Dyscover has combined 2 hours worth of traditional assessment into a 10-minute online reading test, providing assessors with an accurate score for multiple reading measurements.
The Reading Accuracy (RA) score is recorded as the educator indicates whether the student has read each word correctly during the word reading assessment. In every assessment, there are 48 words of between 1 and 4 syllables covering regular, irregular and pseudowords. The number of correctly read words will be shown against the total included in each category, providing the raw score.
An important component in reading fluency is accuracy. Word reading accuracy is the ability to read words with very few or no mistakes and is the most essential skill of reading fluency. Therefore, an increase in accuracy leads to better fluency and comprehension.
Accurate word reading is a skill that must be mastered if students are going to be able to “read to learn”. If students cannot accurately identify words, they will continue to struggle while reading.
Syllabication is Reading Accuracy segmented into syllable and word types and is assessed when the educator indicates whether the student has read each word correctly during the word reading assessment. In every assessment, there are 48 words of between 1 and 4 syllables covering regular, irregular and pseudowords. The number of correctly read syllables will be shown against the total included in each category, providing the raw score.
Syllabication is the act of dividing words into syllables and can be described as a ‘beat’ or ‘beats’ within a word. As an example of syllabication, take the word ‘fantastic’. Dividing it into beats gives us three clear syllables: fan/tas/tic.
More than 80% of words in English have more than one syllable. It is much easier to read a new, unfamiliar word in chunks than to try to sound out all the letters in one long, continuous string. Chunks are easier to hold on to than small, individual bits of information and reduce the cognitive load. A lighter cognitive load frees up working memory which is important because learning new skills requires a lot of working memory.
To assess Word Reading Fluency (WRF), the student's reading rate and their accuracy in reading regular, irregular and pseudowords are used to provide the WRF.
Word reading fluency allows for reading to become a natural, enjoyable and meaningful experience. Fluent reading means the student is then able to focus on comprehension and extracting meaning from the text and is the very reason we read.
In order to assess Sight Word Fluency (SWF), the focus is on the student's ability to read regular and irregular words. Dyscover uses the number of words read accurately and the reading rate to measure the SWF.
Sight words, also known as high frequency words, are words that a reader needs to recognise easily. Some sight words are ‘irregular’ or have letter-sound relationships that are uncommon, while some follow the generalisations or rules of the English language and can be sounded out once a student has been explicitly taught those rules.
Sight word recognition plays an important role in learning to read fluently, and although not a substitute for the critical skill of being able to decode unfamiliar words, recognising frequently occurring words automatically or on sight, contributes to reading effortlessly and with understanding.
In order to assess Phonetic Decoding Fluency (PDF), the student is required to read pseudowords to assess their decoding skills in an unfamiliar word. Dyscover uses pseudoword reading accuracy and the reading rate to measure the PDF
Phonetic Decoding is the learned ability to “sound out” words that don’t look familiar and is a key skill for learning to read. It requires both the knowledge of letter-sound relationships, as well as an ability to apply that knowledge to successfully identify written words and make meaning. An example of this would be when the letter c is followed by the vowels e, i, or y, it usually makes its soft sound, as in cell, city, and cypress. With other vowels, the letter c makes a hard sound, as in cap, code, and cut.
The ability to phonetically decode is the foundation upon which all other reading instructions, such as fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension are built.
Dystech has developed a scientifically proven algorithm that individually assesses the audio recording of a student reading aloud. As the student reads the words displayed on a screen in front of them, the algorithm collates and processes the information to predict the likelihood of the student being dyslexic. Our algorithm has been trained using a method called machine learning.
It took us many years and multiple collaborations to develop this reliable technology. You can learn more about it and our scientific publications by clicking on the button below.
