A Comparative Evaluation of Instructional Levels Determined by the Text Reading and Comprehension (TRC) Assessment and an Informal Reading Inventory

This study compared the administration of, and results yielded by, two different contextual reading instruments (an informal reading inventory [IRI] and the Text Reading and Comprehension inventory [TRC]). The purpose was to determine which instrument would provide the most valid assessment of children’s reading ability. The study targeted the TRC because it is the required reading assessment for primary-grade students (K – 3) in North Carolina. IRI assessments have long been used for assessing children’s reading levels.A trained team of teachers administered both reading assessments to 196 students, 1-3 grade. A third informal test (word recognition-timed) was administered to a randomly-selected one third of the 196 students. Results showed differences between the IRI and the TRC in administration time and student reading level yielded. The TRC assessments took nearly three times as long to administer. The student reading levels yielded by the assessments were significantly different, with the IRI levels higher and more often in agreement with the neutral measure, WR-t. The data revealed that the TRC underestimated students’ reading instructional level most often because of poor student performance on written comprehension questions. These findings are important for evaluating state-mandated testing. Several suggestions for improving the assessment are offered.