Reading diagnostic tool and method

Abstract

The presently disclosed subject matter provides a system and method for assessing reading skills and comprehension in an accurate and readily accessible system available online or through an app. The tool provides a system and method wherein the user is recorded reading source text, which is then reproduced as text which can be compared to the source text using an algorithm to identify errors, sight words, and other features assisting in reading assessment. In addition, a set of questions may also be provided to the user based on the source text so that reading comprehension can be tested at the same time. The system and method can also be used with a gameplay evaluation method (GEM) in order to assess if particular levels of reading skills have been achieved. The system and method can provide an invaluable tool in identifying and early treatment of reading disorders such as dyslexia.

Description

[0001]READING DIAGNOSTIC TOOL AND METHOD CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application Ser. No. 63 / 511,269, filed June 30, 2023, the disclosure of said application being incorporated herein in its entirety. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a system and method for measuring the quality of one’s reading ability, and the quality of comprehending what was read. The system and method can be utilized in an interactive program or an app and can provide a quick and accurate measure of reading ability proficiency and comprehension that may be useful in assessing reading skills or in diagnosing reading disorders such as dyslexia in both children and adults.. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE There has been a continuing need for developing diagnostic tools that can measure the quality of reading ability of both children and adults, and also provide an efficient and useful measure of the quality of comprehending what was read. In addition, there has been a need for a system that can be readily accessed online or through an app and which can provide quick and accurate measures of reading comprehension so as to possibly diagnose certain reading disabilities. However, although various systems have been tried, none have provided the advantages and ease of having a quick and effective system and method that is readily available online or through an app and can provide quick and accurate measures of reading skills and comprehension. There is thus a distinct need to develop systems and methods that can be readily accessed by children and adults either online or through an app that can provide a quick and accurate indication of reading skills and / or comprehension. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE As a result, the present inventors have developed a new system and method whereby a quick and accurate indication of reading skills and comprehension can be provided in an app or in an interactive system that can be accessed by users online. As described further below, the present disclosure is directed to a system and method for diagnosing and determining levels of reading skills and comprehension using an algorithm comparing source reading material provided to a user with the converted recorded text of the user’s voice recording. The comparison tracks the differences between the source material and recorded converted text, such as by looking for certain unique “interrupter” markers that may include omitted words, inserted words, replaced words, repeated words, misread words, skipped lines, etc., and then using these interrupters to determine the level of reading skill or disorder of the reader. Advantages of the presently-disclosed subject matter will become evident to those of ordinary skill in the art after a study of the description and drawing figures provided herewith. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES Figure 1 is a schematic view of some of the aspects of the system and method of the disclosure. Figure 2 is a schematic view of additional aspects of the system and method of the disclosure. Figure 3 is a schematic view of additional aspects of the system and method of the disclosure. Figure 4 is a schematic view of a diagnostic testing system and method of the disclosure wherein the diagnostic reading algorithm is looped in with GEM (Gameplay Evaluation Method) so as to create a customized graded reading experience for the reader in order to arrive at the reader’s accurate reading level. DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS The details of one or more exemplary non-limiting embodiments of the presently-disclosed subject matter are set forth herein. Modifications to embodiments described herein and other embodiments will be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art after a study of the information provided in this document. The information provided in this document, and particularly the specific details of the exemplary embodiments as described, is provided primarily for clearness of understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom. While the terms used herein are believed to be well-understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, descriptions in accordance with the disclosure are set forth to provide explanation of the presently-disclosed subject matter. In accordance with the present disclosure, a diagnostic tool is provided which comprises a system and method for assessing and diagnosing reading skill and comprehension using an interactive program that can be accessed online or through an app in conjunction with a user’s mobile device or a computer device such as a laptop, tablet, desktop computer, etc. In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided, along with a system configured to carry out the method, for using a reading diagnostic tool that comprises an interactive program that is useable on a mobile device or other computer device, and a schematic depiction of the process and system is described herein and shown in Figures 1-3 attached hereto. The system and method may be carried our using a device such as an interactive program. In one exemplary embodiment, reading material is presented to the user on the screen of the user’s mobile device or computer device as shown schematically in box 102 of Figure 1. In this embodiment, reading material known as source text 12 is presented to the user on the screen of the mobile device or computer device, and the user is instructed to read the source text normally, speaking out clearly, this aspect of the disclosure shown schematically at box 104. The amount of source text provided can be varied depending on the age of the user or the user’s expected reading skill level, but in one exemplary embodiment, about 3 pages of text are provided for the user to read. Next, as shown schematically in box 106, as the user reads aloud, the reading is recorded by the device’s microphone 16. In an exemplary embodiment, the microphone is accessed using built-in functions of the mobile or computer device so that the user can access the microphone 16 and engage it during the reading. At this point, as reflected in schematic box 108, speech-to-tex tools are used, such as those provided by Google or other sources, in order to convert the voice recording made by the user when reading the source material as shown at 12 to text. The voice recording once converted into text is then shown on the screen as reproduced text 14. As shown schematically in Figure 2, once the reproduced text 14 have been made, the reproduced text is then compared with the source text 12, as represented schematically by box 110. The comparison can be done using an analyzer algorithm 20 which is described further herein. As shown schematically at box 112, once the comparison of source text with reproduced text has been carried out using the analyzer algorithm 20, the result of the reading assessment including any observed deficiencies are presented on a reporting screen, along with a score, such as through the algorithm reading score 22 in Figure 2. This aspect of the disclosure can