A Children’s Author Recognition Test: A Useful Tool in Reading Research

The relationship between exposure to print and reading ability is beginning to be well documented through the work of Stanovich and his colleagues (Cunningham and Stanovich, 1990; Stanovich and Cunningham, 1992; Cipielewski and Stanovich, 1992). In order to investigate exposure to print they have developed a number of measures which are reliable and effective including Author Recognition Tests. This paper discusses the development of a UK version of a Children’s Author Recognition Test and argues the need for developing culturally specific equivalents. A further study shows that a Children’s Author Recognition Test can be used as a tool for double checking self-reports by parents of the amount of reading they do with their children.