The study investigated the effect of "item density" on item difficulty in passage-related language tests. Item density refers to the number and frequency of items in relation to clear text. The format used was a passage with underlinings to signal the language situations out of which the items were constructed. American College Testing…

A major deficiency in classical test theory is the reliance on Pearson product-moment (PPM) correlation concepts in the definition of reliability. PPM measures are totally insensitive to first moment differences in tests which leads to the dubious assumption of essential tan-equivalence. Robinson proposed a measure of agreement that is sensitive…

The Elaboration Theory of Instruction is an alternative to organizing instruction in terms of a hierarchical task analysis. The hierarchical organization results in an instructional sequence that begins with highly fragmented, small pieces of the subject-matter content, which many educators have found to be demotivating. The elaboration theory…

In a study of how teacher reinforce learners it was hypothesized that teachers' sanctioning behavior will vary in a given teaching task depending on 1) their tendency to be anxious (their need to avoid failure), 2) their perception of the competence of the student, and 3) the difficulty of the material to be mastered. Forty undergraduate teacher…

This study investigated the effects of informative feedback on a matching task with three combinations of verbal feedback and three levels of task complexity. The three types of feedback were right wrong (RW), nothing wrong (NW), and right nothing (RN). The three levels of task complexity were defined in terms of number of irrelevant stimulus…

Data from a stratified random sample of 71 installations from nine executive departments of the U.S. government are analyzed so as to replicate and reexamine the findings of Blau and Schoenherr from state employment agencies on the relations between size and various components of complexity. (Author)

Presents a study of preschoolers' imitation of a model's irrelevant hand gestures while performing easy and difficult tasks. (BD/BR)

Classifies the complexity of the mental processes involved in combining kernel sentences, recasting flawed sentences, and composing original sentences based on rhetorical models. (DD)

Investigates the relative difficulty of learning Japanese word kanji and syllable kana. (AA)

The factor differentiation hypothesis suggests that the factor structure of a set of tests tends to differentiate over time, becoming more complex and articulated. This experimental study provides evidence confirming that hypothesis. (Author/JKS)

The performance of hospitalized paranoid schizophrenics, nonparanoids, and hospitalized controls was compared on motor, perceptual, and cognitive tasks of increasing complexity. The data were examined within the context of comparing differential predictions made by input and central processing theories of information-processing deficit. (Editor)

Psychometric issues arising from the use of minimum competency tests in local option states were examined in seven school districts. The effect of variability in reliability and difficulty level of subtests on the accuracy of decisions based on such tests is questioned, particularly as they affect mildly handicapped and marginal students.…

This study examined the McCall-Crabbs Standard Test Lessons in Reading to determine whether selections of passages covered a sufficiently wide range of difficulty to warrant their use in developing readability formulas. The results, which find several readability formulas suspect, are discussed. (Author/MT)

Language Through Reading Materials, developed for children with severe specific language disorders, are described in terms of three levels and possible applications with students who have speech and language disorders, hearing impairments, and moderate learning difficulties. (CL)