provide a quick and efficient method for assessing reading ability in a manner that may be used to assess or diagnose levels of reading disabilities in children or adults. In certain exemplary embodiments, the system and method of the disclosure includes an algorithm for determining a reading score which is based on a variety of comparisons between the source text 12 and the reproduced text 14. For example, the reading score, such as shown at element 22, may be obtained by adding up the number of words in the entire source text 12 reading material provided to the user and including a measurement determined by the algorithm that analyzes the errors created in the reproduced text. The reading analyzer algorithm of the present disclosure asses a variety of errors in the reproduced text, including omitted word)s), inserted word(s), replaced word(s), repeated word(s), misread word(s), and skipped line(s). In addition, the analyzer can detect and analyze sight words and concrete words identification, and can also categorize sight words, aka Abstract words and concrete words. Further, the analyzer can also detect other signs of reading issues such as hesitations between words and at punctuation points. To find each of these various occurrences that may signal possible reading issues, the analyzer 20 may use a combination of processes, including existing functions provided by third parties such as Google text analysis API, or Chat GPT API. As a result, as shown in element 22 in Figure 2, a reading score that is determined based on the above criteria is provided on the screen for the user, and this provides a valuable tool in determining reading proficiency of diagnosing possible reading problems such as dyslexia. Another aspect of the system and method using the reading diagnostic tool of the present disclosure is shown schematically in Figure 3. In this aspect of the disclosure, a system and method is employed so as to get further assessment of a user’s reading comprehension skill set. This aspect of the system and method can be used as a standalone method to determine reading comprehension skills or can be used in conjunction with the reading ability testing set forth above to give a more complete picture of a user’s reading and comprehension skills. In this embodiment of the disclosure, as reflected by box 114, five questions, such as shown in screen 24, are presented to the user based on the passages in the source text 12 previously provided as described above in Figs.1 and 2 and schematic elements 102, 104, 106, 108, and 112 also described above. The number of questions is not limited to five, but can be any suitable plurality of questions (e.g. up to 10 or 20) which will provide additional information with regard to reading comprehension level. In one suitable embodiment, questions 1-5 are in the form of multiple choice questions for which there is only one correct answer, as shown schematically at box 114 in Figure 2. Next, as reflected schematically by box 116, the user provides answers to the five questions based on the comprehension and understanding of the user based on the reading of source text 12 as described above. Once the answers have been entered by the user, the accuracy of the answers to the five questions is determined such as reflected by box 118 in Fig.3, and a measure of the reading comprehension is provided based on the number of correct answers to the five questions. At this point, as reflected in the process at box 120, the reading comprehension scores of the user are present on the screen, such as shown at element 26 in Fig.3. As a result of the system and method of the present disclosure, the reading diagnostic tool as used above can provide an assessment or a “report card” including the metrics of the user’s reading and comprehension skills based on a set of markers and measures as identified above. The system and method of the present disclosure this can provide an invaluable tool in the early detection of reading disorders for children and adults. Another aspect of the system and method of using the reading diagnostic tool of the present disclosure along with and analysis conducted through a method known as the Gameplay Evaluation Method (GEM) is shown schematically in Figure 4. In this aspect of the disclosure, a system and method is employed so as to utilize the GEM method and system so as to structure the results and best determine what level of skill a particular reader has. The GEM analysis can similarly be used with other embodiments of the present disclosure as described herein. The GEM method and system is that which is described in US patent applications Ser. No.17 / 526,686 filed November 15, 2021 and published as US 2022 / 0152510 on May 19, 2022, and Ser. No.18 / 522,965 filed November 23, 2023 and published as US 2024 / 0100436 on March 28, 2024, both applications incorporated herein in their entirety. As shown in those applications, the GEM method and system relates to a system and method for evaluating through tracking of gameplay whether an advanced level of reading skills is met, and allowing a game player to stay at a level suited to that user’s proficiency, or to allow that user to proceed to the next highest level that would be appropriate based on reading proficiency as reflected in the gameplay results being tracked. The GEM system was originated to allows a game developer to observe in real-time how players worldwide are interacting with the game, with one specific application being in games designed to monitor and measure reading skills and proficiency. Some of the games monitored by GEM are those designed to assist readers with reading disorders such as dyslexia, and thus GEM will allow one to navigate through such a game and only advance to the next level when a certain level of reading proficiency is shown. GEM may be used by a developer to keep a birds-eye view of gameplay as it happens, but it also may be used to establish an automatic system wherein performance and proficiency at a certain level of reading skills through gameplay in order to progress to the next level. Such an analysis may be done by placing tags at certain points in a game program, or in the case of the reading diagnostic systems of the present disclosure, GEM is set up at a particular level so that an initial level of proficiency can be determined, and if the reader shows a certain level of proficiency at that reading level, the reader or user may be advanced to the next round of testing. The analysis using the GEM model may then be utilized sequentially so that testing will continue to occur at the next highest level and continue until the correct grade level of reading is determined. In the reading diagnostic system shown schematically in Fig.4, reader 50 is presented with the diagnostic reading algorithm as described above and shown in Figs.1-3. In the schematic shown in Figure 4, the system is set up so that a reader will be able to obtain an assessment of reading skills and determine the proper level or reading proficiency in a step-by-step manner so as to create a customized graded reading experience for the reader in order to arrive at the reader’s accurate reading level. In an exemplary embodiment, the reading diagnostic testing system can be set up so that at the starting level of source text will be at kindergarten level as shown schematically at box 210 in the flow chart 200 as shown in Fig.4. In this example, the reader 50 is provided with source text at the kindergarten level as shown in the system described above and shown at element 12 in Fig.1, and the reader 50 will read aloud into a recording device such as microphone 16, and this recording is reproduced as reproduced text such as shown at element 14 in Fig.1. In the next step of the process or flow chart, the reproduced text 14 is compared with the source text 12, but in this embodiment, the analysis is conducted using the Gameplay Evaluation Method or GEM as described above, and this is shown schematically at box 212 in the flow chart of Fig.4. In such a process, the GEM system will