READINESS TESTS

Tests designed to predict how well an individual is prepared to profit from instruction in a particular field.Readiness tests are confined largely to reading and mathematics. Both types are basically aptitude tests but can also be viewed in terms of achievement, since they reflect the skills and information required for successful study. Where possible they should be administered by specialists who are not only thoroughly acquainted with the capacities of small children, but who are alert to difficulties that might require a thorough clinical study. See reading disability. The following tests are in wide use today:Metropolitan Readiness Tests (Kindergarten and grade 1) (.Fig. 43 and Fig. 44). Six tests are included: (1) word meaning (selecting pictures that correspond to words given by the examiner), (2) sentences (same as above, except that sentences and phrases are used), (3) information (same, except that the oral descriptions are more complex—for example, “Mark the one you can take pictures with”), (4) matching (selection of pairs of identical words or pictures of common objects), (5) numbers (concepts and operations similar to those on IQ tests), (6) copying (geometrical forms, numbers, capital letters). Percentile norms are provided.American School Reading Readiness Test (grade 1). Includes eight subtests: vocabulary, discrimination of letter forms, discrimination of letter combination, word selection, word matching, discrimination of geometric forms, following directions, memory for geometric form.Gates Reading Readiness Test (Kindergarten, grade 1). Consists of five subtests: following directions in marking pictures, word matching, word perception (selecting one word from among four), rhyming (auditory perception), naming letters and numbers.Harrison-Stroud Reading Readiness Tests (Kindergarten and grade 1). Six subtests are included: making visual discriminations, using contexts, making auditory discriminations, using auditoryclues in identifying items, using symbols, giving names of letters.New York Test of Arithmetical Meanings. This is a representative example of tests designed to assess arithmetic achievement in the primary grades, and readiness for further instruction. It is based on teaching objectives and curricular analysis, and covers concepts of size, weight, time, distance, symbols and terms, fractional parts, and simple computations. Percentile norms for the beginning of the second and the beginning of the third grades are provided, based on large nationwide samples.The Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test is based upon previously learned skills, including arithmetic problems involving numerical manipulations, verbal problems using arithmetic and simple algebraic procedures, number-series exercises requiring identification of the principle in each case, and equation problems in which one value is varied to produce a change in the other.The Orleans Algebra Prognosis Test, and Orleans Geometry Prognosis Test. Prediction of future performance is based on the child’s ability to handle new tasks. The tests are actually work samples, presenting simple material to be learned and applied in actual “lessons.” The algebra test, for example, includes the use of symbols representing numbers, substitution of values for symbols, and expression of relationships by means of symbols.The Modern Language Aptitude Test is designed to measure the student’s capacity for learning any foreign language. It is given by means of tape- recorded and paper-pencil materials, and tests ability to learn orally presented numbers and visually presented words of an artificial language. It also measures sensitivity to English grammatical structure, the use of spelling clues, word recognition, and rote memory. Studies indicate that the test is effective in predicting success in actual courses.The Anton Brenner Developmental Gestalt Test of School Readiness. Based on research employing Gestalt and developmental principles, this test is easily administered, scored, and interpreted. It is used in many schools primarily for rapid identification of school readiness, but can also be employed as a diagnostic instrument.