The measurement properties of a French language adaptation of the National Adult Reading Test

An item response theory model was used to investigate the measurement properties of a French‐language adaptation of the National Adult Reading Test (fNART) in a sample of 388 community‐dwelling and institutionalized elderly persons. The test was found to be essentially unidimensional and to discriminate over a range of ability. A number of items were found to have poor discriminatory power or other undesirable measurement characteristics and were eliminated from the item pool to form a 33‐item test. Although a large sample calibration of the test against the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales is desirable, the fNART shows considerable promise as a means of estimating ability premorbid to cognitive decline in French‐speaking individuals.