Examines the underlying cognitive and linguistic processes that support proficient reading skills.

Steven G. Feifer, DEd, and Rebecca Gerhardstein Nader, PhD

The FAR provides a comprehensive assessment of reading, and related processes, to determine the specific subtype of reading impairment, to
make informed decisions about appropriate interventions. It is based on the premise that treatments for reading disorders vary by dyslexic subtype, with four specific subtypes addressed:
• Dysphonetic Dyslexia    • Surface Dyslexia
• Mixed Dyslexia              • Reading Comprehension Deficits

• Age Range: 4-21 years
• Time: 35 minutes—Pre-Kindergarten
• 60 minutes—K-Grade 1
• 75 minutes—Grade 2+
• 15-20 minutes—Screening Form

It can be used for general screening of dyslexia; progress monitoring of discrete skills (for schools operating in an RTI paradigm); diagnosis of a reading disability, and to design a deficit- or skill-specific intervention. An in-depth look at a student’s reading-related behaviors can be accomplished through an item-level skills and error analysis of scores. It takes a neurodevelopmental approach to reading, which suggests that multiple neural pathways underscore various aspects of reading, such as phonemic awareness, fluency, decoding and comprehension.

The FAR is comprised of 15 subtests, which measure various aspects of:

• Vocabulary
• Phonological Awareness
• Decoding Skills
• Rapid Automatic Naming
• Orthographical Processing
• Morphological Processing
• Word Memory
• Comprehension Skills
• Reading Fluency (Word and Story, Silent and Oral)

Five Index Scores

• Phonological Index
• Fluency Index
• Comprehension Index
• Mixed Index (Phonological and Fluency)
• FAR Total Index (all subtest scores)

FAR Screening Form
The FAR Screening Form yields a single composite score to determine whether the risk of dyslexia, or a reading disability, is high enough to warrant further assessment. It is also ideal for use within a Response To Intervention (RTI) delivery system model. 

It is comprised of three subtests:

• Phonemic Awareness
• Rapid Automatic Naming
• Semantic Concepts

The FAR Kit includes 10 each of the Examiner Record Forms and Examinee Response Forms; Stimulus Boos 1, 2 and 3; Storybook; 3 Scoring Templates, and a Manual with Fast Guide. The FAR Screening Kit includes 25 Screening Form Examiner Record Forms, the Screening Form Stimulus Book, and the FAR Professional Manual with Fast Guide.