Normative data for adults in classical reading and writing tests. Calibration for individuals aged between 18 and 54
Damiano Angelini, Caterina Barletta-Rodolfi, Alessandra Manassero, Mavi Lodoli, Federico Gasparini, Alessandro Marti, Enrico Ghidoni
In this work, we present the normative data for adults, evaluated with the classical tests commonly used in Italy in children for reading and writing (lists of words, pseudowords and text), a task of allographic comparison, a text comprehension task, and a writing test (pseudowords). Data were collected on 403 subjects, aged between 18 and 54 years, with 3 levels of schooling (5-8 years, 9-13, >13). The performances in the various tests are very sensitive to the level of schooling, while the effect of age is limited. We present both normative values for the various combinations of age and education, or considering only schooling. We provide the normative data in terms of 2 or 1.5 standard deviations from the mean, or of 5° or 10° centile for scores with non-normal distribution. The use of these data can allow the direct comparison with the performance of the same subject in childhood, outlining the trajectory of reading skills development.
Keywords
Dyslexia, reading, writing, normative data, adults.