Abstract
After a brief review of current reading diagnostic practices, the article presents a cognitive developmental theory and indicates how the theory can be used to identify potential sources of reading problems. Four criteria for a reading diagnostic system based on cognitive developmental theory are then identified: (1) the system must provide reliable and valid assessments, (2) performance on the diagnostic system must be consistent with cognitive developmental theory, (3) the diagnostic procedures must provide specific information about the nature of the reading difficulty the student is experiencing, and (4) diagnoses provided by the procedures must lead to prescriptive procedures that alleviate to a demonstrable degree the reading problems the student is experiencing. The Computer-based Academic Assessment System (CAAS) is then introduced, and evidence from three studies is used to examine the extent to which the CAAS system can satisfy the four requirements for a theory-based reading diagnostic system. The article closes with a discussion of the empirical evidence and with suggestions for future research.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aaron, P. G. (1991). Can reading disabilities be diagnosed without using intelligence tests?J. Learning Disab. 24(3): 178–186.
Adams, M. J. (1990).Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Anderson, J. R. (1983).The Architecture of Cognition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Anderson, R. C., and Pearson, P. D. (1984). A schema-theoretic view of basic processes in reading comprehension, In Pearson, P. D., Barr, R., and Kamil, M. (eds.),Handbook Reading Research, Longman, New York.
Anderson, R. C., Reynolds, R. E., Shallert, D. L., and Goetz, E. T. (1977). Frameworks for comprehending discourse.Am. Educ. Res. J. 14: 367–381.
Allington, R. L. (1984). Content coverage and contextual reading in reading groups.J. Reading Behav. 16: 85–96.
Baker, L., and Brown, A. L. (1984). Metacognitive skills in reading. In Pearson, P. D. (ed.),Handbook of Reading Research, Longman, New York, pp. 353–395.
Ball, E. W. and Blachman, B. A. (1988). Phoneme segmentation training: Effect on reading readiness.Ann. Dyslexia 38: 208–225.
Bejar, I. I. (1984). Educational diagnostic assessment.J. Educ. Measurement 21(2): 175–189.
Biemiller, A. (1977–1978). Relationship between oral reading rates for letters, words, and simple text in the development of reading achievement.Reading Res. Quart. 13: 223–253.
Bradley, L. (1988). Rhyme recognition and reading and spelling in young children. In Ellis, W. (ed.),Intimacy with Language: A Forgotten Basic in Teacher Education (2nd ed.), Orton Dyslexia Society, Baltimore.
Bradley, L., and Bryant, P. E. (1983). Categorizing sounds and learning to read—A causal connection.Nature 30: 419–421.
Bradley, L., and Bryant, P. E. (1985).Rhyme and Reason in Reading and Spelling, University of Michigan Pres, Ann Arbor.
Brown, A. L., and Campione, J.C. (1986). Psychological theory and the study of learning disabilities.Am. Psychol. 41: 1059–1068.
Bryant, P. E., and Bradley, L. (1985).Children's Reading Difficulties, Blackwell, Oxford.
Brickley, A. C., Ellington, B. J., and Brickley, R. T. (1970). The cloze procedure: A conspectus.J. Reading Behav. 2: 232–239.
Carlisle, J. F. (1989a). The use of the Sentence Verification Technique in diagnostic assessment of listening and reading comprehension.Learning Disab. Res. 5: 33–44.
Carlisle, J. F. (1989b). Diagnosing comprehension deficits through listening and reading.Ann. Dyslexia 39: 159–176.
Carlisle, J. F. (1990). Diagnostic assessment of listening and reading comprehension. In Swanson, H. L., and Keogh, B. (eds.),Learning Disabilities: Theoretical and Research Issues, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Chabot, R. J., Petros, T. V., and McCord, G. (1983). Developmental and reading ability differences in accessing information form semantic memory.J. Exp. Child Psychol. 35: 128–142.
