The ability of children during the first month of kindergarten to correctly recognize and identify the letters of the alphabet was examined. A total of 444 children were tested and only the data from children who could correctly recognize one or more, but less than 26, letters were analyzed. Children were grouped according to the number of letters…

Data are presented that challenge the difficulty ordering for anaphoric syntax (e.g., pronouns) proposed by Bormuth, Manning, Carr, and Pearson. It is suggested that any such difficulty ordering which results from tests of the form proposed by Bormuth has uncontrolled variability due to semantic factors that have yet to be carefully analyzed and…

The original version of the "Helen Keller Story" and a linguistically more complex version of it were used to test the hypothesis that reading comprehension is affected by the complexity of linguistic structures. Complexity was measured by four readability measures, the mean number of words per T-unit, and the Schmidt-Kittrell Linguistic…

Errors, or "bugs", in addition and subtraction problems of signed numbers are driven by misconceptions or incomplete knowledge at various components of procedural tasks, and result in erroneous rules of operation for carrying out computational problems. These rules, including the right one, are represented by the responses to a…

Many people tend to think of the economic problems of higher education as fiscal concern--as a business office problem in financial management. But the full scope of improvements needed in resources management to make higher education more cost-effective is much broader than mere financial control. A central part of resources management must deal…

Suggests that difficulty is a parameter of all cognitive tasks. Therefore, a search for the common mechanisms across tasks will lead to understanding of the system rather than understanding of only the paradigms. Uses earlier research by DeRosa and Morin (1967, 1970) in exploring retrieval strategy. (Author/RK)

Estimates of the effects of use of formula scoring on the individual examinee's score are presented. Results for easy, moderate, and hard tests are examined. Using test characteristics from several studies shows that some examinees would increase scores substantially if they were to answer items omitted under formula directions. (SLD)

Correlations between elementary sensory tasks and IQ scores support Galtonian theories of intelligence, which emphasize speed of signal encoding and transmission in the nervous system. Research involving 73 male Navy recruits indicates that such theories are warranted only when elementary tasks are viewed separately. Task complexity in…

Examines the readability and educational levels of 25 periodicals, classified as newspaper format, neutral, minority, male, and female magazines. Indicates that periodicals have similar readability levels but significantly different reader education levels.

This article considers a set of assumptions about the antecedents and consequences of effort expenditure when a subject is engaged in achievement-oriented behavior. It examines both static models (level of effort is constant over trials) and dynamic models (preceding task outcome may influence current level of effort). (Author/BW)

The article describes studies of effectiveness of a secondary task as a measure of the blind mobility information processing workload. Secondary task performance is shown to be a useful index of effects of preview and route difficulty, as well as perceptual and cognitive demands of different mobility aids. (Author/CL)

A method of analyzing textual learning materials is described. Using data from student questionnaires, the method reveals the underlying structure of concepts in the materials and can pinpoint the location and cause of student difficulties.

This extensive annotated bibliography lists sources related to Supplemental Instruction (SI) and Video-Based Supplemental Instruction (VSI). The SI model of academic assistance helps students in historically difficult classes master content while they develop and integrate learning and study strategies. SI was created at the University of…