A standardisation of the BAS Word Reading Test on Maltese ten-year olds attending independent schools

Abstract

The British Ability Scales II Word Reading Test was administered on a sample of two hundred and four ten-year old children attending various independent schools around Malta. No significant difference was proven to exist between the two genders. Conversely, after running the Scheffe post-hoc study on SPSS, a significant difference was established between some of the schools that participated in this study. This single word reading test was used to establish Maltese norms for English reading assessment. Item analysis of the test items was evaluated so that each item's facility and discrimination index in the Maltese setting could be established. The words of the British reading test were re-ordered, based on the results obtained by the group of children assessed. Thus, norms for ten-year-six-months old children attending independent schools were established. These derived Maltese norms were then compared with the published British norms.