Stiggins, R. J., Schmeiser, C. B., & Ferguson, R. L. (1978). Validity of the ACT assessment as an indicator of reading ability. Applied Psychological Measurement, 2(3), 339-346. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/014662167800200306

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Researchers were interested in studying whether the ACT is a valid determinant of reading ability so students can be placed into intensive reading programs if needed. 
- “What is the relative predictive efficiency of various ACT score combinations when reading performance is the criterion?”
- “Does accuracy of reading score prediction vary for different subgroups of examinees?”
- “How reliable are the various score combinations?”

Validity of the ACT assessment as an indicator of reading ability

- Obtained demographics and scores of 9,344 students who took the ACT from 1972-75 at 9 local institutions from MSU 
- Ran multiple regression models for different combinations of test sections (all 4 sections – English, Math, Natural Science Reading, and Social Science Reading; no math section; only reading) 
- Compared ACT score combinations to Michigan State University Reading Test 
- Calculated internal consistency reliability estimates for section/score combinations 

Validity of the ACT assessment as an indicator of reading ability - method

- Social studies and natural science reading passages produced the best prediction, with a median of 0.70 
- Adding in English scores helped the prediction, but adding in math section did not 
- Compared to MSU Reading Test, students’ ACT scores from the regressions were similar
- Reliability of the natural science and social studies reading passages were was high 0.92 (0.95 if English section added)

Validity of the ACT assessment as an indicator of reading ability - results

- Although all the combinations considered produced reliable predictions of reading comprehension performance, ACT composite scores predicted better than scores of sub-sections or any other combination of sections
- Correlation of 0.70 for natural science and social studies reading passages indicates that outside of reading comprehension skills, other factors do affect student performance on the ACT

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