Cisero, C. A., Royer, J. M., Marchant, H., and Wint, F. (1994).Diagnostic Identification of Dyslexic and Learning Disabled College Students Using the Computer-Based Academic Assessment System (CAAS). Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Association, New Orleans, LA.
Cunningham, P. M. (1975–1976). Investigating a synthesized theory of mediated word identification.Reading Res. Quart. 11: 127–143.
Curtis, M. E. (1980). Development of components of reading skill.J. Educ. Psychol. 72: 656–669.
DeSoto, J. L., and DeSoto, C. L. (1983). Relationship of reading achievement to verbal processing abilities.J. Educ. Psychol. 75: 116–127.
Dewitt, P. A., Snyder, K., and Coressel, L. L. (1992).Comparing an Analogy and Phonics Approach to Word Recognition. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference, San Antonio.
Doehring, D. G. (1976). Acquisition of rapid reading responses.Monogr. Soc. Res. Child Dev. 41 (2, of Serial No. 165).
Durrell, D. D., and Catterson, J. H. (1980).Durrell Analysis of Reading of Reading Difficulties, Psychological Corporation, New York.
Ehri, L. C. (1991). Development of the ability to read words. In Barr, R., Kamil, M. L., Mosenthal, P. B., and Pearson, P. D. (eds.),Handbook of Reading Research (Vol. 2), Longman, New York, pp. 383–417.
Ehri, L. C. (1992). Reconceptualizing the development of sight word reading and its relationship to recoding. In Gough, P. B., Ehri, L., and Treiman, R. (eds.),Reading Acquisition, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 107–143.
Fodor, J. A. (1983).The Modularity of the Mind, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Forster, K. I. (1979). Levels of processing and the structure of the language processor. In Cooper, W. E., and E. Walker, (eds.),Sentence Processing: Psycholinguistic Studies Presented to Merrill Garrett, Erlbaum, Hillsdale NJ.
Frederiksen, J. R., Warren, B. M., and Rosebery, A. S. (1985a). A componential approach to training reading skills: Part 1. Perceptual units training.Cognit. Instr. 2: 91–130.
Frederiksen, J. R., Warren, B. W., and Rosebery, A. S. (1985b). A componential approach to training reading skills: Part 2: Decoding and the use of context.Cognit. Instr. 2: 175–205.
Gaskins, R. W., Gaskins, J. C., and Gaskins, I. W. (1991). A decoding program for poor readers—and the rest of the class, too!Language Arts 68: 213–225.
Glaser, R. (1981). The future of testing: A research agenda for cognitive psychology and psychometrics.Am. Psychol. 36: 923–936.
Glass, G. (1986). Testing old, testing new: Schoolboy psychology and the allocation of intellectual resources. In Plake, B. S., and Witt, J. C. (eds.),The Future of Testing, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 9–27.
Goodman, Y. M., and Burke, C. L. (1972).Reading Miscue Inventory, Macmillan, New York.
Gough, P. B., and Tunmer, W. E. (1986). Decoding, reading, and reading disability.Remedial Spec. Educ. 7(1): 6–10.
Gough, P. B., Juel, C., and Griffith, P. L. (1992). Reading, spelling, and the orthographic cipher. In Gough, P. B., Ehri, L., and Treiman, R. (eds.),Reading Acquisition, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 55–48.
Guthrie, J. T. (1973). Models of reading and reading disability.J. Educ. Psychol. 65: 9–18.
Hall, J., and Humphreys, M. (1982). Research on specific learning disabilities: Deficits and remediation.Topics Learning Disab. 2: 68–78.
Hogaboam, T. W., and Perfetti, C. A. (1978). Reading skill and the role of verbal experience in decoding.J. Educ. Psychol. 70: 717–729.
Hunt, E., Lunneborg, C., and Lewis, J. (1975). What does it mean to be high verbal?Cognit. Psychol. 7: 194–227.
Jackson, M. D., and McClelland, J. L. (1979). Processing determinants of reading speed.J. Exp. Psychol. General 108: 151–181.
