Data driven interactive testing method, apparatus and article of manufacture for teaching a student to read

• US 6,155,834 A
• Filed: 06/27/1997
• Issued: 12/05/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cecil A. New III
• Original Assignee: Cecil A. New III
• Inventors: New, Cecil A. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Martin-Wallace, Valencia
• Assistant Examiner(s): Clayton, Sheila
• Application Number:
  US08/884,640
• Time in Patent Office: 1,257 Days
• Field of Search: 434/118, 434/167, 434/169, 434/350, 434/322, 434/323, 434/351, 434/178, 434/332, 434/159, 434/150
• US Class Current: 434/118
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 17/003 electrically operated apparatus or devices

Abstract

The invention includes a system to teach a student to sight read using a computer. The term "Sight read" means to instantly recognize words without having to sound them out or go through other processes such as explaining the definition of the word. The invention utilizes a computer to systematically and continuously adjust the requirements for word perception and recognition based on characteristics and ongoing responses of the individual student in a way that increases the speed and accuracy of word recognition. The inventive method utilizes three main types of interactive process types including (1) Choose from list, (2) Fill in letter blank, and (3) Determine Sequence. Each interactive process type includes three interactive processes in which a target word is communicated by showing only, saying only, and/or showing and saying the target word.

Claims

1. A computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read, comprising the steps of:

presenting the student with a whole word recognition test, a partial word recognition test, and/or a word sequence recognition test;

inputting a response from the student;

determining if the response is correct or incorrect;

measuring a response time from said presentation step to said inputting step;

providing feedback to the student based on whether the response is correct or incorrect as determined by said determining step;

calculating student performance based on the response time and whether the response is correct or incorrect;

adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented in said presenting step based on the student performance; and

a first iterating step iterating said presenting step, said inputting step, said determining step, said measuring step, said providing step, said calculating step and said adjusting step.

2. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 1,

said providing step providing feedback to the student based on whether the response is correct or incorrect as determined by said determining step and on the response time measured in said measuring step.

3. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 2,

wherein the whole word recognition test;

the partial word recognition test; and

the word sequence recognition test represent three interactive process types respectively corresponding to

choosing a target word from a list of displayed words by first communicating the target then choosing the target word from a list of subsequently displayed words;

filling in letter blanks by first communicating a target word and then filling in letter blanks of a displayed, partial target word having blanked letters; and

determining a correct sequence of words by individually communicating a plurality of words that includes the target word in a first sequence one word at a time, then simultaneously displaying the plurality of words including the target word in a second sequence, and then selecting words from the displayed plurality of words in the first sequence,

said presenting step presenting the student with at least one of nine interactive processes wherein each interactive process type includes three interactive processes, the three interactive processes including

a show only process which communicates the target word by displaying the target word for a show interval,

a say only process which communicates the target word by audibly announcing the target word, and

a show and say process that communicates the target word by displaying the target word for a show interval and by audibly announcing the target word.

4. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 3, further comprising the step of:

a second iterating step iterating said presenting step, said inputting step, said measuring step, said determining step, and said providing step until the response input in said inputting step is the correct response as determined by said determining step;

said calculating step calculating student performance based on a number of iterations performed by said second iterating step until the correct response was inputted in said inputting step, a difficulty level of the test presented in said presenting step, and the response time measured in said measuring step.

5. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 4, further comprising the steps of:

providing the student with a show button, wherein activating the show button causes said presenting step to display the target word for the show interval,

providing the student with a say button, wherein activating the say button causes said presenting step to aurally announce the target word,

said calculating step calculating student performance based on whether the show button or the say button has been activated, a number of iterations performed by said second iterating step until the correct response was inputted in said inputting step, the difficulty level of the test presented in said presenting step, and the response time measured in said measuring step.

6. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 3, further comprising the step of:

progressively activating interactive processes according to a number of times said first iteration step is performed,

said presenting step presenting the student with interactive processes activated by said activating step.

7. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 3, further comprising the step of:

recording the student'"'"'s response to the interactive process;

said calculating step calculating student performance based on an average percent correct of all past student responses recorded by said recording step, the difficulty level of the interactive process presented in said presenting step, and the response time measured in said measuring step; and

said adjusting step adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented in said presenting step based on the student performance calculated in said calculating step.

8. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 7, further comprising the step of:

inputting the student'"'"'s age wherein the student'"'"'s age may be a chronological age or a reading level,

said calculating step calculating student performance based on a average percent correct of all past student responses recorded by said recording step, the difficulty level of the inter active process presented in said presenting step, and the response time measured in said measuring step; and

said adjusting step adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented in said presenting step based on the student performance calculated in said calculating step and the student'"'"'s age inputted in said inputting step.

9. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

said adjusting step adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented in said presenting step by adjusting the duration of the show interval if the interactive process is the show only process or the show and say process;

said calculating step calculating student performance based on the duration of the show interval, an average percent correct of all past student responses recorded by said recording step, the difficulty level of the interactive process presented in said presenting step, and the response time measured in said measuring step.

10. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 9,

said adjusting the duration of the show interval step decreasing the show interval after each target word is shown at a rate of decrease that is directly related to the duration of the show interval.

11. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 9,

said adjusting the duration of th e show interval step adjusting the duration of the show interval based on the student performance and/or student age.

12. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

determining if the student performance has substantially decreased from one iteration to another iteration of said first iterating step,

temporarily increasing the show interval if said determining step determines that the student performance has substantially decreased.

13. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 9,

said adjusting the duration of the show interval step adjusting the duration of the show interval by utilizing a random variability factor.

14. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 13, further comprising the step of:

adjusting the random variability factor based on student performance.

15. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 3,

said adjusting step adjusting the difficulty level of the choosing a target word from a list interactive process presented in said presenting step by adjusting the number of words in the list based on student age and student performance;

said adjusting step adjusting the difficulty level of the determining a correct sequence of words interactive process presented in said presenting step by adjusting the number of the words in the sequence according to student age and student performance;

said calculating step calculating student performance based on the number of words in the list or sequence.

16. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 3,

wherein each word utilized in the interactive processes includes an associated word ID that identifies a relative difficulty of the associated word,

said adjusting step adjusting the difficulty level of the interactive process presented in said presenting step by progressively adding more difficult words to the words utilized in the interactive process according to the number of iterations performed by said first iterating step;

and

said calculating step calculating student performance based on the word ID of the most recently added word.

17. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 3,

wherein each word utilized in the interactive processes includes an associated length that corresponds to a relative difficulty of the associated word,

said adjusting step adjusting the difficulty level of the interactive process presented in said presenting step by progressively adding different words to the words utilized in the interactive process according to the number of iterations performed by said first iterating step;

and

said calculating step calculating student performance based on the length of the most recently added word.

18. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 3,

said adjusting step adjusting the difficulty level of the filling in letter blanks interactive process presented in said presenting step by gradually and proportionally adjusting how many blanks are to be filled in by the student based on student age, student performance and number of iterations performed by said first iterating step;

said calculating step calculating student performance based on the number of blanks to be filled in by the student.

19. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 18, further comprising the step of:

randomly determining which letters will be shown as blank when the filling in letter blanks interactive process is presented in said presenting step.

20. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 3, further comprising the step of:

moving the target word from one of the interactive processes to another interactive process based on student performance.

71. The computer implemented, data driven method of teaching a student to read according to claim 1,

said calculating step including a difficulty level of the test presented in said presenting step when calculating student performance.

21. A data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read, comprising:

a presenter presenting the student with a whole word recognition test, a partial word recognition test, and/or a word sequence recognition test;

an input device inputting a response from the student;

a determining unit determining if the response is correct or incorrect;

a clock for measuring a response time of the student to the test presented by said presenter;

a feedback unit providing feedback to the student based on whether the response is correct or incorrect as determined by said determining unit;

a calculator calculating student performance based on the response time measured by said clock and whether the response is correct or incorrect;

an adjuster adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented by said presenter according to the student performance; and

a first iterator iterating the functions performed by said presenter, said input device, said determining unit, said feedback unit, said clock, said calculator and said adjuster.

22. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 21,

said feedback unit providing feedback to the student based on whether the response is correct or incorrect as determined by said determining unit and on the response time measured by said clock.

23. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 22,

wherein the whole word recognition test;

the partial word recognition test; and

the word sequence recognition test represent three interactive process types respectively corresponding to

choosing a target word from a list of displayed words by first communicating the target then choosing the target word from a list of subsequently displayed words;

filling in letter blanks by first communicating a target word and then filling in letter blanks of a displayed, partial target word having blanked letters; and

determining a correct sequence of words by individually communicating a plurality of words that includes the target word in a first sequence one word at a time, then simultaneously displaying the plurality of words including the target word in a second sequence, and then selecting words from the displayed plurality of words in the first sequence,

said presenter presenting the student with at least one of nine interactive processes wherein each interactive process type includes three interactive processes, the three interactive processes including

a show only process which communicates the target word by displaying the target word for a show interval,

a say only process which communicates the target word by audibly announcing the target word with a speaker or headphone, and

a show and say process that communicates the target word by displaying the target word for a show interval and by audibly announcing the target word with a speaker or headphone.

24. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 23, further comprising:

a second iterator iterating said presenter, said input device, said clock, said determining unit, and said feedback unit until the response input by said input device is the correct response as determined by said determining unit;

said calculator calculating student performance based on a number of iterations performed by said second iterator until the correct response was inputted by said input device, a difficulty level of the test presented by said presenter, and the response time measured by said clock.

25. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 24, further comprising:

a show button, wherein activating the show button causes said presenter to display the target word for the show interval,

a say button, wherein activating the say button causes said presenter to aurally announce the target word with a speaker or headphone,

said calculator calculating student performance based on whether the show button or the say button has been activated, a number of iterations performed by said second iterator until the correct response was inputted by said input device, the difficulty level of the test presented by said presenter, and the response time measured by said clock.

26. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 23, further comprising:

a progressive activator progressively activating interactive processes according to a number of times said first iterator iterates,

said presenter presenting the student with interactive processes activated by said progressive activator.

27. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 23, further comprising:

a memory recording the student'"'"'s response to the interactive process;

said calculator calculating student performance based on an average percent correct of all past student responses recorded by said memory, the difficulty level of the interactive process presented by said presenter, and the response time measured by said clock; and

said adjuster adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented by said presenter based on the student performance calculated in said calculator.

28. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 27, further comprising:

said input device inputting the student'"'"'s age wherein the student'"'"'s age may be a chronological age or a reading level,

said calculator calculating student performance based on an average percent correct of all past student responses recorded by said memory, the difficulty level of the interactive process presented by said presenter, and the response time measured by said clock; and

said adjuster adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented by said presenter based on the student performance calculated in said calculator and the student'"'"'s age inputted by said input device.

29. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 28, further comprising:

said adjuster adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented by said presenter by adjusting the duration of the show interval if the interactive process is the show only process or the show and say process;

said calculator calculating student performance based on the duration of the show interval, an average percent correct of all past student responses recorded by said memory, the difficulty level of the interactive process presented by said presenter, and the response time measured by said clock.

30. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 29,

said adjust or adjusting the duration of the show interval by decreasing the show interval after each target word is shown at a rate of decrease that is directly related to the duration of the show interval.

31. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 29,

said adjuster adjusting the duration of the show interval by adjusting the duration of the show interval based on the student performance and/or student age.

32. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 29, further comprising:

a performance decrease determining unit determining if the student performance has substantially decreased from one iteration to another iteration of said first iterator,

temporarily increasing the show interval if said determining unit determines that the student performance has substantially decreased.

33. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 29, further comprising:

a random number generator generating a random number;

said adjuster adjusting the duration of the show interval by utilizing a random variability factor that is based on the random number generated by said random number generator.

34. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 33, further comprising:

said adjuster adjusting the random variability factor based on student performance.

35. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 23,

said adjuster adjusting the difficulty level of the choosing a target word from a list interactive process presented by said presenter by adjusting the number of words in the list based on student age and student performance;

said adjuster adjusting the difficulty level of the determining a correct sequence of words interactive process presented by said presenter by adjusting the number of the words in the sequence according to student age and student performance;

said calculator calculating student performance based on the number of words in the list or sequence.

36. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 23,

wherein each word utilized in the interactive processes includes an associated word ID that identifies a relative difficulty of the associated word,

said adjuster adjusting the difficulty level of the interactive process presented by said presenter by progressively adding more difficult words to the words utilized in the interactive process according to the number of iterations performed by said first iterator;

and

said calculator calculating student performance based on the word ID of the most recently added word.

37. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 23,

wherein each word utilized in the interactive processes includes an associated length that corresponds to a relative difficulty of the associated word,

said adjuster adjusting the difficulty level of the interactive process presented by said presenter by progressively adding different words to the words utilized in the interactive process according to the number of iterations performed by said first iterator;

and

said calculator calculating student performance based on the length of the most recently added word.

38. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 23,

said adjuster adjusting the difficulty level of the filling in letter blanks interactive process presented by said presenter by gradually and proportionally adjusting how many blanks are to be filled in by the student based on student age, student performance and number of iterations performed by said first iterator;

said calculator calculating student performance based on the number of blanks to be filled in by the student.

39. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 38, further comprising:

a randomness unit randomly determining which letters will be shown as blank when the filling in letter blanks interactive process is presented by said presenter.

40. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 23, further comprising:

moving the target word from one of the interactive processes to another interactive process based on student performance.

72. The data driven apparatus for teaching a student to read according to claim 21,

said calculator including a difficulty level of the test presented by said presenter when calculating student performance.

41. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer-usable medium including computer-readable program code means, embodied therein, for causing a computer to perform a data driven method of teaching a student to read, the computer-readable program code means comprising;

computer-readable program code means for presenting the student with a whole word recognition test, a partial word recognition test, and/or a word sequence recognition test;

computer-readable program code means for inputting a response from the student;

computer-readable program code means for determining if the response is correct or incorrect;

computer-readable program code means for measuring a response time of the student;

computer-readable program code means for providing feedback to the student based on whether the response is correct or incorrect as determined by said computer-readable program code means for determining;

computer-readable program code means for calculating student performance based on the response time and whether the response is correct or incorrect;

computer-readable program code means for adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting based on the student performance; and

first computer-readable program code means for iterating the functions performed by said computer-readable program code means for presenting, said computer-readable program code means for inputting, said computer-readable program code means for determining, said computer-readable program code means for providing, said computer-readable program code means for calculating and said computer-readable program code means for adjusting.

42. The article of manufacture according to claim 41,

said computer-readable program code means for providing feedback to the student based on whether the response is correct or incorrect as determined by said computer-readable program code means for determining and on the response time measured by said computer-readable program code means for measuring a response time.

43. The article of manufacture according to claim 42,

wherein the whole word recognition test;

the partial word recognition test; and

the word sequence recognition test represent three interactive process types respectively corresponding to

choosing a target word from a list of displayed words by first communicating the target then choosing the target word from a list of subsequently displayed words;

filling in letter blanks by first communicating a target word and then filling in letter blanks of a displayed, partial target word having blanked letters; and

determining a correct sequence of words by individually communicating a plurality of words that includes the target word in a first sequence one word at a time, then simultaneously displaying the plurality of words including the target word in a second sequence, and then selecting words from the displayed plurality of words in the first sequence,

said computer-readable program code means for presenting the student with at least one of nine interactive processes wherein each interactive process type includes three interactive processes, the three interactive processes including

a show only process which communicates the target word by displaying the target word for a show interval,

a say only process which communicates the target word by audibly announcing the target word, and

a show and say process that communicates the target word by displaying the target word for a show interval and by audibly announcing the target word.

44. The article of manufacture according to claim 43, further comprising:

second computer-readable program code means for iterating for iterating the functions performed by said computer-readable program code means for presenting, said computer-readable program code means for inputting, said computer-readable program code means for measuring, said computer-readable program code means for determining, and said computer-readable program code means for providing until the response input by said computer-readable program code means for inputting is the correct response as determined by said computer-readable program code means for determining;

said computer-readable program code means for calculating student performance based on a number of iterations performed by said second computer-readable program code means for iterating until the correct response was inputted in said computer-readable program code means for inputting, a difficulty level of the test presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting, and the response time measured by said computer-readable program code means for measuring.

45. The article of manufacture according to claim 44, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for providing the student with a show button, wherein activating the show button causes said computer-readable program code means for presenting to display the target word for the show interval,

computer-readable program code means for providing the student with a say button, wherein activating the say button causes said computer-readable program code means for presenting to aurally announce the target word,

said computer-readable program code means for calculating student performance based on whether the show button or the say button has been activated, a number of iterations performed by said second computer-readable program code means for iterating until the correct response was inputted by said computer-readable program code means for inputting, the difficulty level of the test presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting, and the response time measured by said computer-readable program code means for measuring the response time.

46. The article of manufacture according to claim 43, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for progressively activating interactive processes according to a number of times said first computer-readable program code means for iteration iterates,

said computer-readable program code means for presenting the student with interactive processes activated by said computer-readable program code means for activating.

47. The article of manufacture according to claim 43, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for recording the student'"'"'s response to the interactive process;

said computer-readable program code means for calculating student performance based on an average percent correct of all past student responses recorded by said computer-readable program code means for recording, the difficulty level of the interactive process presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting, and the response time measured by said computer-readable program code means for measuring the response time; and

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting based on the student performance calculated in said computer-readable program code means for calculating.

48. The article of manufacture according to claim 47, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for inputting the student'"'"'s age wherein the student'"'"'s age may be a chronological age or a reading level,

said computer-readable program code means for calculating student performance based on an average percent correct of all past student responses recorded by said computer-readable program code means for recording, the difficulty level of the interactive process presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting, and the response time measured by said computer-readable program code means for measuring the response time; and

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting based on the student performance calculated by said computer-readable program code means for calculating and the student'"'"'s age inputted in said computer-readable program code means for inputting.

