Validation of a Reading Assessment for Persons With Homonymous Hemianopia or Quadrantanopia

Abstract Objective To preliminarily validate the Visual Skills for Reading Test (VSRT) for assessing reading performance in persons with homonymous hemianopia (HH) or quadrantanopia. Design Retrospective chart review. Setting University-based outpatient low vision rehabilitation center. Participants Persons (N=38) with HH or quadrantanopia who completed the VSRT. Interventions Validation procedures included testing for equivalence of the 3 test versions, estimation of internal consistency reliability, and known-group comparison using VSRT results from previous studies of adults with normal vision and central field loss. Main Outcome Measures Corrected reading rate, reading accuracy rate, type and number of reading errors, and completion time were recorded and evaluated. Results Cronbach α for the VSRT across all participants was .80, which indicated good internal consistency. A known-group comparison showed that persons with a visual field deficit read significantly slower than did normally sighted adults ( t580 =10.13; P