One-Minute Test

Abstract

The Een- Minuut-Test (One-Minute Test) is a standardized assessment designed to quantify a child’s technical reading proficiency. Specifically, it focuses on the speed and accuracy of word decoding. The assessment measures the rate at which a child can fluently and clearly read non-coherent, printed words from a standardized list within a one-minute interval, providing a key metric for early literacy development.

Keywords

Reading speed, word decoding, technical reading skill, literacy assessment, children, one-minute test, educational psychology, fluency.

Authors

Brus BTh, Voeten MJM (1973).

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Een- Minuut-Test is the objective measurement of technical reading skill. This measurement is strictly defined as the ability to fluently decode printed words. By focusing exclusively on reading speed and accuracy, the test provides a rapid, high-stakes assessment of a child’s mechanical reading mastery.

This instrument is crucial for early identification in educational settings, allowing educators and psychologists to quickly screen children for potential difficulties related to decoding fluency necessary for subsequent stages of literacy development. It functions as both an Instrumental and Observational tool in the assessment of communication and knowledge application skills.

Construct

The core psychological construct measured by the Een- Minuut-Test is Reading Fluency, specifically the technical component known as word decoding speed. The test isolates this skill by using a standardized list of words that are non-coherent (not forming sentences or meaningful text), thereby preventing the child from utilizing contextual or semantic cues to guess words.

The resulting score—the number of correctly read words in 60 seconds—serves as an objective proxy for the automaticity of word decoding, a foundational skill essential for overall reading competence and subsequent comprehension.

Validity

While specific statistical documentation was not provided in the original source, standardized reading speed assessments of this nature typically demonstrate strong criterion validity, especially in predicting future reading comprehension scores. The focused nature of the test ensures high content validity regarding the construct of mechanical decoding fluency.

Furthermore, because the test uses non-contextual words, it ensures that the metric is a valid measure of automatic word recognition rather than reliance on contextual cues, which is critical for diagnosing genuine decoding difficulties.

Reliability

Due to the highly objective nature of the scoring—simply counting the number of correctly read words within a fixed time frame—the Een- Minuut-Test inherently possesses high inter-rater reliability. The requirement that the child reads the words “vlug en duidelijk” (quickly and clearly) standardizes the observation process.

In typical educational assessments, measures of reading fluency generally exhibit robust internal consistency and satisfactory test-retest reliability, supporting its use as a consistent measure of a child’s current decoding speed.

Factor Analysis

Given that the Een- Minuut-Test is designed as a focused, unidimensional measure, factor analysis would be expected to yield a strong single factor structure representing technical reading ability or decoding automaticity. The test does not attempt to measure multiple underlying reading components, but rather provides a singular, efficient score of reading rate.

Instrument

Test Type: Instrumental and Observational Assessment.

Format: A timed oral reading test utilizing a standardized list of non-coherent words.

Language Available: Dutch (Original development language).

Population Group: Children (Kinderen).

Age Group: Typically utilized in primary school settings (ages 6-12) where foundational reading skills are developing.

Population Details: The test is applicable to any child whose technical reading skill requires standardized measurement.

Test Methodology: The child reads aloud from the standardized list for exactly 60 seconds. The administrator records the total number of words read correctly within that timeframe. Emphasis is placed on both speed and clarity of pronunciation.

Keywords

Standardized test, reading assessment, fluency, decoding, children’s education, Brus & Voeten.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source documentation.

Affiliation Email addresses: Contact details are generally maintained by the publisher or academic institution associated with the 1973 publication.

Correspondence Address: Refer to the original publication documentation by Brus BTh and Voeten MJM (1973).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Een- Minuut-Test was originally published in 1973 by Brus BTh and Voeten MJM. Availability and licensing fees are typically managed by the educational publisher responsible for distributing the standardized testing materials. Users must obtain appropriate permissions for administration and reproduction.

Reference’s

• Brus BTh, Voeten MJM (1973). Development and standardization of the Een- Minuut-Test.
• The original explanatory document (Toelichtingsformulier) for this instrument can be downloaded here: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/wp-content/uploads/instrumenten/118_1_N.pdf.

Items of the Een- Minuut-Test

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The specific standardized list of non-coherent words used in the Een- Minuut-Test was not provided in the source documentation. The test items consist of a fixed sequence of words designed to measure decoding fluency across various phonological structures.