assess reading skills using the tools and diagnostic processes described above wherein the reader’s ability to read source text is compared with a vocal record of the reading as reproduced text. As indicated above, the spoken text is transcribed and reproduced using any conventional system which allows for automatically transcribing from recorded sounds as well known in the industry and on many devices. Using GEM, a determination of the diagnostic comparison between the source text and the reproduced text is made, and GEM is set up so that if a certain score is net or exceeded, the reader may be allowed to continue into the next level of testing reflecting a higher grade level. If a certain score is not met, the system will indicate that the reader is not proficient at the level testing, and the reader will not be advanced into the next level of testing until that reader reaches a level that shows proficiency at a particular grade reading level. For example, the test can be set up to require a reader to complete two different tests at the first level, e.g., kindergarten level, wherein the score is more than 80% correct for two consecutive tests. The level at which reading proficiency may be demonstrated will be determined by the person running the testing and setting up the GEM analysis, but in one exemplary example, a completed test scoring 80% or more for two consecutive tests may be used to determine if the reader can then be advanced to the next level of testing. As shown in the flow chart in Fig .4, following the analysis using the parameters with regard to reading skills described above and the GEM system described herein, an assessment is made as to whether the reader is sufficiently proficient in reading based on the test results. In one exemplary embodiment, as shown in box 214, a determination is made as to whether sufficient skills are shown to advance to the next level, and in this case, the determination is made on the basis of whether reader 50 received more than an 80% level of proficiency in two consecutive tests. If a determination is made that the reader did not successfully score more than 80% in tow consecutive tests, the reading level will be determined as below the kindergarten level, as shown at box 216 of the flow chart. On the other hand, if a score of more than 80% is achieved on two consecutive tests, the reader is advanced to the next level of testing such as that one shown in box 220 of the flow chart in Fig.4 wherein testing is now conducted at a grade 1 level of proficiency. As shown starting at box 220, the process described above for carrying our an initial determination of reading proficiency at the kindergarten or K level is thus conducted for readers who have passed the initial level showing proficiency at the kindergarten level. In a similar manner, source text 12 is again provided to the reader, but in this case, the source text is at a grade 1 level. The reader will again read the source text aloud into a recording device such as microphone 16, with the spoken words reproduced into text such as shown at element 14 of Fig.1. In this case, a similar analysis is determined at box 222 using the GEM method and system wherein (describe GEM). As in the case for level K described above, the data obtained using the system described above is analyzed by GEM, and a determination is made at box 224 of the flow chart wherein a determination is again made as to whether sufficient skills are shown to advance to the next level. In the case as shown at box 224, the determination is made on the basis of whether the reader received more than an 80% level of proficiency in two consecutive tests at level 1. If a determination is made that the reader did not successfully score more than 80% in two consecutive tests at level 1 reading skills, the reading level will be determined as kindergarten level, as shown at box 226 of the flow chart. On the other hand, if a score of more than 80% is achieved on two consecutive tests, the reader is advanced to the next level of testing (level 2) as shown in box 230 of the flow chart in Fig.4 wherein testing is now conducted at a grade 2 level of proficiency. A similar level of testing is shown in the schematics at steps 230, 232, 234, and 236 with the ultimate result of determining if the reading skill level is at level 1, if it is higher than grade level 1 and the reader will continue to advance to the next level of testing as shown at box 240. As indicated therein, the present method and system can be carried out in multiple levels beyond reading grade 2 if so desired. Once again, as reflected above and in Fig.4 at elements 212, 222, 232, and potentially for additional levels, the GEM system may be used for the analysis whether a level of reading proficiency is established, e.g., 80% or higher in two consecutive tests, and in this manner, the GEM analysis will be used to determine if the reader has not met the level of proficiency tested, at which point the testing will be completed and the reading level determined as shown in element 216, 226, and 236 in Fig.4. On the other hand, if GEM has determined successful, completion of a level, e.g., by obtaining more than an 80% score on two consecutive tests, the user may then be advanced to the next highest level, and multiple levels above that level until the process level of reading skills is reached and determined. As would be apparent to one skilled in the art, the exact level determined to reflect a particular level of reading can be determined by those running the tests, e.g., a requirement of a higher score or a score that is achieved more than twice may also be used to determine the level of reading skill, but this level will be determined by the tester and will be arranged to reflect acceptable measures of proficient reading at each level, e.g., kindergarten, grade level I, grade level 2, and so on. In another embodiment of the disclosure, the present system can be used on webpages on the internet and / or as an app that works on both Apple and Google devices. The reading diagnostic tool as described herein thus can be used conveniently and efficiently by the user either online or through the use of an app. In short, the system and method as described herein can provide for the first time a quick and accurate assessment of reading skills and comprehension skills in children or adults and may be an invaluable tool in identifying and early treatment of reading disorders such as dyslexia.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method for assessing a user’s reading skill level online or through an app using a mobile device or a computer device, said method comprising (a) presenting source reading material to a user on a mobile screen of the mobile device or a computer screen of the computer device; (b) instructing the user to read the reading material aloud; (c) recording the user’s voice when reading of the reading material; (d) converting the user’s voice recording into text; (e) comparing the source reading material with the converted text of the user’s voice recording; and (f) providing results of the comparison of the source reading material with the converted text of the user’s voice recording onto a recording screen along with a score based on how closely the user’s voice recording matches the source reading material; and (g) using the results in (f) to assess the user’s reading skill level.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein about three pages of text are provided for the user to read as source text.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein an analyzer algorithm is used to compare the source reading material to the converted text of the reproduced voice recording.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the analyzer algorithm determines errors in the reproduced text.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the errors in the reproduced text are selected from the group consisting of omitted word(s), inserted word(s), replaced word(s), repeated word(s), misread word(s), and skipped line(s).

