School of Communication and Culture

Since 2015, assessment for dyslexia in all educational levels in Denmark is based on the electronic Ordblindetesten (the dyslexia test), which targets phonological decoding. This test categorises students either as having dyslexia, and demonstrating inaccurate phonological coding, or as not having dyslexia. In higher education, 25% of students who request a diagnostic assessment of their literacy difficulties are categorised as not dyslexic. However, it is our clinical experience that a considerable number of these students have literacy problems similar to those who are classified as dyslexic. This study investigates whether Ordblindetesten's classification is supported by statistical analyses of results from two word-reading tests and a spelling to dictation test of about 250 students tested with Ordblindetesten and about 250 control students who report no literacy difficulties. While we find an overall correlation between classifications made by Ordblindetesten and results from the other tests, a
considerable number of students classified as not dyslexic show word level difficulties comparable to those of students classified as dyslexic. The poster discusses the findings and implications of this study.