Abstract:
The Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRT) are designed to assess the development of the cognitive skills necessary for success in beginning reading and math. They should be used with groups of students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, or first grade and can help educators 1) to identify students who need special attention to prevent their falling behind, 2) to form instructional groups, and 3) to make curriculum decisions based on group and individual needs. The tests are available in both English and Spanish, and are broken into two levels, the first for students at the end of a pre-kindergarten program through the middle of the kindergarten year, and the second beginning with the middle of kindergarten through the early part of first grade. Skill areas for Level I are Auditory, Visual, and Language, with the addition of Quantitative at Level II. Two separate subtests are commonly used: the 90-minute Preliteracy Inventory (Pre-Alfabetizacion) which evaluates print concepts, writing concepts, and story structure, and the Developmental Inventory (Desarrollo) which can be completed by the teacher in 20 minutes based on her observations of physical, language, socio-emotional, and cognitive development. Tests are scored by the publisher and separate ratings for each skill area are reported on the "Individual Report" with "+" meaning "proficient", a check mark meaning "moderately proficient", and a "-" meaning "not proficient". Teachers receive raw scores, national and local percentile ranks and stanines, scaled scores and national and local normal curve equivalents. Information about how the Developmental Inventory is scored is not included in the promotional materials in the EAC East collection. Also lacking is information on test development, norm setting, and reliability and validity, although the publishers claim cross-validation with the Metropolitan Achievement Tests.