Johnston, P. (1992).The Language of Assessment and the Assessment of Language. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference, San Antonio, TX.
Johnston, P. H. (1984). Assessment in reading. In Pearson, P. D. (ed.),Handbook of Reading Research, Longman, New York, pp. 147–182.
LaBerge, D., and Samuels, S. J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading.Cognit. Psychol. 6: 293–332.
Linn, R. L. (1986). Educational testing and assessment: Research needs and policy issues.Am. Psychol. 41: 1153–1160.
Lundberg, I., Frost, J., and Peterson, O. P. (1988). Effects of an extensive program for stimulating phonological awareness in preschool children.Reading Res. Quart. 23: 263–284.
Mestre, J. P., and Royer, J. M. (1991). Cultural and linguistic influences on Latino testing. In Keller, G., Beneen, J., and Magallan, R. (eds.),Assessment and Access: Hispanics in Higher Education, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, pp. 39–66.
Myers, J. L. (1979).Fundamentals of Experimental Design (3rd Ed.), Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA.
Nagy, W. E., and Anderson, R. C. (1984). How many words are there in printed school English.Reading Res. Quart. 20: 233–253.
Norusis, M. J. (1988).SPSS/PC + Advanced Statistics V2.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL.
Olson, R. K., and Wise, B. (1992). Reading on the computer with orthographic and speech feedback: An overview of the Colarado Remediation Project.Reading Writing, 4: 107–144.
Palincsar, A. S., and Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and monitoring activities.Cogn. Instr. 1: 117–175.
Palmer, J., Macleod, C. M., Hunt, E., and Davidson, J. E. (1985). Information processing correlates of reading.J. Mem. Lang. 24: 59–88.
Paris, S. G., Cross, D. R., and Lipson, M. Y. (1984). Informed strategies for learning: A program to improve children's reading awareness and comprehension.J. Educ. Psychol. 76: 1239–1252.
Perfetti, C. A. (1985).Reading Ability, Oxford University Press, New York.
Perfetti, C. A. (1988). Verbal efficiency in reading ability. In Daneman, M., MacKinnon, G. E., and Waller, T. G. (eds.),Reading Research: Advances in Theory and Practice, Academic Press, New York, pp. 109–143.
Perfetti, C. A. (1992). The representation problem in reading acquisition. In Gough, P. B., Ehri, L., and Treiman, R. (eds.),Reading Acquisition, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 145–174.
Perfetti, C. A., and Hogaboam, T. W. (1975). Relationship between single word decoding and reading comprehension skill.J. Educ. Psychol. 67: 461–469.
Perfetti, C. A., and Lesgold, A. M. (1977). Discourse comprehension and sources of individual differences. In Just, M., and Carpenter, P. (eds.),Cognitive Processes in Comprehension, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Posner, G. J., Strike, K. A. Hewson, P. W., and Gertzog, W. A. (1982). Accommodation of a scientific conception: Toward a theory of conceptual change.Sci. Educ. 66: 211–227.
Posner, M. I., Boies, S. J., Eichelman, W. H., and Taylor, R. L. (1969). Retention of physical and name codes of single letters.J. Exp. Psychol. Monogr. 79: 1–16.
Pressley, M., Goodchild, F., Fleet, J., Zajchowski, R., and Evans, E. D. (1989). The challenges of classroom strategy instruction.Elem. School J. 89: 301–342.
Rayner, K., and Pollatsek, A. (1989).The Psychology of Reading, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Roth, S. F., and Beck, I. L. (1987). Theoretical and instructional implications of the assessment of two microcomputer word recognition programs.Reading Res. Quart. 22: 197–218.
Royer, J. M. (1985). Reading from the perspective of a biological metaphor.Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 10: 150–200.
Royer, J. M. (1990). The Sentence Verification Technique: A new direction in the assessment of reading comprehension. In Legg, S. M., and Algina, J. (eds.),Cognitive Assessment of Language and Math Outcomes, Ablex, Norwood, NJ, pp. 144–191.
