This study sought evidence of validity for the Reading Competence Test of Words and Nonwords (in Portuguese: Teste de Competência de Leitura de Palavras e Pseudopalavras or TCLPP). This test evaluates silent reading of isolated items by asking the student to determine if presented items of written image-word pairs are correct or not. Two thousand nine hundred and ninety four students from the 1st to 4th grade in public Brazilian elementary schools, of both genders, and between the ages of 6 and 11 years, participated, collectively evaluated in the TCLPP. The results showed the TCLPP’s sensitivity for discriminating competence in reading between grades, supporting evidence of validity based on the relationships between the various levels. The difficulty in the items was compatible with the theory on which the test is based, providing evidence of validity based on the response process. Finally, two factors which compose the test were verified, one involving logographic and phonological strategies, and the other, lexical, attesting to evidence of validity based on the internal structure.
