Development of the Screening Test to Assess Reading Proficiency in Tatar Language among Primary Schoolchildren

Reading is one of the most important cognitive skills that is acquired during preschool and early school years. To determine the level of reading development in bilingual children, it is necessary to assess their reading abilities in both languages, which requires appropriate assessment tools. The goal of the research was to develop a screening test for assessing reading proficiency in primary schoolchildren in the Tatar language. The screening test was developed in two forms: Forms A and B. A total of 105 schoolchildren aged 7 to 11 years (M = 9.89, SD = 0.7, 49% girls) from three multilingual schools in Kazan participated in the pilot study. In line with the study’s objective, a psychometric analysis of both test forms was conducted with the use of classical test theory. The psychometric analysis showed that the developed screening test is a reliable tool. With a few exceptions, the items in both test forms demonstrated an acceptable level of difficulty and discrimination. The results of the initial pilot study indicated that both forms of the test have comparable psychometric characteristics. The next stages of the research should include the development of a digital version of the test, further piloting on larger samples – including different age groups of bilingual children with varying levels of Tatar language proficiency – as well as the application of probabilistic psychometric models.