Differences between comprehension of inductively presented material and of deductively presented materials as reflected by scores on multiple-choice and cloze tests of comprehension were sought using specifically constructed materials. The Logical Patterns Test was designed with a series of multiple-choice tests in one section and a series of…

This paper investigated the apparent failure of subjects to assess accurately their own reading comprehension. The results showed that readers who exhibited an illusion of knowing tended to have shown distortions in their passage summaries, whereas subjects who knew that they had failed to comprehend were more likely to have omitted information…

Study was designed to determine whether certain commercial 10-item multiple-choice reading comprehension tests were vulnerable to guessing. It was concluded that more valid comprehension tests could be developed if items were tested for guessability. (Author)

Supplement 7. (RS)

The validity of cloze as a measure of intersentential comprehension (across-sentence information integration) was studied with 281 fifth graders by comparing it with a second measure expressly designed to assess such comprehension. Results suggest that cloze scores may reflect intersentential comprehension sufficiently to warrant their continued…

Discusses the "sore-finger" form of multiple choice test items. "Sore finger" items employ authentic texts making use of the rules of text grammar, achieve high discrimination levels, and show a high validity for several subtests, especially style tests. The use of sore finger items in German nationwide English and German tests…

This review of research on testing of second-language reading addresses: general areas of interest in reading research, assessment; adaptation of a suitable first-language reading comprehension model for second-language assessment; reliance on a top-down model of reading comprehension; validity of multiple-choice reading comprehension tests;…

With 104 advanced second language (L2) readers, this investigation seeks to construct a multicomponent model of interest and L2 reading. Sources of interest (SI) refer to variables that induce feelings of interest in a text. Perceived interest (PI) refers to the feeling of interest itself (Schraw, Bruning, & Svoboda, 1995). A factor analysis…

This study examines the predictability of Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) reading item difficulty (equated delta) for the three major reading item types: main idea, inference, and explicit statement items. Each item type is analyzed separately, using 110 GRE reading passages and their associated 244 reading items; selective analyses of 285…

Prediction of the difficulty (equated delta) of a large sample (n=213) of reading comprehension items from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) was studied using main idea, inference, and supporting statement items. A related purpose was to examine whether text and text-related variables play a significant role in predicting item…

Designed for use in the selection of apprentices, trainees, technical and trade personnel, and any other persons who need to read and understand text of a technical nature, this Applied Reading Test specimen set contains six passages and 32 items, has a 30-minute time limit, and is presented in a reusable multiple choice test booklet. The specimen…

One of the most critical elements in the adaptation of productivity analysis to education is the adequacy of the instruments for measuring program output or achievement. Various aspects of standardized test construction make them less than desirable measures of productivity. The Test Development Notebook which the New York State Department of…

The use of a cloze procedure to test reading comprehension in the foreign language learning situation is considered. A modification is proposed: to combine the cloze procedure with the multiple choice test thereby avoiding the need for language production and creating an element of control and flexibility. (SCC)

Replicates two studies by Bormuth comparing multiple choice and cloze tests as measures of comprehension and concludes, like Bormuth, that the more easily constructed cloze test can be used to measure comprehension or to select reading materials. (MD)