ERIC Number: ED630998
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 73
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Technical Manual 2022: Multiple-Choice Online Causal Comprehension Assessment (MOCCA)-College. MOCCA-College Technical Report (MCTR) 2022
Ben Seipel; Sarah E. Carlson; Virginia Clinton-Lisell; Mark L. Davison; Patrick C. Kennedy
Grantee Submission
Originally designed for students in Grades 3 through 5, MOCCA (formerly the Multiple-choice Online Causal Comprehension Assessment), identifies students who struggle with comprehension, and helps uncover why they struggle. There are many reasons why students might not comprehend what they read. They may struggle with decoding, or reading words accurately and fluently. They might have limited vocabulary and background knowledge. But there are some students who don't comprehend well and don't fall into these categories. Researchers have dubbed this latter group of readers "poor comprehenders" and have found that they struggle to generate inferences that help them maintain a coherent idea of what a text is about. These poor comprehenders are usually trying to make sense of what they read, but they do so primarily by relying on strategies that don't fully do the trick. It turns out, they tend to rely on one of two strategies: paraphrasing or generating elaborations, which include elaborative inferences, personal associations, and self-explanations. Both are great strategies, but neither alone will result in excellent comprehension. What's more, research suggests that students who rely on paraphrasing versus making generating elaborations require somewhat different instruction (McMaster et al., 2012; van den Broek et al., 2017). MOCCA-College extends this previous research and assessment development to college students. Research has shown that far too many college students are not ready for college-level reading. Thus, the purpose of MOCCA-College is to help identify why postsecondary students struggle with reading comprehension; information that can be used to inform the kinds of instructional support students need. This technical manual reports development, field testing, and evaluation of MOCCA-College.
Descriptors: Multiple Choice Tests, Computer Assisted Testing, Diagnostic Tests, Reading Tests, Reading Comprehension, Reading Difficulties, Reading Strategies, College Students, Test Format, Student Evaluation, Self Evaluation (Individuals), Test Items, Scoring, Test Interpretation, Feedback (Response), Test Reliability, Construct Validity, Gender Differences, Racial Differences
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A180417
Author Affiliations: N/A