Online assessment is a helpful tool in the education process, and Gil et al. research its impact on the assessment of reading literacy skills. They focus on three converging research topics dealing with the assessment of reading literacy skills, the use of computers for the assessment of reading skills, and the evaluation of reading literacy skills online by the Read&Answer computer application. It helps readers to better understand the idea of research that is concentrated on e-CompLEC, an electronic version of a standardized paper-and-pencil test (CompLEC).

Many relevant sources were evaluated, and the findings form a qualitative base for further research. The authors make special note of the Read&Answer application developed especially for task-oriented reading situations. They found this application very appropriate for this research on e-CompLEC functionality in predicting reading literacy skills. They focus on two research questions: “Are the online indices provided by e-CompLEC predictive of students’ reading literacy scores?” “Are CompLEC and e-CompLEC equivalent in terms of reliability and validity?”

The test sample was 2649 participants in Spain, with almost half of the participants tested with CompLEC and the rest tested with e-CompLEC. The only difference is computer use within e-CompLEC. Gil et al. present e-CompLEC computer use for task-oriented reading tests produced by CompLEC methodology. They found many interesting points during this research, including that students’ scores are significantly lower in the e-CompLEC environment compared to the CompLEC traditional paper-and-pencil version.

This study is a valuable source of suggestions for research in online reading skills assessment. It is recommended to teachers and researchers in e-learning and online assessment, especially in foreign language learning.