The ability to correctly answer reading comprehension test items, without having read the accompanying reading passage, was compared for third grade learning disabled students and their peers from a regular classroom. In the first experiment, fourteen multiple choice items were selected from the Stanford Achievement Test. No reading passages were…

Differences in learning processes were studied in more versus less intellectually able undergraduate students. Thirty subjects were selected to represent a wide range of general and mathematical reasoning abilities, based on the following test scores: Necessary Arithmetic Operations and Vocabulary Test V2 from the Educational Testing Service ETS…

The "B" testing program of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study, Phase III-B, is summarized. A sample of 146 second grade and 128 fifth grade students completed the reading and mathematics achievement battery, as well as affective scales pertaining to reading, mathematics, and school. The administration procedures, test results, and psychometric…

The "C" testing program, which followed the "A" and "B" tests of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study, is summarized. A sample of 139 second grade and 123 fifth grade students completed the reading and mathematics achievement battery, as well as affective scales regarding reading, mathematics, and school. The administration procedures, test…

In order to look for evidence of possible racial bias in six of the Navy tests for the Enlisted Advancement System, statistical data for a group of black personnel were compared with data for a selected matching group of whites. The first step was to compute item difficulty indices (the percent passing each item) for the black group, for the…

An objective procedure was developed and tested to determine the relative difficulty of Air Force jobs. Also investigated were (1) the measurement of task difficulty to allow comparability across specialties, (2) the quantitative appraisal of job demands based on component tasks being performed, and (3) the comparability of job difficulty to job…

The technology of transforming sentences from prose instruction into test questions was examined by comparing two methods of selecting sentences (keyword vs. rare singleton), two types of question words (nouns vs. adjectives), and two foil construction methods (writer's choice vs. algorithmic). Four item writers created items using each…

An examination of writing readiness (the state of being ready to write with a reasonable chance of success) across grade levels has revealed some developmental stages involved in writing and has indicated the role of intention in writing. The analysis has begun at grade two, since younger children's writing is greatly affected by their…

The effectiveness of a model for determining a minimal cut-off score for criterion-referenced tests was examined. The model, based upon techniques presented originally by Nedelsky and by Angoff, was first used in conjunction with a multiple choice test developed for use in certifying school counselors in Georgia. A "knowledge estimation panel" was…

The Southern Illinois University School of Medicine applies mastery learning concepts to an objectives-based curriculum and uses the Nedelsky method to assess mastery of core objectives. Provisions are made for remediating deficiences. The Nedelsky technique is used for determining an acceptable level of performance in multiple choice examinations…

This article has two main theses: (1) Qualitative improvements in education will not come about as a result of rhetoric or superficial proposals for solutions made by the social-activist breed of educator, but rather as a result of a deeper understanding of the teaching-learning process, and the development and use of new and better principles of…

This programed instruction project for adult Four-H leaders was undertaken to develop a ten unit manuscript covering basic Four H concepts; to prepare four versions thereof differing in response mode; to field test all four on a national sample of leaders; and to prepare a final research edition of the course based on the response mode proving…

To explore the potential relationships among general attitude toward school, evaluative ratings of courses and instructors, and selected respondent characteristics, an attitude inventory, and, for each class, a course and instructor rating scale, with items which emphasized the nature of student-teacher interaction and level of course difficulty,…

A study analyzing word characteristics that make them more easily translated from English to French (or vice versa) indicates that translation efficacy is most strongly influenced by the frequency of the word in the language, its familiarity, and the similarity of the French equivalent to the English word. (Author/CB)

This study appraised the validity of SAT scores, in combination with grades in high school courses and the number and difficulty level of these courses, in predicting college grades in various fields of study, with the objective of providing SAT takers with predictions of their academic performance in different fields for guidance purposes. The…