Description of Test
This is an adapted version of the Reading Fluency test used in the 12 Year study. The adaptations were as follows:
- The test time limit was reduced from 3 minutes to 2 minutes 30 seconds.
- The text of item 73 was slightly changed ("pitcher" to "jug").
- The test introduction was shortened, to include only one demonstration item and one optional item. The main test proceeds regardless of whether or not the practice item is answered correctly.
The test consists of a series of written statements, each of which is either true or false. For each statement, the twin must click on either "Yes" (true) or "No" (false). The twin is asked to complete as many items as possible within a 2.5 minute time limit. There are 98 items: the questions and responses are tabulated further down this page in the table of items. It is feasible (but very difficult) to respond to all 98 items within 2.5 minutes. A twin taking the test will typically complete fewer than 98 items, because of the time limit. There are no branching rules, and no discontinue rule other than the 2.5 minute test time limit.
There is a time limit of 40 seconds for each item in the test. After 20 seconds, a reminder appears on screen, asking the twin to click on an answer. When the 40 second limit is reached, the item times out and the next item appears on screen. The timed out item is given a score of zero (with a missing response in the raw data). Because the test moves on automatically to the next item after timing out, it is possible for a series of items to time out in sequence, so "serial timeouts" may occur in this test. Such cases are excluded from the data if the number of timeouts is judged to be too large.
Because of the way the items are presented, under strict timed conditions, the test runs entirely in the twin's web browser and data are only sent back to the server once the test is finished. As a result, if the test is interrupted in any way once it has started then the test ends without any data being recorded, and the test cannot be resumed or re-started. The test is then labelled as "abandoned", and no data are recorded. The twin then resumes the web battery at the next activity. Any of the following may cause the test to be abandoned, once started: twin's computer crashes; server software crashes; loss of internet connection; browser closed during test; twin clicks browser's Back or Refresh buttons.
Test Rules
- Test timing rule
Each twin is given a time limit of 2.5 minutes within which to answer as many items as possible. The test ends either when the twin has answered all 98 items, or when the 2.5 minutes have elapsed, whichever occurs sooner. - Item timeout rule
A timeout of 40 seconds applies to each item. After 40 seconds with no response, the item is forfeited with zero score, and the next item appears automatically on screen. - Scoring
For each question, there are two possible responses: yes (true) or no (false). The correct response is given a score of 1, and the incorrect response (or an item timeout) is given a score of 0. Questions not attempted within the 2.5 minutes of the test are given scores of zero. The total test score is the sum of the item scores. The maximum total score for the test is 98.
Item Variables
The item variables relating to the Reading Fluency test, as listed in the table below, were generated automatically by programs on the web server during the course of the test. Note that the dataset only includes data for completed tests. It is not possible to leave this test partly-completed. However, the test may be abandoned in which case no test data are recorded. Tests with serial timeouts are also excluded, in which case the test data have been deleted.
In most cases the values of these variables have been left unaltered, although some have been recoded during data cleaning as follows. See the web data cleaning page for further details.
- For timed out items, the item response variable is recoded from missing to -1, and the item answer time is recoded from 40 to missing (item scores are 0)
- For "discontinued" items, in other words items not attempted withing the 2.5 minute time limit of the test, the item response variable is recoded from missing to -2, and the item answer time is recoded from zero to missing (item scores are 0)
- For items that crashed or malfunctioned in any way, the item response variable is recoded from missing to -4, and the item score is recoded from missing to 0.
- For twins identified as random responders in this test, the status flag is recoded from 2 to 4, the data flag is recoded from 1 to 0, and all item variables are recoded to missing (test data deleted)
- For tests that were abandoned or crashed, and tests where serial timeouts occurred, the test status flag is recoded from 2 to 3, the data flag is recoded from 1 to 0, and all item variables are recoded to missing (test data deleted)
The start and end dates and times have not been retained in the dataset.
| Variables | Explanation | Values |
|---|---|---|
| pcynstat1/2 | Status flag: outcome of test | 0=not started, 2=successfully completed, 3=abandoned, crashed or serial timeouts, 4=random responses |
| pcyndata1/2 | Data flag: is test data present? | 0=no, 1=yes |
| pcyntot1/2 | Total score for this test, out of 98. | 0 to 98 (integer values) |
| pcynquan1/2 | Number of questions answered within the 2.5 time limit of the test | integer values up to 98 |
| pcynstdt1/2 | Start date of the test [not in dataset] | Date values |
| pcynsttm1/2 | Start time of the test [not in dataset] | Time values |
| pcynendt1/2 | End date of the test [not in dataset] | Date values |
| pcynentm1/2 | End time of the test [not in dataset] | Time values |
| pcyntmel1/2 | Total time elapsed during the test, in seconds (until either all 98 items were attempted, or the 2.5 minute time limit was reached, whichever came sooner). | Integer values (number of seconds: 150 or less) |
| pcynXXan1/2 (XX is the item number 01 to 98) |
Item response | 1=yes, 2=no, -1=item timeout, -2=discontinue (test timeout), -4=item crashed |
| pcynXXsc1/2 (XX is the item number 01 to 98) |
Item score | 0=incorrect, 1=correct |
| pcynXXat1/2 (XX is the item number 01 to 98) |
Answer time: length of time (in seconds) taken by the twin to respond to this item | Decimal values, recorded to 3 decimal places (seconds, between 0 and 40) |
Test Items
The numbering of the items, shown in the table below, equates to the numbering used in the item variables. This is the same as the order in which items were presented to twins in the test.
