This paper discusses several considerations and techniques in doing research which attempts to measure the effects of visual images on viewers. For example, to describe precisely the effects of some element of a visual image or series of images, researchers must be able to specify the institutional context in which the image is presented and…

A follow-up national study surveyed 500 television and radio broadcasters to further understanding of their role as gatekeepers for public service announcements (PSAs) to educate audiences about AIDS, and to bring about "safe" behavior. Respondents were asked to provide information about their stations, and their stations' use of…

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting participated in the 1993 Yankelovich Youth Monitor in order to determine information about kids and television viewing in 1990s. The Youth Monitor is a study of 1,200 children ages 6-17 conducted with an in-home interview in randomly selected households throughout the United States. The study asks kids a…

Classical test theory, item response theory, and generalizability theory all treat the abilities to be measured as continuous variables, and the items of a test as independent probes of underlying continua. These models are well-suited to measuring the broad, diffuse traits of traditional differential psychology, but not for measuring the outcomes…

This study examined the relation of performance on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to a widely used variant of the cloze procedure, the multiple choice (MC) cloze method. Examinees taking an operational TOEFL (n=11,290) were given three basic sections of the test along with a section containing prepared MC cloze items, and…

"Questioning the Author" is a particular style of classroom discussion that tries to get young students (fourth and fifth graders) to actively grapple with the ideas they read about in class. It may be distinguished from other reading strategies by the following approaches: (1) it addresses a text as the product of a fallible author; (2)…

A study examined the theory concerning reader response and the rationale and practice of reader response in the high school English curriculum. Formal experimental studies existed that explored reader response practices in the high school setting, but no formal studies existed on the questioning practices of potential reader response teachers. A…

An 18-year old's freshman year in college is not only a test of his or her intellect, but also a test in social skills, adaptability to new living situations, and other conditions. This study examined the link of emotions to compulsive eating and its use as a coping mechanism for female college students. It explores the stresses of the transition…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effects of age and gender on the ways in which students in The Netherlands coped with academic and interpersonal stressors. Two types of coping strategies were examined--problem-focused and emotion-focused. Problem-focused coping refers to attempts to alter the stressor through…

Beginning in 1985, Apple Computer, Inc. and several school districts began a collaboration to examine the impact of intensive computer use on instruction and learning in K-12 classrooms. This paper follows the development of a Macintosh II-based management and retrieval system for text data undertaken to store and retrieve oral reflections of…

The Politics and Mass Media section of this collection of conference presentations contains the following 13 papers: "The 1992 Presidential Debates: A Cognigraphic View" (Richard F. Carter and Keith R. Stamm); "Moving to the Front of the Bus?: Network Coverage of the Invisible Primaries during the 1988 and 1992 Elections"…

Whether questions embedded in expository text could improve the correspondence between adult readers' subjective assessments of test readiness and their objective test performance (prediction calibration) was studied with 168 undergraduates. In order to minimize the confounding effects of prior knowledge, the subjects were asked to read a text…

Suggesting that literature dealing with the Vietnam War can have a dramatic impact on students, this paper assists teachers in selecting young adult literature on the war, discusses a variety of assignments, and presents student responses to the literature. The paper begins with a discussion of the three main types of young adult literature:…

To evaluate student learning in a computer-supported environment known as "GenScope," a system was developed for assessing students' understanding and learning of introductory genetics material presented in two developed GenScope instruments. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to address traditional evidential validity…

While computer-based tests might be as simple as computerized versions of paper-and-pencil examinations, more innovative applications also exist. Examples of innovations in computer-based assessment include the use of graphics or sound, some measure of interactivity, a change in the means in which examinees responded to items, and the application…