Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): (1) Sight Word Reading Efficiency (SWE); and (2) Phonemic Decoding Efficiency (PDE)

Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): (1) Sight Word Reading Efficiency (SWE); and (2) Phonemic Decoding Efficiency (PDE)
Cost	Technology, Human Resources, and Accommodations for Special Needs	Service & Support	Purpose & Other Implementation Information	Usage & Reporting
Year 1: $2.46 per student if only 1 kit is purchased with no additional forms. $123.00 for the complete kit, which includes an Examiner’s Manual, 25 copies each of Form A and B, and words cards for Forms A and B. Additional forms can be purchased at $25.00 for a pack of 25. Additional Words Cards are $15.00 for each form. $51.00 for Technical Manual. Subsequent years : $1.00 per student. $ 25.00 for test forms. All TOWRE components can be purchased separately.	All examiners must be able to formulate the necessary responses and pass the practice items. Testers will require less than 1 hour of training. Paraprofessionals can administer the test. Accommodations: There are no accommodations for students with disabilities. Cultural and linguistic bias in SWE subtest was avoided by selecting items based on criteria involving (1) frequency of occurrence in printed texts beginning at the elementary school level, (2) length and complexity of syllables, and (3) number of syllables. For the PDE subtest, a broad range of grapheme-phoneme correspondences were sampled while gradually raising the difficulty level of the nonwords by increasing the number of phonemes and the complexity and number of syllables. Studies of the performance of various ethnic and exceptionality are included in the Examiner’s Manual.	Pro-Ed 8700 Shoal Creek Boulevard Austin , TX 78757 http://www.proedinc.com Phone: 1-800-897-3202 Fax: 1-800-397-7633 Field tested training manuals are available and should provide all needed implementation information Ongoing technical support is available at Pro-Ed.	TOWRE is a measure of an individual’s ability to pronounce printed words accurately and fluently. The test measures both the ability to sound out words quickly and accurately and the ability to recognize familiar words as whole units or sight words for individual students in grade 1 and above. The SWE subtest involves presenting the student with a list of real printed words. The student must accurately read and pronounce as many words as possible in 45 seconds. The PDE subtest involves presenting a list of printed nonwords. The student must accurately decode and pronounce as many words as possible in 45 seconds. The examiner scores each item as it is being pronounced. It primarily measures word identification and speed (i.e., reading fluency but measures word comprehension as well. The tool provides information on student performance in English. The test was normed using a nationally representative sample of 1,507 students, and included students with disabilities.	Administration of the test takes 5 minutes and additional 5 minutes of scoring time are needed. 2 alternate forms are available. Raw score, standard score, percentile score, grade equivalents, stanines, T-scores and Z-scores are available. Standard and percentile scores are calculated based on age or grade norms. Raw score for each subtest is the number of correct items. SWE and PDE yield standard scores based on a mean of 100 with a standard deviation of 15. These standard scores can be combined to produce a total Word Reading Efficiency standard score.

Cost

Technology, Human Resources, and Accommodations for Special Needs

Service & Support

Purpose & Other Implementation Information

Usage & Reporting

Year 1:

$2.46 per student if only 1 kit is purchased with no additional forms.

$123.00 for the complete kit, which includes an Examiner’s Manual, 25 copies each of Form A and B, and words cards for Forms A and B.

Additional forms can be purchased at $25.00 for a pack of 25.

Additional Words Cards are $15.00 for each form.

$51.00 for Technical Manual.

Subsequent years :

$1.00 per student.

$ 25.00 for test forms.

All TOWRE components can be purchased separately.

All examiners must be able to formulate the necessary responses and pass the practice items.

Testers will require less than 1 hour of training.

Paraprofessionals can administer the test.

Accommodations:

There are no accommodations for students with disabilities.

Cultural and linguistic bias in SWE subtest was avoided by selecting items based on criteria involving (1) frequency of occurrence in printed texts beginning at the elementary school level, (2) length and complexity of syllables, and (3) number of syllables.

For the PDE subtest, a broad range of grapheme-phoneme correspondences were sampled while gradually raising the difficulty level of the nonwords by increasing the number of phonemes and the complexity and number of syllables.

Studies of the performance of various ethnic and exceptionality are included in the Examiner’s Manual.

Pro-Ed
8700 Shoal Creek Boulevard
Austin , TX 78757
http://www.proedinc.com
Phone: 1-800-897-3202
Fax: 1-800-397-7633

Field tested training manuals are available and should provide all needed implementation information

Ongoing technical support is available at Pro-Ed.

TOWRE is a measure of an individual’s ability to pronounce printed words accurately and fluently. The test measures both the ability to sound out words quickly and accurately and the ability to recognize familiar words as whole units or sight words for individual students in grade 1 and above.

The SWE subtest involves presenting the student with a list of real printed words. The student must accurately read and pronounce as many words as possible in 45 seconds. The PDE subtest involves presenting a list of printed nonwords. The student must accurately decode and pronounce as many words as possible in 45 seconds. The examiner scores each item as it is being pronounced.

It primarily measures word identification and speed (i.e., reading fluency but measures word comprehension as well.

The tool provides information on student performance in English.

The test was normed using a nationally representative sample of 1,507 students, and included students with disabilities.

Administration of the test takes 5 minutes and additional 5 minutes of scoring time are needed.

2 alternate forms are available.

Raw score, standard score, percentile score, grade equivalents, stanines, T-scores and Z-scores are available. Standard and percentile scores are calculated based on age or grade norms.

Raw score for each subtest is the number of correct items.

SWE and PDE yield standard scores based on a mean of 100 with a standard deviation of 15. These standard scores can be combined to produce a total Word Reading Efficiency standard score.