An analysis of the syntax of economics textbooks was undertaken to (1) provide real-language examples of the difficult grammatical structures being taught in an advanced economics reading course, and (2) construct a factual database of the nature of economics textbooks. Five texts representative of those typically used in introductory economics…

The study reported in this paper investigated the effects of a frequently recommended study technique on the comprehension of expository text by high-school students having learning disabilities. The instructional procedure studied was "Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review" (SQ3R). Six experiments were conducted over a 3-year period,…

An attempt was made to determine whether student honesty is affected by a take-home test, referred to as an unstructured evaluation. A group of 27 students in a history class at a university was given a teacher-made take-home test as a mid-term examination. A second group of 27 students was given the same examination in class. Unknown to the…

A study looks at young children's responses to tough movement structures, focusing on complements to "easy." The study examines the development of the two major types of rule usage: primitive and adult, and focuses on the inconsistent fluctuations between the primitive and adult levels. It is proposed that the source of complexity in…

The effectiveness of elaborate visual cueing and reduced step size (i.e., increasing the number of visual cues) in facilitating student achievement on different instructional tasks was examined. The hypothesis proposed that instructional treatments utilizing reduced step size and elaborate visual cueing alone and in combination would be superior…

This report investigates an area of uncertainty in using the Angoff method for setting standards, namely whether or not a judge's conceptualizations of borderline group performance are realistic. Ratings are usually made with reference to the performance of this hypothetical group, therefore the Angoff method's success is dependent on this point.…

An investigation of the language transfer in second language (L2) lexico-semantic development looked at the relationship of the level of L2 proficiency and interlingual patterns of lexico-semantic correspondence. The linguistic categories used were verbs and adjectives. Relative degrees of difficulty for L2 learners were determined for four…

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) has been engaged in oral language proficiency testing theory and practice for more than 20 years. The FSI test has been consistent during this time in format, evaluation criteria, performance standards, and level definitions. Current concerns about the degree of standardization of the format and the strength of…

When designing educational resources, it is important to have a clear understanding of the instructional problem you are attempting to solve, both in terms of its appropriate domain and level. While the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains are not mutually exclusive, one will usually predominate. In determining the appropriate level, it…

An exploration of children's responses to some of the Caldecott prize-winning books, using a Piagetian-type interview. An attempt is made to find out why some children are "turned off" by books that, from all ostensible evidence, are of high quality. (CS)

Examines the effects of three levels of personal intrinsic and extrinsic motivational dispositions on grade point average in college freshmen courses rated as the student's most and least challenging. (Author/DEP)

Research supported by Grant No. HD-01762-01 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Comprehension of metaphor was examined in 36 children ranging in age from 55 months to 186 months. The subjects were audiotaped while answering questions about a target sentence that was contextually anomalous. Five pictures were drawn to accompany each story, two relating to the literal meaning of the target sentence, two to the metaphoric…

Item response changing as a function of test anxiety was investigated. Seventy graduate students enrolled in a basic statistics course completed 73 multiple-choice items on the course content and the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS). The TAS consisted of 25 items that students indicated were descriptive (true) or not descriptive (false) of themselves.…

The papers included in this collection represent as closely as possible the content and organization of the oral presentations delivered at a March 1980 conference on the use of readability formulas. The papers discuss the following topics: (1) an introduction to the conference, with general remarks on the uses and criticism of readability…