49. The article of manufacture according to claim 48, further comprising:

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the difficulty level of the test presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting by adjusting the duration of the show interval if the interactive process is the show only process or the show and say process;

said computer-readable program code means for calculating student performance based on the duration of the show interval, an average percent correct of all past student responses recorded by said computer-readable program code means for recording, the difficulty level of the interactive process presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting, and the response time measured by said computer-readable program code means for measuring.

50. The article of manufacture according to claim 49,

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the duration of the show interval decreasing the show interval after each target word is shown at a rate of decrease that is directly related to the duration of the show interval.

51. The article of manufacture according to claim 49,

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the duration of the show interval adjusting the duration of the show interval based on the student performance and/or student age.

52. The article of manufacture according to claim 49, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for determining if the student performance has substantially decreased from one iteration to another iteration of said first computer-readable program code means for iterating,

temporarily increasing the show interval if said computer-readable program code means for determining determines that the student performance has substantially decreased.

53. The article of manufacture according to claim 49,

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the duration of the show interval adjusting the duration of the show interval by utilizing a random variability factor.

54. The article of manufacture according to claim 53, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for adjusting the random variability factor based on student performance.

55. The article of manufacture according to claim 43,

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the difficulty level of the choosing a target word from a list interactive process presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting by adjusting the number of words in the list based on student age and student performance;

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the difficulty level of the determining a correct sequence of words interactive process presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting by adjusting the number of the words in the sequence according to student age and student performance;

said computer-readable program code means for calculating student performance based on the number of words in the list or sequence.

56. The article of manufacture according to claim 43,

wherein each word utilized in the interactive processes includes an associated word ID that identifies a relative difficulty of the associated word,

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the difficulty level of the interactive process presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting by progressively adding more difficult words to the words utilized in the interactive process according to the number of iterations performed by said first computer-readable program code means for iterating;

and

said computer-readable program code means for calculating student performance based on the word ID of the most recently added word.

57. The article of manufacture according to claim 43,

wherein each word utilized in the interactive processes includes an associated length that corresponds to a relative difficulty of the associated word,

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the difficulty level of the interactive process presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting by progressively adding different words to the words utilized in the interactive process according to the number of iterations performed by said first computer-readable program code means for iterating;

and

said computer-readable program code means for calculating student performance based on the length of the most recently added word.

58. The article of manufacture according to claim 43,

said computer-readable program code means for adjusting the difficulty level of the filling in letter blanks interactive process presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting by gradually and proportionally adjusting how many blanks are to be filled in by the student based on student age, student performance and number of iterations performed by said first computer-readable program code means for iterating;

said computer-readable program code means for calculating student performance based on the number of blanks to be filled in by the student.

59. The article of manufacture according to claim 58, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for randomly determining which letters will be shown as blank when the filling in letter blanks interactive process is presented by said computer-readable program code means for presenting.

60. The article of manufacture according to claim 43, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for moving the target word from one of the interactive processes to another interactive process based on student performance.

61. A method of teaching a student to read, comprising:

constructing sight reading development tests that include one or more interactive processes each with one or more interactive process types;

presenting the sight reading development tests to the student;

inputting a response from the student;

determining student performance according to a response time measured between said presenting and said inputting steps;

adjusting the difficulty level according to the student performance; and

iterating said constructing, presenting, inputting, determining and adjusting wherein said constructing step constructs a next sight reading development test according to the adjusted difficulty level.

62. The method according to claim 61,

said determining step further including determining student performance according to a difficulty level of the sight reading drill.

63. The method according to claim 61,

said determining step further including determining student performance according to a correctness of the response.

64. The method according to claim 61,

said adjusting step including adjusting the difficulty level by adjusting a show interval in which a target word is displayed to the student during said presenting step.

65. The method according to claim 61,

wherein each interactive process and each interactive process type has an associated difficulty level,

said adjusting step including adjusting the difficulty level by adjusting which of the interactive processes or interactive process steps are utilized by said constructing step.

66. The method according to claim 61,

said adjusting step including adjusting the difficulty level by adjusting a difficulty level of the interactive process used by the sight development tests.

67. The method according to claim 61,

said adjusting step including adjusting the difficulty level by adjusting a word set utilized by the sight reading development tests.

68. The method according to claim 61,

said step adjusting including adjusting the difficulty level by adjusting a number of words utilized by the sight development tests.

69. The method according to claim 61, wherein a target word is utilized in a plurality of interactive processes, the method further comprising:

moving the target word from a first interactive process to a second interactive process based on the student performance.

70. The method according to claim 61, said adjusting step including adjusting the difficulty level according to an age of the student.

73. The article of manufacture according to claim 61,

said computer readable program code means for calculating including a difficulty level of the test presented by said computer readable program code means for presenting step when calculating student performance.