for with?
6. Does he add words that aren’t in the sentence?
7. Does he read slowly and hesitantly?
8. Does he ever lose his place?
9. Does he make good use of punctuation?
10. How good is his comprehension?

If your answer is negative to the first eight questions, positive to the ninth question and he could answer all the questions correctly, indicating a good comprehension, you can presume that he does not have a reading problem.

RESOURCE:

Audiblox Program for Reading Problems
Effective in overcoming reading problems by addressing the foundational skills that underlie the act of reading.