The discontinue rule is the criterion for determining when to stop subtest administration
and is designed to minimize testing time. With the exception of Sentence Composition,
the discontinue rule is the same for each subtest that uses a discontinue rule. The general
discontinue rule is to stop subtest administration after the student receives a score of 0 on
4 consecutive items. Scores of 0 obtained on reversal items count toward the discontinue
rule. For Sentence Composition, if the student receives a score of 0 on each of the first 2
items in Sentence Combining, stop administration of Sentence Combining and continue
to Sentence Building. If the student receives a score of 0 on each of the first 2 items in
Sentence Building, stop subtest administration.
Be careful not to discontinue subtest administration prematurely. If it is not clear how to
score a response during administration, additional items should be administered until it is
clear that the discontinue criterion has been met. If, after review, it becomes apparent that
the student was given items beyond the point at which testing should have been
discontinued, do not award points for any items beyond the correct discontinue point,
even if the student’s responses were correct.
The two subtests with item sets (Reading Comprehension and Oral Reading Fluency)
have stop points instead of discontinue rules. When administering each of these subtests,
cease administration when all of the items in the appropriate item set have been
administered.
