MEASURING SUBSKILLS OF READING: INTERCORRELATIONS BETWEEN STANDARDIZED READING TESTS, TEACHERS' RATINGS, AND READING SPECIALISTS' RATINGS

The study examined the convergent and discriminant validity of three methods for assessing three subskills of reading: word analysis, vocabulary, and comprehension. These three subskills were measured by teachers' ratings, specialists' ratings, and standardized tests. Correlations of all three skills, each measured by the three different methods, were studied by the multi-trait-multimethod procedure. Although there was some support for convergent validity, the study revealed a total lack of discriminant validity for any of the three subskills of reading.     

DETECTION OF A SKILL DICHOTOMY USING STANDARDIZED ACHIEVEMENT TEST ITEMS

Multiple-choice reading comprehension items from a conventional, norm-referenced reading comprehension test are successfully analyzed using a simple latent class model. A classification rule for assigning respondents to "mastery" or "nonmastery" states is presented which simplifies the scoring procedure of Macready and Dayton (1977). A procedure is also derived for estimating the "true," or "disattenuated," latent cross-classification of masters versus nonmasters for two tests, and illustrated using two sets of items from the same content domain. Results support the use of latent class, state mastery models with more heterogeneous item pools than has been advocated by previous authors.     

ESTIMATING THE RELIABILITY, VALIDITY, AND INVALIDITY OF ESSAY RATINGS

In an essay rating study multiple ratings may be obtained by having different raters judge essays or by having the same rater(s) repeat the judging of essays. An important question in the analysis of essay ratings is whether multiple ratings, however obtained, may be assumed to represent the same true scores. When different raters judge the same essays only once, it is impossible to answer this question. In this study 16 raters judged 105 essays on two occasions; hence, it was possible to test assumptions about true scores within the framework of linear structural equation models. It emerged that the ratings of a given rater on the two occasions represented the same true scores. However, the ratings of different raters did not represent the same true scores. The estimated intercorrelations of the true scores of different raters ranged from .415 to .910. Parameters of the best fitting model were used to compute coefficients of reliability, validity, and invalidity. The implications of these coefficients are discussed.     

THE EFFECT OF PHYSICAL CONDITIONS OF THE TEST ROOM ON STANDARDIZED ACHIEVEMENT TEST SCORES

A group of 384 ninth-grade students were given a standardized achievement test, half under relatively poor physical conditions in an auditorium and half in relatively adequate physical conditions in regular classrooms. An analysis of covariance (using I.Q. as the covariate) indicated no significant difference due to the physical conditions.     

THE VALIDITY OF HIGHER-ORDER QUESTIONS AS A PROCESS INDICATOR OF EDUCATIONAL QUALITY

One way to assess the quality of education in post-secondary institutions is through the use of performance indicators. Studies that have compared currently popular process indicators (e.g., library size, percentage of faculty with PhD) found that after controlling for incoming student ability, these process indicators tend to be weakly associated with student outcomes (Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005). In addition, while much research has found that students increase their critical thinking skills as a result of attending college, little is known about what goes on during the college experience that contributes to this. The purpose of this research was to examine the validity of higher-order questions on tests and assignments as a process indicator by comparing it with gains in critical thinking skills among college students as an outcome indicator. The present research consisted of three studies that used different designs, samples, and instruments. Overall, it was found that frequency of higher-order questions can be a valid process indicator as it is related to gains in students’ critical thinking skills.     

VALIDITY OF THE DISCRIMINATION INDEX AS A MEASURE OF ITEM QUALITY1

Numerous writers have suggested that the discrimination index may be helpful in identifying faulty test items. The purpose of this study was to investigate systematically the validity of the index for this purpose. To attain this objective, two forms of an arithmetic-reasoning test were written. In each form, the items were designed to vary in quality with respect to nine item-writing principles, and on the basis of the responses of 364 examinees, a discrimination index was computed for each item. Next, the items were rated independently for quality by three judges who used a check list of the nine item-writing principles. The average of their ratings for each item was used as the criterion for determining the validity of the indices. The results indicate that the discrimination index is a moderately valid measure of item quality. The implications of this finding are discussed.     

萃取分光光度法测定海带中的碘

用碱熔法使海带中的碘以Ｉ－形式转移到溶液中，然后在酸性条件下用过氧化氢氧化，三氯甲烷萃取，经分光光度标准曲线法测得海带中碘含量大约为４２６．８μｇ／ｇ。该方法可用以提取和测定海带中碘含量，回收率高，简便可靠。     

QUICK ESTIMATES OF THE RELATIVE EFFICIENCY OF TWO TESTS AS A FUNCTION OF ABILITY LEVEL

When comparing two tests that measure the same trait, an overall comparison is not enough. Separate comparisons should be made at different levels of the trait. A simple, practical, approximate formula is given for doing this. The adequacy of the approximation is illustrated using data comparing seven nationally known sixth-grade reading tests.