A study investigated the Educational Testing Service's claim about the conversational nature of the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) from the perspective of native speakers of the target second language. Eight subjects listened to 16 randomly-selected OPI communicative speech events, and their perceptions were measured using a semantic…

The study, using a design that controlled for chronological age, sex, and intelligence, was conducted to explore the relation between oral language and reading achievement among 45 second grade Pima-Maricopa Indian children attending public school and 24 attending a Bureau of Indian Affairs Day School. (FF)

Two methods of assessing medical students' problem-solving skills were compared in actual use: a modified essay question and a structured oral examination based on it. The reliability and validity of each were found to be similar. (MSE)

Tests of intelligence and divergent thinking, and a measure of arts and science orientation, were administered to 310 unspecialized, mixed-ability, secondary pupils. Hudson's notion of convergence-divergence as a dimension contrasting preference for open-ended v closed-ended tests was not supported. (Author/SJL)

Presents a quiz for use in the advanced English classroom that introduces language learners to a variety of amusing slang expressions and idioms. The learner is led to consider the possibility of a little-known rule in English: male=positive, female=negative, and is offered an opportunity for discussion and vocabulary building. (Author/VWL)

Investigates the additive memory effect of two modes of presenting information to elementary children on the retention of both images and words. Children represented more information in pictorial than in verbal form. The visual-verbal treatment group scored higher on most of both verbal and pictorial responses than the visual treatment group.…

Scores on cognitive abilities tests administered to students (n=80; grades 4-8) being considered for gifted placement were analyzed for differences between low socioeconomic status (SES) students and average or above average SES students. Analysis indicated that the primary reason low SES students did not meet criteria for gifted placement was low…

Two experiments examined preschoolers' and adults' relative reliance on visual and verbal information in identification of animals and machines. Findings include both children and adults can use either visual or verbal cues in categorization, and a stricter definition is used in identifying animals. Results suggest that a perceptual to conceptual…

Background: Verbal intrusion errors are irrelevant responses made in the course of verbal memory retrieval or language production that have been associated with disruption of executive functions and the prefrontal cortex. They have been observed to occur more frequently both with normal aging and with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's…

The report describes one segment of the Federal Language Testing Board's Unified Language Testing Plan (ULTP), the validation of the speaking proficiency test in Russian. The ULTP is a project to increase standardization of foreign language proficiency measurement and promote sharing of resources among testing programs in the federal government.…

A study of the discourse structure of oral language proficiency interviews focused on (1) one principal discourse variable, topic, for analyzing contingency and goal orientation in dyadic interactions, and (2) contextual factors (interlocutor, theme, task, participant gender). Data came from 30 dyadic oral interviews in English as a Second…

A study was conducted in order to investigate the factor structure of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude Test, which now includes an analytical module. Comparison of the factor structures of the Aptitude Test before and after modification suggested that the factor structure of the verbal and quantitative sections of the test has been…

A comparison of literature examination procedures in North American and German universities shows the German "Staatsexamen" to be an outdated and elitist form of testing. Types of classroom, take-home and oral examinations are discussed. (CHK)

This study investigated Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) profiles of deaf adolescents referred for academic difficulties. In addition, differences between referral deaf students and non-referral deaf peers were explored. The sample consisted of 28 severely-to-profoundly hearing impaired students enrolled in the School of…

The Semantic Relation Test (SRT) was administered to 83 undergraduate students at Hamilton College (New York) to test the extent of subjects' knowledge of different relationships between word pairs. The 60 analogy items covered five categories of relationships: antonyms, case relations, class inclusion, part-whole relations, and similars. Three…