The performance of children ages three through eight years on a series of class-inclusion problems was examined in two studies. Three patterns of performance were observed: three- and four-year-olds responded in an approximately haphazard pattern, five- and six-year-olds tended to be consistently wrong, and seven- and eight-year-olds showed a…

An anagram task administered to high and low test-anxious subjects under varied levels of external distraction showed a significant main effect of test anxiety for the "hard" anagrams which also interacted with the subjects' sex and distraction. The effects of increments of anxiety arousal produced by distraction are discussed.…

This article provides indices of typing difficulty of typical business writing. These indices are somewhat higher than those found in earlier studies and are much higher than the indices used in textbooks as representing normal difficulty. (SSH)

Three experiments investigated effects of attentional factors on children's learning set performance. Younger children's learning was differentially affected by two or more irrelevant dimensions. Practice improved performance for all ages. Results confirmed that irrelevant dimensions and within-problems exposure interact with age and amount of…

This chapter helps the general reader to understand the test equating issues associated with test disclosure. It also helps the testing practitioner to recognize situations in which equating is necessary, and to understand how to accomplish various kinds of equating. (Author/BW)

Whether hierarchical ordering among fraction identification problems reflects the replacement of simple rules by complex rules was investigated. Latent class techniques revealed that children applied rules that were adequate for simple problems but had to be replaced to solve more complex problems. (Author/GK)

The purpose of this research was to examine developmental changes in the knowledge about what variables affect performance on the incidental learning task. Kindergarteners, second graders, fifth graders, and college students indicated on a rating scale how many animals a hypothetical person would remember under easy and difficult levels of each…

Different indices for the internal consistency, reproducibility, or homogeneity of a test are based upon highly similar conceptual frameworks. Illustrations are presented to demonstrate how the maximum and minimum values of KR20 are influenced by test difficulty and the shape of the distribution of test scores. (Author/CTM)

Examined effects of cognitive focusing training in early and late concrete operational children. Focusing was manifested by the late concrete operational children regardless of whether or not they had been trained. The amount of negative feedback and the nature of the probe techniques affected the manifestation of focusing. (Author/DB)

This study addressed whether students could change their reading rate when presented with two clearly explicated purposes for reading. Results indicated that students could adapt their reading rate to fit different purposes but that passage difficulty affected the degree of flexibility. (Author/GK)

Relative difficulty of Separate (Form S) and Grouped (Form G) True-False tests may be expected to be dependent on the ability levels of examinees. At some levels Form S should be less difficult, at others equally difficult, and at still others, more difficult, than Form G. (Author/RL)

High school dropouts and high school graduates, of which half of each group received vocational training, were compared. Analysis showed that completing vocational training was positively correlated with higher income and job complexity level. Vocational training was a more potent influence on income level than completion of high school.…

Explores the relationship of student-generated questions to students' knowledge of a subject. (MKM)

Examines difficulties children may have in reading Virginia Hamilton's "M. C. Higgins, the Great"; discusses the book and shows how teachers can promote children's appreciation for it by discussing some basic traditions as they appear in the book and by bringing into play children's knowledge of their own belief systems. (ET)

The central idea behind this study is that at about seven years of age the concept of normative difficulty emerges, resulting in changes in interpretation of terms such as "hard" and "easy," as well as of normative cues. (Author/DB)