This widely used test has been revised and standardised for use in New Zealand. It is an individually administered test, which provides a measure of an aspect of a child's word reading skills, i.e. word recognition. The test card consists of 110 words printed in decreasing size of type and graded in approximate order of difficulty. Used in conjunction with other information, the Burt Word Reading Test should allow teachers to form a broad estimate of a child's reading achievement to aid decisions about appropriate teaching and reading materials, instructional groupings, etc. In addition, the Burt Word Reading Test should prove useful as an indicator of possible wider reading problems.