The Group Reading Scales (GRS) are objective standardised measures of reading ability, for use in primary and secondary schools. Two overlapping tests – both with parallel forms A and B – together cover ages 6 to 16+.
The tests assess reading comprehension via multiple-choice sentence-completion questions which require pupils to use both grammatical and semantic cues, and which are very quick both to administer and score. GRS 1, for ages 5:6–13:2, is designed principally for use in primary school, and for screening pupils on transfer to secondary school, while GRS 2, for ages 9:0–16+, differentiates across the full ability range in the early secondary phase.
The tests take just 30 minutes, and may be used at any time in the year. They are suited for all of the main purposes for which standardised sentence-reading tests are customarily employed, including screening, grouping, assessing improvement, evaluating teaching, and year-on-year standards monitoring.
Norms based on the reading ability of more than 10,000 primary and secondary pupils express performance as standardised scores, reading ages and National Curriculum levels.
The pencil-and-paper GRS