The Burt one was more recently updated than the Schonell, and sometimes if you mention the Schonell ones in exemption applications, certain staff will complain they are out of date. (However, often students do lack the ability to find answers within text, which is an important reading comprehension skill, even if they can read each word - practicing this is something you'll also want to include in your learning programme).īoth tests have been around for many years. They do not test reading comprehension, however, it's generally accepted that word recognition is an indicator of general reading ability.
Both the Schonell and Burt reading tests are word recognition tests - they test the child's ability to read a list of words. If you want a quick gauge of your child's reading or spelling abilities, these tests may be useful.