| item | text | correct response |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A bird can fly | Yes |
| 2 | Cats have five legs | No |
| 3 | Some people have long hair | Yes |
| 4 | People have teeth | Yes |
| 5 | The sky is always brown and yellow | No |
| 6 | A clock tells the time | Yes |
| 7 | The colour of grass is red | No |
| 8 | A school bus has a driver | Yes |
| 9 | People like to drink gum | No |
| 10 | A Butterfly has ten wings | No |
| 11 | A train goes on the road | No |
| 12 | A banana is to eat | Yes |
| 13 | Summer is a season of the year | Yes |
| 14 | Ants are very big | No |
| 15 | A fire is cold | No |
| 16 | A bus has wings | No |
| 17 | The colour of milk is pink | No |
| 18 | A flower grows in the sky | No |
| 19 | A dog may bark at a cat | Yes |
| 20 | A room in a house has walls | Yes |
| 21 | Golf is a game that some people like to play | Yes |
| 22 | June is the month after March | No |
| 23 | Most dogs can fly over the tops of mountains | No |
| 24 | Some people like to go swimming on hot days | Yes |
| 25 | Most windows are made of glass | Yes |
| 26 | A pen is for writing | Yes |
| 27 | Monkeys live in fish tanks | No |
| 28 | An insect may live under a rock | Yes |
| 29 | A shoe goes on your head | No |
| 30 | A frog may swim in a pond | Yes |
| 31 | A beach by the ocean may have sand | Yes |
| 32 | May is the last day of the week | No |
| 33 | People sit on their hands at the dinner table | No |
| 34 | You can only see one colour in a rainbow | No |
| 35 | Cars have four wheels | Yes |
| 36 | The sun is smaller than an orange | No |
| 37 | A bird may build a nest | Yes |
| 38 | All mountains are very flat on top | No |
| 39 | You can drink milk through a straw | Yes |
| 40 | A map is used to help you find phone numbers | No |
| 41 | A hospital has more than one doctor | Yes |
| 42 | Some people eat pie with a fork | Yes |
| 43 | Some little babies cry when they are hungry | Yes |
| 44 | Winter is a season of the year | Yes |
| 45 | A table has six arms | No |
| 46 | People serve dinner on their windows | No |
| 47 | Many spiders can spin webs | Yes |
| 48 | Some fish live in the ocean | Yes |
| 49 | Some people buy new homes in small towns | Yes |
| 50 | Some children fly kites on a windy day | Yes |
| 51 | A shoe is worn on your ear | No |
| 52 | Some children enjoy watching cartoons on television | Yes |
| 53 | Snow is often a green colour | No |
| 54 | A monkey is an insect that flies | No |
| 55 | A door may have a lock | Yes |
| 56 | A hammer is often used to write a story | No |
| 57 | A plant’s roots are above the ground | No |
| 58 | A dog may fight with another dog | Yes |
| 59 | A bicycle needs gas each day | No |
| 60 | Money is often used to start forest fires | No |
| 61 | One can travel faster on an aeroplane than a bicycle | Yes |
| 62 | A cook works every day in a bank | No |
| 63 | Every year all cars need to have new engines | No |
| 64 | A baseball looks like a square | No |
| 65 | Doctors spend most of their time driving race cars | No |
| 66 | Tennis is a game that some people like to play | Yes |
| 67 | Many people place pictures on the floors of their homes | No |
| 68 | A banker works in a kitchen | No |
| 69 | A coat may be hung on a hanger in a closet | Yes |
| 70 | Glasses help people to hear | No |
| 71 | A camera is used to help you find your way | No |
| 72 | Tyres are always flat | No |
| 73 | A jug may be used to pour water | Yes |
| 74 | A cup must have a lid | No |
| 75 | An elevator goes up to the moon | No |
| 76 | Most clouds are brown and furry | No |
| 77 | There are many different types of jewellery | Yes |
| 78 | Most people use keys to comb their hair | No |
| 79 | A calendar has both weeks and days | Yes |
| 80 | Some people like to go to another country for vacation | Yes |
| 81 | A pencil may have an eraser on the end | Yes |
| 82 | A neighbour is a person who lives very far away | No |
| 83 | Baked potatoes grow on trees | No |
| 84 | A classroom teacher works all day in a grocery store | No |
| 85 | A torch may need batteries to operate | Yes |
| 86 | Some people rent apartments in large cities | Yes |
| 87 | A goat talks in complete sentences | No |
| 88 | All people avoid doctors when they feel sick | No |
| 89 | A carpenter builds things with wood | Yes |
| 90 | Newly released movies are often shown at cinemas | Yes |
| 91 | A magazine only has one page | No |
| 92 | A photo album may hold many pictures | Yes |
| 93 | Most dogs climb straight up steep walls | No |
| 94 | A fence can provide a border around a property | Yes |
| 95 | Most modern houses do not have any doors or windows | No |
| 96 | Some people make hotel reservations for only one night | Yes |
| 97 | A talented athlete may enjoy several different sports | Yes |
| 98 | People may use a map to find certain locations | Yes |