Abstract
An analysis of alternate form reliability of three commercially prepared informal reading inventories was performed in this study. Seventy-five fourth grade students from two elementary schools were randomly assigned to one of three IRIs and administered Forms A and B of an inventory. This resulted in the allocation of twenty-five students to each IRI. The Analytical, Basic, and Ekwall Reading inventories were used.Pearson and generalizability coefficients were computed for the data. Results indicated that the coefficients ranged between .61 and .78. Estimated variance components from the generalizability analysis revealed that little error could be directly attributed to the forms, as the largest variance component was attributed to the subjects themselves.While the results of the study did not reveal perfect reliability, critics cannot condemn these IRIs for being unreliable. Reading researchers need to address the question of what an acceptable level of reliability would be for informal reading inventories.