Decoding Skills Test (DST)

Age: Children & Adults. Reading Level Grade 1-5

Administration: 15-30 minutes. Individual

The DST helps you diagnose and treat specific reading disabilities, including dyslexia. It provides a diagnostic profile of the decoding skills that are essential to reading comprehension and shows you the particular area in which an individual needs help. Subtest 1 (Basic Vocabulary) measures the ability to recognize words taught in most basic reading programs. Subtest 2 (Phonic Patterns) assesses the ability to decode words using letter-sound correspondence. Subtest 3 (Contextual Decoding) assesses the effect of context on decoding skills. And it measures comprehension, reading rate, and error rate.


The DST provides criterion-referenced scores that relate directly to the reading curriculum, providing valuable information, including: 1) reading achievement level, 2) frustration level, 3) phonic pattern knowledge, 4) phonic decoding deficiencies, 5) the effect of context on the child’s word recognition and decoding skills, 6) oral fluency at various reading levels, and 7) oral reading errors. Developed under contract with the National Institutes of Health, the DST allows you to identify and treat reading problems early and accurately.