My son just took the DORA, and while overall I like the test ($20!!!), some sections have so few questions that a few lucky guesses could make a huge difference. They are all multiple answer questions except for the spelling one (not sure about reading comprehension, DS hasn't done that one yet). I know DS guessed randomly on a couple of questions and got lucky, giving him a vocabulary of a 10th grader (he is 5yrs 3months). He also topped out the word recognition section as a 12th grader. He is a fluent reader, but he's not THAT good
I wouldn't base any serious decisions on the test.
I've used DORA with my DS7 twice, once when he was 5-1/2 and once again when he was 6-1/2. I opted to add DOMA when he was 6-1/2. As I stated on another thread a few days ago, I found that DOMA appeared to be pretty accurate for where I thought he was in math at the time. The results were verified by his WJ III test two weeks ago.
When we did DORA the first time, I was floored... no, wait... I was irritated. I was irritated because I had wasted $16 on the assessment when it was SO far off base! This was right before he had the first WISC done.
I mean
really, how could my never-been-schooled-at-all 5-1/2 year old score on a high school level in reading???
So I did DORA again this year out of curiosity. Again, he maxed out the same categories, added one or two more to his maxed list, and then brought his spelling up from a 3rd to an 8th grade level. I sat and watched him during the spelling part and these were definitely not dumbed-down words at the eighth grade level. Hmmmm...
His WJ III results
did not show him at a 12th grade level on all of those categories, but it did show the high end of his difficulty range at the 12th grade level, and there were others around 10th grade level. I'm not sure how these tests compare, or if you should compare them -- and I don't even intend to discuss that; but, I did want to add our experience to this discussion. I think for the price that this is a decent quickie assessment to get a ball park idea of the levels.
I also want to add that when we did DOMA, the test kept going on and on and on. I almost stopped it so that we could come back to it later. As I watched my DS, I realized why it was doing that. It quickly adjusts and keeps moving ahead as long as the child is getting X number of problems correct. Once DS started missing a few as well as getting a few correct due to good guessing, it kept adjusting by moving forward and back on the levels until it determined what was just right for him. In the end, it decided that he didn't know that particular material, and that was a perfect assessment for him in that area.
Okay, I've got to get in bed now. We have our first PTY class tomorrow and I'm suffering insomnia tonight! It's 2AM here.
Please forgive my post if it makes no sense.
