The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive validity of formal and informal measuring instruments as related to reading achievement test scores at the end of first grade, in sixth grade, and in ninth grade. Second, relationships between first grade reading achievement test scores and those at sixth and ninth grades were sought. Third, the relationships between two visual motor coordination subtests and between the scores of two mental maturity tests were examined. Finally, the relationship between reading test scores for boys and girls was determined at each of these intervals.The initial population consisted of 195 first grade students in Mount Pleasant Community School System in Yorktown, Indiana. The first data were compiled in the Fall of 1968; a second collection was April, 1969; the third June, 1977, at which time 113 of the initial population of students were still enrolled.Instruments used included: (1) a teacher opinion rating scale of student reading potential (TRSS); (2) a form for documenting dates students began formal reading (DBRF); (3) Gates-MacGinitie Reading Readiness Test (GMRRT); (4) Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT); (5) Good-enough-Harris Drawing Test (GHDT), Draw-A-Man subtest; (6) Marianne Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception (MFDTVP); (7) Evanston Early Identification Scale (EELS); (8) Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test (GMRT); (9) Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), Level 12, Form 5, Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension subtests; (10) Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED), Grades 9-12, Form X5, Reading subtest. All of the formal instruments were group-administered to the students by classroom teachers.Variables analyzed included twenty-one scores from the tests and subtests of the above measures. Statistical procedures used to analyze the data were the Pearson product-moment correlations, multiple regression correlations, and the t test. The .05 level was accepted as basis for statistical significance.The variables measured by the readiness test (GMRRT), visual perception test (MFDTVP), intelligence tests (CAT & GH DT), screening test (EELS), and teachers' opinions of students' potential reading abilities (TRSS) were related to reading abilities after eight months in school. The variables designated as listening comprehension, auditory discrimination, visual discrimination, following directions, word recognition, intelligence (CAT), teachers' opinions of students' potential reading abilities, and first grade reading achievement tests were related to reading abilities after five years in school. The variables identified as listening comprehension, auditory discrimination, visual-motor coordination, intelligence (CAT), position in space, teachers' opinions of students' potential reading abilities, and first grade reading achievement tests were related to reading abilities bf students after nine years in school.The intelligence test (CAT) had a high correlation with the sixth grade reading achievement test; the correlation with the first grade achievement test was not as high; the correlation was lowest with the ninth grade achievement test.There was a low, but statistically significant relationship between the two visual, motor coordination subtests (GMRRT & MFDTVP), and between the two inte71lectual measures (CAT & GHDT). Girls scored higher than boys on the first grade reading achievement tests, but the differences were not statistically significant after six and nine years in school.Of the formal and informal instruments administered prior to beginning formal reading only three subtests, Letter Recognition, Word Recognition, and Visual Discrimination, of the GMRRT and the Teacher Rating Scale of Students demonstrated predictive validity as to first grade reading ability. Two subtests, Auditory Blending and Listening Comprehension, of the GMRRT, Cognitive Abilities Test, Figure-Ground subtest of the MFDTVP, and the TRSS demonstrated predictive validity as to reading ability after five years in school. Two subtests, Following Directions and Listening Comprehension, of the GMRRT, TRSS, and DBRF demonstrated predictive validity of reading ability after nine years in school.In predicting first grade reading ability the instruments which were most effective were recommended to be included in a screening procedure. Using the conclusions of this study, the screening procedure should include the Letter Recognition, Word Recognition, and Visual Discrimination subtests of the GMRRT, and the Teacher Rating Scale of Students.

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published_or_final_version / Language Studies / Master / Master of Arts

The purposes of the study were: 1. To design two contrasting plans of shorthand homework, Method A plan to be used by control groups and Method B plan to be used by experimental groups. 2. To implement Method A plan and Method B plan through control and experimental groups respectively. 3. To define criteria by which achievement levels may be determined. 4. To make comparative analysis of achievement levels between the control groups and the experimental groups.

A research project submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, .Johannesburg, in part fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg 1993. / This study aims at providing some evaluation of the impact of the Transvaal Senior Certificate, Higher Grade, Biology Examination on Biology teaching in the Transvaal, It also looks. at the effectiveness of this exarnlnatlon as an assessment/evaluation instrument. A questlonnalre is used to secure the views qf practising Biology teachers, and teacher trainers, about the stated objectives of Biology teaching at senior high school level in terms of:- - their relative merit and importance. - their attainment through current teachinq practices. - their evaluation by the examination Board, The views of 63 teachers and 9 teacher trainers are analysed and the views of Transvaal and Natal teachers are compared to those of Teacher Trainers. Much consensus is found in the responses of all three groups of educators. They are well aware of modern trends and methodologies in the field of Biology Education but are pessimistic about the current achievement of many of the objectives they identify as being Important for effective Biology Teaching. They see the examination as one which focuses mainly on the assessment of Recall of Knowledge, The implications of these findings are discussed and several recommendations are made. / AC2017

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of written prequestioning on the reading comprehension scores of fifth graders in Orleans County, Vermont. To evaluate the effect of prequestions, the Sequential Tests of Educational Progress - Reading, Form 4A was adapted into two different forms, one with questions and/or incomplete statements before and after the passages of the test and one with only questions and/or incomplete statements at the end of each passage. The questions and/or incomplete statements placed before the passages were the same questions and/or incomplete statements placed at the end of passages on both forms.

The style and format of Physics examination papers has changed markedly over the past hundred years. Physics was regarded formerly as a sub-division of Mathematics; hence, apart from giving formal statements of scientific laws, and some account of experimental procedures, examination candidates were required to spend most of their time, and to earn most of their marks by solving numerical problems. Most Physics examination papers today retain the emphasis on problem-solving by calculation. It has been recognised, however, that the ability to obtain correct numerical answers by substition in a formula does not necessarily imply understanding of the physical principles which underly the problem. There has been a reaction against the awarding of marks for algebraic or arithmetical manipulation. Bloom and his disciples, by calling on examiners to define precise behavioural objectives, have encouraged the development of qualitative questions. These require no calculation nor numerical answer, but do aim to test the candidate's insight, by requiring him either to explain phenomena in scientific terms, or to predict the outcome of changing conditions. In this investigation samples of both quantitative and qualitative questions were extracted from Physics papers past and present. A closer study was made of qualitative questions used in the Natal Senior Certificate Physics papers (both Higher Grade and Standard Grade) in November 1987. The examiners were asked to state the objective of each question, as well as its categorization in terms of a simplified Bloom taxonomy. Candidates' answers to these questions were extracted from the scripts written at a representative sample of Natal schools. In the case of multiple-choice questions, an item analysis was performed, and discrimination indices were calculated . The responses of individual candidates to the longer questions were collected, classified and discussed. In each case the effectiveness of the question was studied, as to whether or not it was successful in detecting the presence of correct scientific concepts in the candidates' thinking. It was concluded that most of the qualitative questions used by the examiners were effective. Suggestions were made as to how their efficacy could be improved. Much further study and experimentation are needed to develop the effective use of this type of question

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No description available.