Abstract
Background: Reading on the Internet requires specific skills (e.g., navigation), apart from comprehension abilities, but there is no test in Spanish to assess these skills in adolescents. The goal of this study is to fill this gap with a test called WebLEC, inspired by the PISA framework. Method: WebLEC was validated with secondary education students (n = 941). It includes 28 items of three types (access & retrieve, integrate & interpret, and reflect & evaluate) applied to four reading scenarios (e.g., web portal, search engines, Internet forums, and Wikipedia). WebLEC provides a general reading literacy index, plus two navigation indices. Results: The validity and reliability of WebLEC was confirmed, and a scale to diagnose reading literacy skills is provided. Conclusions: WebLEC assesses adolescents’ Internet reading literacy skills. Given the growing importance of the Internet in daily life and learning situations, assessing these skills is the first step in implementing instructional interventions to foster Internet reading.