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the analyzer algorithm can detect and analyze sight words and concrete words identification, and can also categorize sight words, Abstract words and concrete words.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the analyzer algorithm can detect and analyze hesitations between words and at punctuation points.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the user speaks into a microphone on the user’s mobile device or computer device.

9. .The method of claim 1, further comprising: (h) presenting a plurality of multiple-choice questions to the user based on the source reading material; (i) recording the user’s answers to the multiple-choice questions; (j) measuring the percentage of correct answers to the multiple choice questions; and (k) providing results of the percentage of correct answers to the multiple choice questions on the recording screen; and (l)l using the results in (k) to assess the user’s reading comprehension level. 10 .The method of claim 9, wherein the number of multiple choice questions presented to the user is five.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the results of the comparison in (f) is obtained using a gameplay evaluation system (GEM) wherein if a specific score based on reading skills at a certain level of proficiency is met, the user will be instructed to advance to a test of reading skills at the next highest level, and if the specific score based on reading skills at a certain level is not met, the test will be ended, and proficiency will be determined to be at a level below the level tested.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the certain level of proficiency is determined by whether or not the reader achieves a score of more than 80% for two consecutive tests at the level tested.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the certain level of proficiency is determined by whether or not the reader achieves a score of 80% or more for two consecutive tests at the level tested.