Royer, J. M., and Carlo, M. S. (1991). Assessing the language acquisition progress of limited English proficient students: Problems and a new alternative.Appl. Measurement Educ. 4: 85–113.
Royer, J. M., and Cunningham, D. J. (1981). On the theory and measurement of reading comprehension.Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 6: 187–216.
Royer, J. M., Kulhavy, R. W., Lee, J. B., and Peterson, S. E. (1986). The sentence verification technique as a measure of listening and reading comprehension.Educ. Psychol. Res. 6: 299–314.
Royer, J. M., Carlo, M. S., and Cisero, C. A. (1992). School-based uses for the Sentence Verification Technique of measuring listening and reading comprehension.Psychol. Test Bull 5: 5–19.
Schneider, W. (1988). Micro experimental laboratory. An integrated system for IBM PC compatible.Behav. Res. Meth. Instr. Comp. 20: 206–217.
Schwartz, S. (1980).Measuring Reading Competence: A Theoretical-Prescriptive Approach, Plenum Press, New York.
Sinatra, G. M., and Royer, J. M. (1993). The development of cognitive component processing skills that support skilled reading.J. Educ. Psychol. 85: 509–519.
Spiro, R. J. (1980). Constructive processes in prose comprehension and recall. In Spiro, R. J., Bruce, B. C., and Brewer, W. F. (eds.),Theoretical Issues in Reading Comprehension: Perspectives from Cognitive Psychology, Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, and Education, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 245–278.
Stanovich, K. E. (1986a). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy.Reading Res. Quart. 21: 360–407.
Stanovich, K. E. (1986b). Cognitive processes and the reading problems of learning disabled children: Evaluating the assumption of specificity. In Torgesen, J., and Wong, B. (eds.),Psychological and Educational Perspectives on Learning Disabilities, Academic Press, New York, pp. 87–131.
Stanovich, K. E. (1988). Explaining the difference between the dyslexic and the garden-variety poor reader. The phonological-core variable-difference model.J. Learning Disab. 21(10): 590–604.
Stanovich, K. E. (1990). Concepts in developmental theories of reading skill: Cognitive resources, automaticity, and modularity,Dev. Rev. 10: 72–100.
Stedman, L. C., and Kaestle, C. E. (1987). Literacy and reading performance in the United States from 1880 to the present.Reading Res. Quart. 22: 8–46.
Sternberg, R. J. (1981). Testing and cognitive psychology.Am. Psychol. 36: 1181–1189.
Swinney, D. A. (1979). Lexical access during sentence comprehension: (Re)Consideration of context effects.J. Verbal Learning Verbal Behav. 18: 645–659.
Vinsonhaler, J. S., Weinshank, A. B., Wagner, C. C., and Polin, R. M. (1983). Diagnosing children with educational problems: Characteristics of reading and learning disabilities specialists, and classroom teachers.Reading Res. Quart. 28: 134–164.
van Dijk, T. A., and Kintsch, W. (1983).Strategies of Discourse Comprehension, Academic Press, New York.
Wagstaff, J. M., and Sinatra, G. M. (1994).Promoting Efficient and Independent Word Recognition: A New Strategy for Readers and Writers, Manuscript submitted for publication.
Wade, S. E., Schraw, G., Buxton, W. M., and Hayes, M. T. (1993). Seduction of the strategic reader: Effects of interest on strategy and recall.Reading Res. Quart 28(2): 92–114.
Walberg, H. J., and Tsai, S. (1983). Matthew effects in education.Am. Educ. Res. J. 20: 359–373.
Wolf, M. (1984). Naming, reading, and the dyslexias: A longitudinal review.Ann. Dyslexia 34: 78–115.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Royer, J.M., Sinatra, G.M. A cognitive theoretical approach to reading diagnostics. Educ Psychol Rev 6, 81–113 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02208969
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02208969