Hayward, Stewart, Phillips, Norris, & Lovell
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At-a-Glance Test Review: Test of Early Reading Ability (TERA-3)
Name of Test: Test of Early Reading Ability (TERA-3)
Author(s): Reid, D. Kim, Hresko, Wayne P., and Hamill, Donald D.
Publisher/Year (Please provide original copyright as well as dates of revisions): PRO-ED 1981, 1989, 2001
Forms: Forms A and B (also manual and picture book Form A and Form B)
Age Range: 3 years, 6 months to 8 years, 6 months
Norming Sample: Norming was conducted between February 1999 and Apr 2000.
Total Number: 875
Number and Age: The sample was stratified by age as follows: 3 years (N = 89), 4 years (N=104), 5 years (N= 160), 6 years (N=231),
7 years (N=186), 8 years (N=105)
Location: The test was delivered in 22 states with standardized sites established in four major regions: NE, S, Midwest and W.
Specific sites were identified as having samples of students that “closely matched” the region.
Demographics: The authors used 2000 U.S. census data to guide the sample as they were previously criticized for their sample (as
noted in the Buros review).
Rural/Urban: 80% urban and 20% rural
SES: SES was determined by family income range.
Other (Please Specify): The level of parental educational attainment was also used.
Summary Prepared By (Name and Date): Eleanor Stewart, 17 May 2007
Purpose of Test: Five purposes were identified: to identify children, to assess strengths and weaknesses, to document intervention
progress, for research on reading, and for use in conjunction with other assessment.
Theoretical Model: not provided
Areas Tested: TERA-3 tests alphabet (knowledge and uses, 29 items), conventions (print rules, 21 items), and meaning (the
construction of meaning from print, 30 items).
Who Can Administer: No specific professional group is identified. Rather, the authors state, “examiners should have some formal
training in assessment” (Reid, Hresko, & Hammill, 2001, p. 12). The manual reviews elements of professional conduct regarding
testing. Potential examiners are encouraged to be fully acquainted with the test manual and to have practiced administration at least
three times (p. 12).
Administration Time: Administration time is approximately 30 minutes.
Test Administration (General and Subtests) Start points are defined by age range. A basal is established with three consecutive
correct responses. Similarly, a ceiling is established with three consecutive incorrect responses.
Test Interpretation: Scores are recorded as 1 for correct and 0 for incorrect response with examples of correct responses listed on the
test form. The Buros reviewer states that some items are ambiguous and not so easily scored.
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Standardization:
Age equivalent scores Grade equivalent scores
Percentiles
Standard scores
Stanines
Other: The Reading Quotient is calculated by summing scores from the three subtests and converting using tables for this purpose.
The Reading Quotient can also be expressed as a percentile rank.
Reliability:
Internal consistency of items: Using the normative sample in its entirety, coefficients (Cronbach’s alpha) were calculated for six age
intervals. The results ranged from .81 for Form A-age 3 years, to .95 for Meaning at 4 years. Averages across subtests and the Reading
Quotient ranged from .83 to .95. Using Guilford’s 1954 formula, the coefficient alphas for the Reading Quotient ranged from .91 at 3
years to .97 at 4 years.
Subgroup reliability was reported for gender (N=544 males and 542 females), ethnicity/race (Europeans= 734, African Americans
=162, Hispanic Americans =144), and clinical groups including learning disabled (N=38), language impaired (N=40), and reading
disabled (N=64). Coefficients were high, ranging from .91 to .99 for all subtests and the Reading Quotient.
Test-retest: Using a two week interval, the authors retested students and reported correlation coefficients ranging from .86 to .98 for
tow age groupings (age 4, 5 and 6 years and age 7 and 8 years), and all subtests and Reading Quotient.
Inter-rater: One author and two graduate students were involved in inter-rater testing with .99 agreement (n = 40).
Other: Alternate forms (immediate administration) were reported to be .80 or better correlated.
Validity:
Content: The authors used a literature review, curriculum review, review of similar tests, and consultation with an expert panel as
sources for content validity. Also, the authors used Valencia’s categories of early reading behaviours to compare content.
Criterion Prediction Validity: Stanford Achievement Test Series-Ninth Edition, and Woodcock Reading Mastery-Revised-NU
Normative Update were used with moderate to high correlations.
Construct Identification Validity: Correlation of TERA-3 performance to age was performed. The authors also reported comparisons
between typical and disabled students.
Differential Item Functioning: Studies indicated that “13 items across two forms exhibited some DIF, the amount was observed was
negligible. There is some concern that 7 of the 13 items demonstrating DIF were on subtest Alphabet, Form B” (Buros reviewer, Smith
in deFur, & Smith, 2003, p. 944).
Other:
Summary/Conclusions/Observations: The TERA-3 is easy to administer with clear instructions and guidelines for scoring and
interpretation (despite reservations made in this review). Phonemic awareness is not well represented.
Clinical/Diagnostic Usefulness: It is easy to learn, use, and score. If adjunct observations are made, intervention planning will be
enhanced. Validity will be dependent on the purpose for which TERA-3 is used.
References
Hayward, Stewart, Phillips, Norris, & Lovell
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deFur, S., & Smith, L. (2003). Test review of the Test of Early Reading Ability-3rd edition. In B.S. Plake, J.C. Impara, and R.A. Spies
(Eds.), The fifteenth mental measurements yearbook (pp. 940-944). Lincoln, NE: Buros Institute of Mental Measurements.
Reid, D. K., Hresko, W. P., & Hammill, D. D. (2001). TERA 3 Examiner's Manual. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
To cite this document:
Hayward, D. V., Stewart, G. E., Phillips, L. M., Norris, S. P., & Lovell, M. A. (2008). At-a-glance test review: Test of early reading
ability (TERA-3). Language, Phonological Awareness, and Reading Test Directory (pp. 1-3). Edmonton, AB: Canadian
Centre for Research on Literacy. Retrieved [insert date] from http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/elementaryed/ccrl.cfm.