14. A system for assessing a user’s reading skill level online or through an app comprising a device that is configured to: (a) present source reading material to a user on a mobile screen or a computer screen; (b) instruct the user to read the reading material aloud; (c) record the user’s voice when reading of the reading material; (d) convert the user’s voice recording into text; (e) compare the source reading material with the converted text of the user’s voice recording; and (f) provide results of the comparison of the source reading material with the converted text of the user’s voice recording onto a recording screen along with a score based on how closely the user’s voice recording matches the source reading material, wherein the results provided in (f) can be used to assess the user’s reading skills.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the device is further configured to: (g) provide a plurality of multiple-choice questions to the user based on the source reading material; (h) record the user’s answers to the multiple-choice questions; (i) measure the percentage of correct answers to the multiple choice questions; and (j) provide results of the percentage of correct answers to the multiple choice questions on the recording screen and provide a score that is reflective of the user’s reading comprehension skills; wherein the results provided in (j) can be used to assess the user’s reading comprehension skills.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the device is an interactive program.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein the results of the comparison in (f) is obtained using a gameplay evaluation system (GEM) wherein if a specific score based on reading skills at a certain level of proficiency is met, the user will be instructed to advance to a test of reading skills at the next highest level, and if the specific score based on reading skills at a certain level is not met, the test will be ended, and proficiency will be determined to be at a level below the level tested.

18. A method for assessing a user’s reading skill and comprehension level online or through an app comprising (a) presenting source reading material to a user on a mobile screen or a computer screen; (b) instructing the user to read the reading material aloud; (c) recording the user’s voice when reading of the reading material; (d) converting the user’s voice recording into text; (e) comparing the source reading material with the converted text of the user’s voice recording; (f) providing results of the comparison of the source reading material with the converted text of the user’s voice recording onto a recording screen along with a score based on how closely the user’s voice recording matches the source reading material; (g) providing a plurality of multiple-choice questions to the user based on the source reading material; (h) recording the user’s answers to the multiple-choice questions; (i) measuring the percentage of correct answers to the multiple choice questions; (j) providing results of the percentage of correct answers to the multiple choice questions on the recording screen; and (k) using said results from (f) and (j) above to assess both the user’s reading skill level and the user’s reading comprehension level.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein an analyzer algorithm is used to compare the source reading material to the converted text of the reproduced voice recording.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the analyzer algorithm determines errors in the reproduced text.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the errors in the reproduced text are selected from the group consisting of omitted word(s), inserted word(s), replaced word(s), repeated word(s), misread word(s), and skipped line(s).

22. The method of claim 19 wherein the analyzer algorithm can detect and analyze sight words and concrete words identification, and can also categorize sight words, Abstract words and concrete words.

23. The method of claim 19 wherein the analyzer algorithm can detect and analyze hesitations between words and at punctuation points.

24. The method of claim 18 wherein the results of the comparison in (f) is obtained using a gameplay evaluation system (GEM) wherein if a specific score based on reading skills at a certain level of proficiency is met, the user will be instructed to advance to a test of reading skills at the next highest level, and if the specific score based on reading skills at a certain level is not met, the test will be ended, and proficiency will be determined to be at a level below the level tested.

25. A system for assessing a user’s reading skill level and reading comprehension level online or through an app comprising an interactive program that is configured to: (a) present source reading material to a user on a mobile screen or a computer screen; (b) instruct the user to read the reading material aloud; (c) record the user’s voice when reading of the reading material; (d) convert the user’s voice recording into text; (e) compare the source reading material with the converted text of the user’s voice recording; (f) provide results of the comparison of the source reading material with the converted text of the user’s voice recording onto a recording screen along with ascore based on how closely the user’s voice recording matches the source reading material; (g) provide a plurality of multiple-choice questions to the user based on the source reading material; (h) record the user’s answers to the multiple-choice questions; (i) measure the percentage of correct answers to the multiple choice questions; and (j) provide results of the percentage of correct answers to the multiple choice questions on the recording screen; wherein the results in (f) and (j) can be used to assess both the user’s reading skill level and the user’s reading comprehension level.

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