Testing a child's reading development can be one of the most time consuming jobs in a teacher's year. There are many tests, but all require taking notes, and this has to be done without distraction. This package, for ages seven to eleven and part of a Test Your Child series, is a help to both the teacher, and the parent who is curious to know the child's reading level.

There are two tapes containing five programs and an explanatory book containing a rating chart. They use material from Hodder and Stoughton, educational publishers.

Program two, a "reading sentences aloud" test, requires adult supervision and gives a fair indication of ability. Program three, a comprehension test, gives a score after three passages have been completed. This can be daunting, especially if the child has problems with reading.

Programs four and five deal with vocabulary and spelling ability.

Overall, a good package but with one annoying fault: when a mistake is made it shows where the mistake *is*, but not *why* it is a mistake. Remember that this is a testing package and not a teaching package.

M.W.