The use of a radio interview for teaching advanced listening comprehension is described, and ideas for classroom discussion are proposed. (MSE)

Spanish and English readability formulas were applied to sample passages from learning materials and textbooks used in bilingual classrooms in order to ascertain their analytic and predictive capabilities. Two main factors, word difficulty and sentence difficulty, accounted for most of the total variance in readability research using factor…

Drawing on research regarding a midwestern credit union, factors characterizing why and how credit unions and their members use credit union documents are discussed in regard to: characteristics of document availability; structure of interactions in which documents are used; attitudes and beliefs about the documents; and functions of documents.…

Intermediate-level English as a second language students were examined for levels of reading comprehension. Half of each group (experimental and control) received more complete versions of test passages than the other half, and the experimental group was taught appropriate cultural background information between tests. Background knowledge did…

This article discusses the application of the Golden Rule procedure to items of the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Using item response theory, the analyses indicate that the Golden Rule procedures are ineffective in detecting biased items and may undermine the reliability and validity of tests. (Author/JAZ)

One English and two Spanish 24-word lists were administered as vocabulary tests to 80 English-speaking and 80 Spanish-speaking (Mexican and Puerto Rican) eighth graders, respectively. Results provide insights into the frequency of use as a valid measure of word difficulty in bilingual vocabulary test construction and translation. (TJH)

Thirty-two hearing-impaired adolescents were assessed on comprehension of three anaphoric forms within conjoined sentences: repeated noun, personal pronouns, and null form. The null form anaphora in a semantically acceptable environment, in which some hearing-impaired students apply a deviant object-subject deletion rule, was significantly more…

College faculty served as judges to rate the instructional validity of items on the National Teacher Examinations Core Battery. The ratings were examined in relation to actual test performance, as well as panelists' ratings of item difficulty and relevance. (Author/GDC)

Reviews research findings about community college students' reading skill levels; the discrepancy between reading levels and the difficulty of college-level reading materials; reading program characteristics and effectiveness; textbook readibility formulas; and other methods of evaluating textbooks. Offers recommendations for reducing the…

Examines teachers' and young students' perceptions of responses to task difficulty in classroom settings in two studies. Study 1 indicated that teachers' ratings on a questionnaire of appropriate strategies reflect a preference for active, goal-oriented responses. Study 2 showed some disagreement between teachers' and children's beliefs.…

This is an annotated bibliography of: readers, workbooks, conversation books, cultural sources and readings, flash cards, duplicating or line masters, and media kits submitted by publishers as applicable to French second language instruction from kindergarten through senior high school levels. (MSE)

The influence of item arrangement on students' total test performance was investigated. Two hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. The main finding within the context of this study was that item arrangements based on item difficulties did not influence achievement examination performance. (Author/DWH)

Tests seven- , 10- , and 13-year-olds for developmental differences in processes and strategies involved in geometric matrix solution and the relationship between strategy differences and item complexity. (AS)

The problems encountered by a French teacher in a Danish experimental interdisciplinary secondary education program, and the solutions he tried, are examined. Among the problems were student and teacher prejudices, program articulation, and differences in work methods. (MSE)

A study was proposed to determine to what extent a hierarchical structure exists in music and in tests used to measure music ability. The first research question was whether items in the Watkins-Farnum Performance Scale (J. Watkins and S. Farnum, 1954) (WFPS) form a hierarchy, so that early exercises (bars played) are generally easier than later…