Is PAR a reading test?

No. PAR is not an assessment of reading ability, but a diagnostic tool to help determine which reading accommodations might be appropriate for a student who struggles with reading. PAR helps you make more informed reading accommodation decisions by using graded passages that allow you to compare reading comprehension performance across 3 reading conditions (student read aloud, adult read aloud and text reader). Examiners should use standardized reading test scores as a starting place for administering PAR. Data gleaned from PAR should be used in conjunction with other information about a student to help make the best determination about reading accommodations for instruction and testing.

Why use PAR instead of the reading assessments my district already uses?

PAR is not an assessment of reading ability, but a diagnostic tool to help determine which reading accommodations might be appropriate for a student who struggles with reading. Data gleaned from PAR should be used in conjunction with other information about a student to help make the best determination about reading accommodations for instruction and testing.

Why do students read the first passage aloud? 

Even if you have standardized reading data that confirms the student’s independent reading level, it is still recommended that you use the PAR passage at the student’s independent reading level. In this way, you are comparing 3 conditions using the same procedures. It is also an opportunity to (1) get a sense of the student’s reading fluency, (2) gauge reading speed to establish adult reader and text reader speeds, and (3) an opportunity to note reading miscues.

If students are expected to read silently during state or district testing, why examine reading accommodations? 

Many, but not all, states allow the use of adult readers and/or text readers on state and district tests. Currently, there are national committees looking at testing accommodations that will result in national recommendations. The U.S. Department of Education wants to be able to compare special education data across states, but it is difficult to do this fairly across states when testing accommodations differ. 

However, the main reason to examine reading accommodations is that testing should not drive instruction. PAR was designed to look at accommodations that will improve learning. If a student learns more in the classroom, they may be able to demonstrate more on the test, even when reading accommodations are not allowed. 

During the Text Reader condition, why are the comprehension questions read aloud by an adult, instead of using the text reader to read the questions?

To compare a student’s performance across the 3 reading conditions (student read aloud, adult read aloud and text reader), it is best to use the same procedures, thereby limiting the variables. For this reason, comprehension questions are read aloud by an adult.

However, to see how a student performs when using a text reader to respond to comprehension questions, this could be introduced as an “optional condition.” You could introduce this variable after you have data on the 3 reading conditions. This would allow you to compare a student’s comprehension with and without the use of the text reader to check understanding.

Why does the data form show grades 1 and 2 when there aren’t any passages at these levels

If there are requests for Don Johnston to develop passages for grades 1 and 2, then DJI will develop these. For this reason we left grades 1 and 2 on the data form.

Do you need to present multiple passages for each type of reading condition, or just one passage?

To obtain baseline information, you need to use only one passage per condition (student read aloud, adult read aloud and text reader). You do need to decide in advance if you want to use narrative or expository passages. If you want to compare performance across narrative and expository text, then you may want to present both types of passages. 

During the text reader condition, PAR instructions indicate that the examiner should determine the student’s comfort level with the speed of the text reader.  Shouldn’t this be done during the adult read aloud condition as well?

This is an excellent suggestion and we will add this to future revisions of the PAR manual. PAR examiners should adjust their read aloud speed to be approximately 20% faster than the student’s oral reading rate (established during the student’s oral read aloud condition). Research has shown that students can listen effectively at a slightly faster rate than they can read aloud.

Have you found effective ways to educate educators on the use of the PAR process?

While the HIAT Team in Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland was developing the PAR process, members of the team spent the first year using PAR with students. During the second year, they taught teachers how to use the PAR process.  Schools needing support for students with reading disabilities were given a notebook of the passages and instructions for administering PAR, as well as a loaner laptop with the digital passages for use with the text reader. Now that PAR is available to you online, you can direct interested staff to download the manual and passages to a classroom computer.  

Professional development on PAR is delivered by HIAT staff. Webinars on reading accommodations are conducted regularly. During these webinars, the PAR process is described, along with how staff can access this tool to make more informed reading accommodation decisions. HIAT promotes a capacity-building model of service delivery. Staff are encouraged to conduct PAR on their own, but are also encouraged to call and discuss any questions or confer on results. When necessary, a HIAT staff person will model the PAR process or observe a teacher administering PAR.

Can you share ideas on how to transition from adult reader accommodations to text reader accommodations?

The first step is to use the PAR process to document the student’s performance using reading accommodations. If you determine that a student who is currently depending upon adult reader accommodations, should be more exposed to reading using a text reader, then set this up as a trial period. To better ensure a productive trial period:

• Be sure the teacher and the student can utilize the basic features of the text reader.
• Be sure to establish student preferences for text reader speed and font size.
• Use digital text that is not overly cognitively demanding for the student so that the student can focus his or her personal resources on getting comfortable using the text reader.
• Use the text reader at a minimum of three times per week for 4 to six weeks as part of the trial period.
• Re-administer PAR to compare reading performance using the adult read aloud and the text reader conditions.  Use passages at the level at which the student is performing in the upper (green) quartile.