One Minute Word Reading

This test assesses word reading efficiency in a 1-minute reading-aloud format. The words are deliberately selected to be relatively familiar (at least as spoken words), and they are organised in terms of reading difficulty from simple one- and two-letter words up to three syllable words.  Children as young as Reception Year should be able to read a few of the words, and overall accuracy rates are typically very high from Year 1 onward. This test is designed to estimate children’s decoding fluency rather than decoding accuracy.

Age range

This test is suitable for children in Reception Year to Year 6.

Scoring reading efficiency

The main score of reading aloud efficiency is obtained by summing the number of correctly read words, including self-corrected responses. This test generates very high accuracy; errors are therefore usually not considered separately.

Norms

Current English norms are available for children in Reception Year, Year 1 and Year 2.

Materials for administration

Recording device, Stopwatch, One Minute Word Reading Score Sheet, One Minute Word Reading Instructions, One Minute Word Reading Card

Please ensure you are using the most up-to-date test version:

Test Version: 3

Norm Version: 3

Updated: 23.02.2021

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