This research investigates the relationship among various processing behaviors and their link to comprehension. Thirty-four students from three fourth-grade classrooms orally read the first chapter of a short story. The reading was followed by an unaided recall and probes by the researcher. Each clause as finally read was evaluated for semantics…

In this study, the effectiveness of detection of differential item functioning (DIF) and testlet DIF using SIBTEST and Poly-SIBTEST were examined in tests composed of testlets. An example using data from a reading comprehension test showed that results from SIBTEST and Poly-SIBTEST were not completely consistent in the detection of DIF and testlet…

Assessments associated with learning progressions are designed to provide diagnostic information about the level and nature of student understanding. Valid interpretations of such diagnoses are only possible when students consistently express the ideas associated with a single learning progression level. Latent class analysis was employed to…

Young typically developing children can reason about abstract depictions if they know the intention of the artist. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who are notably impaired in social, "intention monitoring" domains, may have great difficulty in decoding vague representations. In Experiment 1, children with ASD are unable to use…

Scalar implicature has served as a test case for exploring the relations between semantic and pragmatic processes during language comprehension. Most studies have used reaction time methods and the results have been variable. In these studies, we use the visual-world paradigm to investigate implicature. We recorded participants' eye movements…

In this study we examined age- and task-related effects in story schema knowledge across an independent narrative task (story formulations) and a supported narrative task (answering questions). We also examined age-related changes to questions about the story as a whole. Participants were typically developing English-speaking children aged 4, 5,…

The goal of the current research was to explore whether monkeys possess conceptual precursors necessary for understanding zero. We trained rhesus monkeys on a nonsymbolic numerical matching-to-sample task, and on a numerical ordering task. We then introduced nondifferentially reinforced trials that contained empty sets to determine whether monkeys…

To understand what they read or hear, children and adults must create a coherent mental representation of presented information. Recent research suggests that the ability to do so starts to develop early--well before reading age--and that early individual differences are predictive of later reading-comprehension performance. In this paper, we…

Including speaking tasks in the foreign language paper of the Spanish University Entrance Examination (PAU) has been inexistent in the last 15 years. However, the implications can be seen in shape of pressure on teachers to get students ready for such tasks in just three years (2009-2012). Because of the high stakes consequences attached to this…

Because idioms are omnipresent in the authentic language students are exposed to, to successfully comprehend and produce natural language, learners of a second or foreign language need to possess a good knowledge of idioms and competence in idiom use. This paper examines the approaches to teaching and learning idioms. A discussion of the…

Electronic books (e-books) are gaining popularity for personal reading. Options for access to a large selection of book titles and "anytime/anywhere" reading choices have added to the increased use of e-books. For this study, 22 third-grade students completed satisfaction surveys and reading comprehension tests on three separate reading…

The computer-based testing mode has received limited research as a task condition for elementary students as it relates to comprehension for both narrative and expository text. The majority of schools now use computer-based testing to measure students' progress for end of the year exams. Additionally, schools are also delivering state-wide…

Two nationally known experts in friendship formation and anxiety management address the social challenges faced by adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The book helps educators instruct youth on conversing with others, displaying appropriate body language, managing anxiety, initiating and participating in get-togethers, and more. The…

Technology has long been a popular means of teaching and learning English as a second language and there is an abundance of research to that effect. To my knowledge, however, none has been conducted specifically on the effect on reading comprehension of English language learners or second language learners reading independently with hypertext…

Learning to read can pose a major challenge to students, and much of this challenge is due to the fact that written language is necessarily impoverished when compared to the rich, continuous speech signal. Prosodic elements of language are scarcely represented in written text, and while oral reading prosody has been addressed in the literature…