Assessment of Story Comprehension (ASC™)

MANUAL

A fast, easy way to measure the story comprehension of children ages 3–5

Strong listening comprehension during shared storybook reading is a foundational skill—an indicator that children are ready for the language demands of kindergarten. With the Assessment of Story Comprehension (ASC™), pre-K programs can measure story comprehension, identify children who may need language intervention, monitor progress, and determine when comprehension has meaningfully improved. Sensitive to even small gains that young learners make as the school year progresses, the ASC—with its 3-minute administration time—is the quick, reliable check programs need to assess comprehension.

You’ll get:

• An introduction to the tool, its development, and its supporting research
• Detailed administration guidelines, including sample schedules for administering the ASC
• General and item-specific scoring guidelines
• Fidelity checklists and guidance on establishing and maintaining reliability
• A guide to interpreting scores, including typical score ranges for children ages 3–4 and 4–5

About the Authors

Trina D. Spencer, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Associate Professor, University of South Florida

Trina Spencer has worked with culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse children and published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals spanning multiple disciplines.

Howard Goldstein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

Associate Dean of Research and Professor, University of South Florida

Howard Goldstein is recognized in the field of child language intervention, focusing on improving communication and social skills of children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Contents

Chapter 1

• Introduction to the Assessment of Story Comprehension
• Language and Reading Comprehension
• Purposes of the ASC and Curriculum-Based Measurement
• Technical Adequacy
• Organization of the ASC Manual

Chapter 2

• Overview of the Assessment of Story Comprehension
• What Is the ASC?
• ASC Stories
• ASC Questions

Chapter 3

• Administering the Assessment of Story Comprehension
• Qualifications and Training of Examiners
• Frequency and Timing of the ASC
• Materials and Setting

Chapter 4

• Scoring the Assessment of Story Comprehension
• Terms to Know
• General Rules and Scoring Tips

Chapter 5

• Interpreting and Using Results of the ASC

LANGUAGE AND READING COMPREHENSION

Reading comprehension is essential in school and relies on decoding and language comprehension. Early language experiences are important for later reading comprehension, making oral language promotion crucial in early education.

TECHNICAL ADEQUACY

The ASC’s validity and reliability were examined with 237 preschool children from diverse backgrounds. It measures comprehension effectively, monitoring children's progress and determining the need for intervention.

The ASC serves three major purposes:

1. Identify children who can benefit from supplemental language intervention.
2. Monitor children’s progress regularly.
3. Determine when children’s language comprehension improves meaningfully.

By incorporating both decoding and language comprehension, the ASC is developed to support early childhood educators in their efforts to enhance young children’s literacy.

SCORING EXAMPLES

The assessment includes various scoring questions that gauge children’s comprehension and inferencing abilities, with structured scoring guidelines to ensure reliability.

This content is part of the Assessment of Story Comprehension (ASC™) manual by Trina D. Spencer and Howard Goldstein.