Validation of the oral inference test in primary school students

Salvador-Carrillo A.; Ripoll Salceda J.C.; Aguado Alonso G. · Revista de Logopedia, Foniatria y Audiologia (2025) · DOI: 10.1016/j.rlfa.2025.100536

Resumen

Background: Inferential ability is one of the most relevant skills that contribute to the complex process of reading comprehension. Therefore, it is important to have a test to evaluate it and assist students with low performance in this skill. Objective: This study aimed to validate the Oral Inference Test (OIT), which considers 4 of the 5 types of pragmatic inferences with a didactic orientation. Methods: The sample consisted of 213 students in 4 th, 5 th, and 6 th grade, 104 boys and 109 girls, from three schools in Lima and Piura, Peru. The test was administered collectively, and the items were read aloud by the examiner. Results: The OIT showed adequate internal consistency, which was not altered by the removal of any item. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis, suggesting a seven-factor model. The correlations of the POI with other reading comprehension tests were moderate, indicating good criterion validity. Conclusions: The OIT proved to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing inferential comprehension in primary school students. The absence of decoding influence in this test facilitates its application. Further studies with larger and more diverse samples are recommended to confirm the applicability and optimization of this test in different educational contexts.

Instituciones: Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista