Are Both the TOWRE-2 and the WIAT-III Basic Reading Composite Needed to Accurately Identify Characteristics of Dyslexia?

Abstract

This study is a continuation of a previous master’s thesis. Morgan Griffith (2016) found that the TOWRE-2 gives a lower estimate of a student’s ability to read and decode at the word level than the WIAT-III. Currently, at the Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia, the Word Reading and Pseudoword Decoding subtests of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 3rd Edition (WIAT-III) are used in addition to the Test of Word Reading Efficiency, 2nd Edition (TOWRE-2). The purpose of the present study was to determine if the same diagnostic conclusion would be reached by relying on the TOWRE-2 without the use of the Word Reading Composite of the WIAT-III. My diagnostic conclusion matched the original on 86% of the cases. Results of the chi-square, chi(1) = 25.42, p < 0.05, indicated that I agreed with the original diagnostic decision significantly more than I disagreed.