First online: 06 July 2016
How strong and weak readers perform on the Developmental Eye Movement test (DEM): norms for Latvian school-aged children Jelena Serdjukova , Lasma Ekimane, Janis Valeinis, Jurgis Skilters, Gunta Krumina

Abstract
The aim of our study was to determine DEM test performance norms for school-aged children in Latvia, assess how DEM test results correlate with children’s reading rates, compare test performance between strong and weak readers. A modified DEM test and a newly developed reading test were administered to 1487 children during a screening survey. Our study provides norms for adjusted DEM scores for children from 7 to 18 years of age. A high correlation exists between a child’s reading rate and her DEM speed scores for both parts of the test. Weak readers performed significantly more slowly on the DEM test than strong readers. Overall, 6 % of the subject population scored 1 standard deviation below the mean value on both the DEM and reading tests. We conclude that these individuals may be at a higher risk for developing reading impairments.