South African Journal of Education, Volume 41, Number 1, February 2021
1
Art. #1880, 12 pages, https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v41n1a1880
Oral Reading Skills and Comprehension Test-II (SOBAT®-II): Assessment of reading
fluency and comprehension of Turkish students with specific learning disabilities
Macid Ayhan
Melekoğlu
Department of Special Education, Faculty of Education, Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Eskişehir, Turkey
macidayhan@gmail.com
H. Gülsen Erden
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Languages
History and Geography, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
Orhan
Çakıroğlu
Department of Special Education, Faculty of Fatih Education, Trabzon University, Trabzon, Turkey
Efforts to diagnose students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) have increased in recent years in Turkey. However, the
limited number of assessment tools used to identify students with SLD is one of the most important concerns in this area,
since 8 out of 10 students with SLD have difficulty in reading, which affects other academic areas.
Considering reading
performance scores from standardised reading tests may help eliminate difficulties in SLD assessment. Reading problems
are often observed with or without SLD, especially in primary and middle school age groups. However, standardised reading
tests are usually not used in screening and diagnosis
of these children, and in planning,
monitoring, and evaluation of the
effectiveness of reading intervention programmes in Turkey. The purpose of the study reported
on here was to provide
findings of a project that was carried out to develop a standardised reading test, SOBAT®-II, for the assessment of reading
and reading comprehension skills development of children with SLD between 7 and 14 years of age. A total of 1,133 test
administrations were performed within the scope of this study. As a result of this study,
the Oral Reading Skills and
Comprehension Test (SOBAT®), of which the preliminary study was conducted between 2002 and 2012, was expanded to
include children between the ages of 7 and 14, and the parallel form of the test, A and B, was formed.
In future studies,
expanding the number and diversity of the sample by including students from different provinces,
and adding motivation
resources to increase voluntary participation may be beneficial for standardisation of the test.
