Assessing the basic components of reading: A revision of the Castles and Coltheart test with new norms

We present administration details and normative data for a new version of the word and nonword reading test originally developed by Castles and Coltheart. The new test contains an expanded set of items, with 40 each of regular words, irregular words and nonwords, rather than the original 30 items of each type. The new items extend the upper-end of the difficulty range of the test, making it less susceptible to ceiling effects than the original version. The test also incorporates a stopping-rule, which makes administration of the test less time-consuming and removes the stress on children who can only read a few items. The test is free of charge and is available to teachers, professionals and researchers in both pencil-and-paper and computer-based formats from the Macquarie On-line Test Interface (MOTIF: http://www.maccs.mq.edu.au/research/resources). Acknowledgements We are extremely grateful to the staff and students of St Patrick's Primary school, Guildford, NSW, St Joan of Arc Primary School, Haberfield, NSW and Holy Spirit Primary School, North Ryde, NSW, for their participation in this study. In particular, we would like to thank Kerry Lestal, Jennifer Webb, Margaret Woods and Pat Williams for their co-operation and assistance.