Studies of reading have shown the “Matthew effect” of exposure to print on reading skill: poor readers avoid reading, and ability develops more slowly compared to peers, while good readers improve more quickly through increased exposure. Yet it is difficult to determine just how much an individual reads. The Author Recognition Test (ART, Stanovich & West Reading Research Quarterly, 24(4), 402-433, 1989) and its multilingual adaptations are often used for quantifying exposure to print and have shown high validity and reliability in proficient readers in their dominant language (L1). When studying bilingualism and second language acquisition, it is ideal to have a single test which is equally reliable for all cohorts for comparison, but it is unclear whether ART is effective for speakers of English as foreign language (L2). This study assesses the reliability of ART in an English-medium university and college students with different language backgrounds. Following Moore and Gordon (Behavior Research Methods, 47(4), 1095-1109, 2015), we use item response theory (IRT) to determine how informative the test and its items are. Results showed an expected gradient in ART performance, with L1 speakers showing higher scores than L2 speakers of English, university students showing higher scores than college students, and both cohorts performing better than students in an English as a second language (ESL) university pre-admission program. IRT analyses further revealed that ART is not an informative measure for L2 speakers of English, as most L2 participants show a floor effect. Reasons for this unreliability are discussed, as are alternative measures of print exposure.

阅读研究表明，接触印刷品对阅读技巧的“马太效应”：差的读者避免阅读，能力发展比同龄人慢，而优秀的读者通过增加接触提高得更快。然而，很难确定一个人的阅读量。作者识别测试（ART, Stanovich & West Reading Research Quarterly, 24(4), 402-433, 1989) 及其多语言改编通常用于量化印刷接触，并且在熟练掌握主要语言 (L1) 的读者中显示出很高的有效性和可靠性。在研究双语和第二语言习得时，最好有一个对所有群组都同样可靠的单一测试进行比较，但尚不清楚 ART 是否对说英语作为外语 (L2) 的人有效。本研究评估了 ART 在具有不同语言背景的英语中等大学和大学生中的可靠性。跟随摩尔和戈登（行为研究方法，47(4), 1095-1109, 2015)，我们使用项目响应理论 (IRT) 来确定测试及其项目的信息量。结果显示 ART 表现的预期梯度，L1 演讲者的分数高于 L2 英语演讲者的分数，大学生的分数高于大学生，两个队列的表现都优于英语作为第二语言 (ESL) 大学预科课程的学生入学计划。IRT 分析进一步表明，ART 对讲英语的二语者来说不是一种提供信息的衡量标准，因为大多数二语参与者都表现出地板效应。讨论了这种不可靠性的原因，以及印刷曝光的替代措施。