A model of test item dependency is presented and used to illustrate the effect that violations of local independence have on the behavior of item characteristic curves. The dependency model is flexible enough to simulate the interaction of a number of factors including item difficulty and item discrimination, varying degrees of item dependence,…

Previous research has concluded that no reliable individual differences have been demonstrated in goal-setting studies, probably because the goals were assigned rather than set by the individuals. This study examined individual's self-set goals, certainty, and task performance of two work periods in a group setting as a function of Type A behavior…

This paper is the transcript of a talk given to those who use test information but who have little technical background in test theory. The concepts of modern test theory are compared with traditional test theory, as well as a probable future test theory. The explanations given are couched within an extended metaphor that allows a full description…

A new indicator of item difficulty, which identifies effectiveness ranges, overcomes the limitations of other item difficulty indexes in describing the difficulty of an item or a test as a whole and in aiding the selection of appropriate ability level items for a test. There are three common uses of the term "item difficulty": (1) the probability…

Educators generally assume that questioning promotes learning and that higher level questions do so better than lower level questions. But there are a number of problems with these assumptions. First, the classification of questions as higher level or lower level is ambiguous. The distinction is confused by such issues as non-controversial…

The main aim of this study was to compare children diagnosed as dysphonetic and dyseidetic on a number of mental processing variables to determine if opposite patterns of relative strength and weakness between the groups could be documented. Another aim was to externally validate the diagnostic criteria, which were based on standardized clinical…

A new readability formula is designed to work on passages that are 40 to 99 words long, while existing readability formulas require a passage of 300 words or longer. The new formula requires the passage to have at least three sentences and is reliable for the fourth through the twelfth grades. (Four figures which demonstrate the use of the formula…

Examined were preschoolers' spontaneous use of correspondence strategies. A total of 40 children 4 and 5 years of age were asked to divide a pile of cookies into two equal groups. The cookies were two sizes, halves and wholes, so even though there were trials with an odd number of cookies, it was possible to divide the cookies evenly. When…

To determine whether consensus existed among teachers about the complexity of common classroom materials, a survey was administered to 66 pre-service and in-service kindergarten and prekindergarten teachers. Participants were asked to rate 14 common classroom materials as simple, complex, or super-complex. Simple materials have one obvious part,…

To investigate the effects of task difficulty level and control over the level of difficulty on children's intrinsic motivation to play, attempts and successes were recorded as 80 four-year-old children played a bean bag game. The object of the game was to hit a target from one of five distances. Each of the distances constituted a different level…

This study was conducted in an effort to determine the value of using Bloom's "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Cognitive Domain," along with Sanders'"Classroom Questions: What Kinds," in instructional sessions designed to increase the cognitive level of questioning by preservice classroom teachers. The question posed was: Are student teachers…

Proposes to test the hypothesis that despite previous negative findings, readers do alter their reading rate according to their purpose and to establish test conditions under which this competence can be exhibited. (Author/RC)

Describes a study which tested two hypotheses with 4- to 5-year-olds: (1) that a positive relationship exists between repeated exposure and preference for objects of peers, and (2) that preference for stimuli can be modulated by their relative novelty and complexity. (JMB)

Research supported in part by Veterans' Administration Medical Research Funds.