This paper contains a comparison of descriptive information based on analyses of pilot and live administrations of the Alabama High School Graduation Examination (AHSGE). The test is composed of three subject tests: Reading, Mathematics, and Language. The study was intended to validate the test development procedure by comparing difficulty levels…

The design and development of a test of inference ability in reading comprehension for grades 6, 7, and 8 (the Phillips-Patterson Test of Inference Ability in Reading Comprehension) are described. After development of a contemporary theoretical framework for the test of inference ability in reading comprehension, the design, item development, and…

The proceedings of the sixth annual meeting of the College Reading Association included the following papers: (1) "President's Report: Retrospect and Prospect" (Mrs. H. E. Ketcham); (2) "Can Reading Instruction Meet the Present Academic Challenge?" (P. D. Leedy); (3) "Hereditary Factors in Certain Reading…

A study was conducted to determine if a teacher-constructed cloze procedure correlated significantly with two standardized tests of reading achievement, thereby testing G.D. Spache's claim that most teachers are unable to design valid and reliable assessment materials. Subjects were 60 fourth and sixth grade students who were administered the…

Intended for students taking the English 30 Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in Alberta, Canada, this test (to be administered along with a questions booklet) contains the reading selections portion of Part B, the reading component of the June 1988 tests. Representing the genres of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, the 10 selections consist of:…

Intended for students taking the English 30 Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in Alberta, Canada, this booklet contains 80 multiple choice test items related to the 10 selections in the reading booklet of Part B, the reading component of the June 1988 tests. The questions examine students' skills in: (1) understanding meanings; (2) recalling materials…

Intended for students taking the English 33 Grade 12 Diploma Examinations in Alberta, Canada, this test (to be administered along with a questions booklet) contains the reading selections portion of Part B, the reading component of the June 1988 tests. The following short selections taken from fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and day-to-day…

Parallel studies at universities in Israel, Finland, Canada, and the United States used a "selected deletion gap-filling test," a variation on the cloze procedure designed to measure reading comprehension by testing the reader's familiarity with cohesive links and grasp of text coherence. The test design responded to the growing demand for a more…

The At-Risk Student Program Area, part of the National Center on Effective Secondary Schools, will study how at-risk secondary school students are affected by special programs, efforts toward school improvement, and policies of admission and attendance. This paper describes the testing procedures that will be used. Data will be collected in six…

In the spring of 1985, the Oregon Department of Education conducted an assessment of eighth graders' skills in writing, reading, and mathematics. The state reading test consisted of two parts: the first designed to measure students' inferential and evaluative reading comprehension and selected study skills, the second designed to measure students'…

An exploratory study was carried out in four Los Angeles Title I elementary schools to determine what accounted for the comparatively high reading scores made by these schools' students on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills; determine whether the schools were engaged in demonstrably effective educational practices that other Title I and…

A French-English guide to French diagnostic reading tests for French immersion classes, grades one through three, is presented. The "tests diagnostiques de lecture" are designed to indicate strengths and weaknesses in silent reading performance in French for early French immersion pupils in Canada and to integrate this information into…

Test item selection techniques based on traditional item analysis methods were compared to techniques based on item response theory. The consistency of mastery classifications in criterion referenced reading tests was examined. Pretest and posttest data were available for 945 first and second grade students and for 1796 fourth to sixth grade…

Intended to help dispel several unsupported "myths" about reading instruction, this book analyzes a selected group of teaching practices that have been supported by reading experts but not by research findings. The "myths" discussed in the first 12 chapters of the book are as follows: (1) phonics hinders comprehension; (2) unpredictable spelling…

The content and utility of two models of reading comprehension tests, the basic skills assessment model and the multiple choice cloze (MCC) model, are discussed. The basic reading competency model assesses the ability to read or infer "basic" meanings from a range of written or symbolic communication, as is necessary for daily living in…