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.     

MULTIPLE PROCESSING STRATEGIES AND THE CONSTRUCT VALIDITY OF VERBAL REASONING TESTS

This study examines the influence of processing strategies, and the associated metacomponents that determine when to apply them, on the construct validity of a verbal reasoning test. Three strategies for solving verbal analogy items were examined: a rule-oriented strategy, an association strategy, and a partial rule strategy. Construct validity was studied in two separate stages: construct representation and nomothetic span. For construct representation, evidence was obtained that all three strategies, and their related metacomponents, are associated with performance on analogy items. For nomothetic span, the current study found that all three strategies contribute to individual differences in verbal reasoning and to the predictive validity of the test. The results of this study also point to the utility of metacomponents as constructs for describing and understanding test performance. Implications of the results for test development and theories of aptitude are elaborated.     

主位推进作为英-汉翻译单位的可行性

英语是“形合”特征明显的语言，而汉语是“意合”明显突出的语言。在英-汉翻译中，两种语言在信息结构上的差异，往往给翻译中的理解和转换造成了许多障碍，而以主位推进为英-汉翻译的单位，不仅从理论上为英-汉翻译单位的研究提供了一种新的视角，而且在实践上有益于译者，特别是以汉语为母语的译者，正确地解读和分析英语语篇，并有效地进行翻译转换，生成自然、流畅的汉语语篇。     

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.