Development of a new reading comprehension assessment: Identifying comprehension differences among readers

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Multiple-choice Online Cloze Comprehension Assessment (MOCCA), designed to identify individual differences in reading comprehension. Data were collected with two sets of 3rd through 5th grade students during two years: 92 students participated in Year 1 and 98 students participated in Year 2 to address primary research questions, and an additional 94 (N = 192) students participated in Year 2 to address the limitation of test administration time. Participants were group administered the MOCCA and a standardized reading proficiency assessment, and individually administered other reading measures. Preliminary analyses indicated that the MOCCA produced reliable and valid scores as a new reading comprehension assessment for identifying types of comprehension processes used during reading, as well as for identifying individual differences in the types of comprehension processes used during reading. Findings are discussed in terms of developing a new measure to identify cognitive reading comprehension processes used during reading. Future research is needed to provide additional support for the technical adequacy of the assessment.