CEDETi UC and Rassmuss Foundation develop innovative test to address reading gaps

One of the most persistent challenges facing the educational system is ensuring that every child develops reading comprehension skills during their early school years. This is the issue that UC Chile aims to address, through the Center for the Development of Inclusion Technologies in collaboration with the Rassmuss Foundation, by developing a new test to assess reading predictors and reading comprehension.

In Chile, 27% of 4th grade students have an insufficient reading level, while in 8th grade the figure reaches 42,3% and in 10th grade it goes up to 48%, according to the SIMCE test, an annual standardized assessment taken by all students in Chile at the evaluated grade levels.

This is in addition to the data from the 2024 Census, conducted by the National Statistics Institute of Chile (INE, as per its acronym in Spanish), which shows that more than 405,000 people aged seven and older are unable to read, write, or comprehend information.

In response to this concerning situation, a joint initiative between the UC Chile Center for the Development of Inclusion Technologies (CEDETi UC as per its acronym in Spanish) and the Rassmuss Foundation seeks to develop and standardize a new test to assess reading predictors and reading comprehension, designed especially for students with significant difficulties. Unlike traditional assessment tools, this tool seeks to avoid the so-called "floor effect", a phenomenon that prevents the observation of progress among struggling students due to assessments that are too complex or too lengthy.

This project is developed as part of the UC Chile EduLab Challenges program, a call organized by the UC Chile Laboratory for Innovation in Education (EduLab UC as per its acronym in Spanish), which provides funding to connect interdisciplinary research teams of UC Chile with the needs of key stakeholders in the educational ecosystem.

"This assessment is the result of the collaboration between academia and a non-governmental institution, demonstrating that rigorous and coordinated work produces results based on scientific evidence that reach the classroom. The Rassmuss Foundation has been a fundamental partner on this journey, providing vision, commitment, and the conviction that effective assessment is also a way of caring for learners. It is also a concrete example of what we seek through the mission of our EduLab Challenges Program", mentions Anneliese Marín, Director of EduLab and Director of UC Chile Transference in Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities.

This assessment is the result of the collaboration between academia and a non-governmental institution, demonstrating that rigorous and coordinated work produces results based on scientific evidence that reach the classroom. (Photo courtesy of CEDETi)

Assessment focused on the local context

This assessment tool-designed for use from preschool through 2nd grade-measures key reading skills, including precursors such as phonological awareness, the alphabetic principle, and listening comprehension, in addition to aspects of decoding and reading comprehension. Its design allows for group use, time-limited sessions, and the ability to be implemented digitally, making it easier to use in various educational settings.

"Assessment is a central pillar of the educational practice, and having instruments adapted and standardized to the Chilean context is fundamental when developing teaching strategies that meet the needs of our students. The EduLab project enabled us to design a tool tailored to the specific needs of the people assisted by the Rassmuss Foundation. Today, we have a test that will give teachers a detailed overview of their students' learning achievement levels", explains Victoria Espinoza, Director of Research at UC Chile CEDETi, and researcher at the UC Chile Educational Justice Center.

The standardization process included over 400 students from Santiago Metropolitan Region, which allowed for the generation of reliable and accurate evidence, as well as developing guidelines for the beginning and end of the school year. This advancement represents a key step towards more accurate and timely assessments.

"The coordination between academia and the public is key to advancing towards solutions that address real-world challenges of the educational system. Having better assessment tools allows for more accurate measurements and, based on that, taking informed decisions that strengthen their implementation in the classroom and better support the students", stated Mariana Sanfuentes, Executive Director of Rassmuss Foundation in Chile.

This tool allows for the assessment of key reading skills, such as phonological awareness, the alphabetic principle, and listening comprehension, in addition to aspects of decoding and reading comprehension. (Photo credit: Pexels)

An ecosystem for learning

Based on the findings, this study also proposes concrete guidelines for the classroom, with strategies that address key aspects of reading development, such as language acquisition, decoding and comprehension. These guidelines include multisensory activities, use of phonological games, shared reading, and activities that strengthen both memory and executive functions, promoting a more inclusive approach to teaching.

This development builds on previous implementation experiences in schools, where literacy programs, such as the Rassmuss Foundation's Alfadeca, have demonstrated the importance of integrating assessment, teacher training, and pedagogical resources within the same ecosystem. Currently, these initiatives reach thousands of students in different regions of the country, consolidating an approach that combines scientific evidence with teaching practice.

The progress made with this tool was presented at a symposium attended by nearly a hundred people from the academic and teaching world and the public. In this event, the creator of Alfadeca, Alix Anson, discussed the challenges of designing teaching and assessment processes that respond to student diversity. "The methodological design in education must be approached from a holistic perspective. Only then is it possible to include everyone, taking into account the diverse ways in which students learn," highlighted the British specialist.