Discusses a study of fourth-grade students' spelling ability that was conducted in response to reports that students in a particular school district had poor spelling skills. (JC)

The present study examined the effect of three modes of feedback on the seriousness of error types committed on a post-test. The effect of the feedback made on post-test errors was found to be differential and dependent upon the seriousness of errors committed on the pre-test. (Author/LMO)

Reviews research on the possible roles that errors might play in learning to read. Contrasts a productive view of errors with the view that errors are problematic to instruction, stating that the two are compatible. Concludes that errors can have both a generative and an inhibiting function depending upon instructional conditions. (GEA)

Reveals striking differences between the characteristics of oral reading errors made to content and function words: Content word errors tended to be graphically similar but contextually unacceptable, whereas the reverse was true for function word errors. Argues that some errors are better viewed not as errors in word recognition but as…

The advantages of a rule assessment approach to interpreting achievement test results were demonstrated using an S-P chart with coded error types. The problems of similar total test scores resulting from completely different misapprehensions, as well as correct answers resulting from incorrect rules of operation, were addressed using simulated…

Diagnostic evaluation is a major way to help students overcome errors. How such evaluation can be done is discussed, with comments on what should be checked and recorded by the teacher. (MNS)

Three theorems for Pythagorean triples are presented, with discussion of how students can amend their ideas about such numbers. (MNS)

Some limitations of computing with calculators and computers are described, with particular reference to typical computations which might be performed by senior secondary school students. Types of errors, the laws of number, and intermediate round-offs are each illustrated, with conclusions and implications. (MNS)

A content-oriented analysis of written solutions to test items in Israeli high school graduation examinations in mathematics yielded six error categories: misused data; misinterpreted language; logically invalid inference; distorted theorem or definition; unverified solution; and technical error. (Authors/MNS)

The evidence suggests that students in grades 5 through 8 have difficulty relating isometric type drawings to the rectangular solids they represent. Errors made by students were analyzed and the effect of instruction in spatial visualization activities assessed. (MNS)

A theory of sentence production is presented that accounts for facts about speech errors, including (1) the kinds of errors that occur; (2) the constraints on their form; and (3) the conditions that precipitate them. Two simulation models are introduced to illustrate how the theory applies to phonological encoding processes. (Author/LMO)

Reports results obtained when 24 14-year-old students were presented with algebra tasks by a computer-based modeling system and, four months later, comparable paper and pencil tests together with detailed interviews. Comparison of the results revealed profound misunderstandings of algebraic notation and identified classes of strategies used by…

Describes two experiments in which subjects read aloud pairs of nonsense syllables rapidly presented on a display screen or repeated the same syllables presented auditorily. Results support an explanation of the speech error generation process in which a segment's strength is a function of its frequency of occurrence in English. (SED)

Notes the existence of a collection of computer-readable files containing misspellings of English words, which is now available to researchers from the Oxford Text Archive in England. Describes the content of the collection. (FL)

Recent research on native speakers' reactions to nonnative speech that views listeners, speakers, and language from a variety of perspectives using both objective and subjective research paradigms is reviewed. Studies of error gravity, relative intelligibility of language samples, the role of accent, speakers' characteristics, and context in which…