Prototyping and interface design of an automated screening test to evaluate the linguistic processing abilities of school children

Abstract

The performance of Brazilian students in reading tests, both national and international, have been worrisome lately. However, it is widely known that fluency in reading is essential for both personal growth and national development. In this study, we present a prototype of a digital system platform, based on a UCD (User Centered Design) approach, to detect language impediments that can negatively impact literacy acquisition in schoolchildren. This system is based on a battery of tests created earlier by one of the authors (Leonor Scliar-Cabral). The initial results indicate that this digital system has the potential to improve on the original tests battery, making it more effective and easy to deploy, with the promise to help improve the competence and reading fluency of Brazilian elementary school students.