Reliability of Ratings of Children’s Expressive Reading

This study examined ratings of fourth graders’ oral reading expression. Randomly assigned participants (n = 36) practiced repeated readings using narrative or informational passages for 7 weeks. After this period raters used the Multidimensional Fluency Scale (MFS) on two separate occasions to rate students’ expressive reading of four equivalent passages. Results of this generalizability study showed that a minimum of two and preferably three equivalent passages, two raters, and one rating occasion are recommended to obtain reliable ratings. This research substantiates the reliability of the MFS and demonstrates the importance of raters collaborating and finding texts at students’ independent reading levels.     

Validity and reliability of the Test of Early Reading Ability-Second Edition with preschool age children

Criterion validity and test-retest reliability across the two forms of the Test of Early Reading Ability-Second Edition were examined. 18 preschool age children, 4 boys and 14 girls, between the ages of 37 and 59 mo. (M = 48.5, SD = 7.6) were randomly administered Forms A and B as well as the sound-blending, letter-word identification, spelling, and sound-awareness reading subtests from the 2001 Woodcock Johnson-III. Correlations were moderate between the children's performance on the Test of Early Reading Ability-2 Forms A and B and their reading subtest scores from the Woodcock Johnson-III and also between Forms A and B of the Test of Early Reading Ability-2. However, Forms A and B of the Test of Early Reading Ability-2 were not clinically equivalent.     

An investigation of the psychometric evidence of CBM-R passage equivalence: Utility of readability statistics and equating for alternate forms

Claims have been made that grade appropriate curriculum-based measurement of reading (CBM-R) passages are of comparable difficulty and can be used interchangeably to monitor student progress. Empirical evidence to support claims of equivalence has been lacking. This research investigated the basis for making claims of equivalence. The use of readability statistics to justify passage equivalence was found to be lacking. Using a general measurement model for congeneric tests, CBM-R passages were found to measure a single latent factor with a high degree of reliability. However, evidence indicated that the raw scores, words read correctly per minute, across passages did not provide equivalent measurements. Statistical equating was investigated as an approach to overcome the lack of equivalence with promising results.     

Influence of consonantal context on the reading of vowels: evidence from children

When college students pronounce nonwords, their vowel pronunciations may be affected not only by the consonant that follows the vowel, the coda, but also by the preceding consonant, the onset. We presented the nonwords used by Treiman and colleagues in their 2003 study to a total of 94 first graders, third graders, fifth graders, and high school students to determine when these context influences emerge. According to some theories of reading development, early decoding is characterized by context-free links from graphemes to phonemes. However, we found that even children reading at the first-grade level (6-year-olds) were influenced to some extent by a vowel's context. The effect of context on vowel pronunciation increased in strength up to around the fifth-grade reading level (8- and 9-year-olds), and sensitivity to coda-to-vowel associations emerged no earlier than did sensitivity to onset-to-vowel associations. A connectionist model of reading reproduced this general pattern of increasing context effects as a function of training.     

Reading ability and the encoding of item and location information

Two experiments using duration exposures ranging from 20 to 130 msec are reported that link reading skill in adults to the initial encoding of location information. Highly skilled and less skilled readers were equivalent in identifying single letters presented at a central fixation point. When they had to identify the serial position of a letter, however, highly skilled readers performed significantly more accurately than did less skilled readers. A second experiment used displays that consisted of one letter and three dollar signs. Subjects had to identify the letter under two location cuing conditions. When subjects were cued in advance as to which serial position would contain the letter, highly skilled and less skilled readers were equivalent. When the location of the letter had to be resolved prior to identification, highly skilled readers performed significantly more accurately than did less skilled readers. Results are interpreted to suggest that the role of perception in reading has been underestimated because emphasis has been on item perception, and the perception of spatial location has been largely overlooked.     

Assessing psychological inflexibility: the psychometric properties of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth in two adult samples

The current study examined whether the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y; L. A. Greco, W. Lambert, & R. A. Baer, 2008), a self-report measure of psychological inflexibility for children and adolescents, might be useful for measuring psychological inflexibility for adults. The psychometric properties of the AFQ-Y were examined using data from a college student sample (N = 387) and a clinical sample of patients with anxiety disorders (N = 115). The AFQ-Y, but not the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II; F. W. Bond et al., in press), demonstrated a reading level at or below the recommended 5th or 6th grade reading level. The AFQ-Y also demonstrated adequate reliability (internal consistency), factorial validity, convergent and discriminant validity, and concurrent validity predicting psychological symptoms. Moreover, the AFQ-Y showed incremental validity over the AAQ-II in predicting several psychological symptom domains. Implications for the assessment of psychological inflexibility are discussed.     

Social support at university scale, a brief index

A brief, 3-item index of social support among college students, the Social Support at University Scale, is introduced. Its psychometric properties are examined in a sample of 90 college students (51 women, 39 men) and compared with those of an equivalent scale distributed among 100 university staff (67 women, 33 men). The Short-Form Social Support Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were also administered to each participant. The data suggest that the Social Support at University Scale possesses internal consistency reliability suitable for research (alpha = .68), external validity as indicated by comparisons between the student and staff samples, concurrent validity as indicated by correlations with measures of generic social support, and criterion validity as indicated by associations with known correlates of social support, namely, perceived stress, anxiety, and depression.     

Factor structure replication and bias investigation of the teacher rating of social skills

The factor congruence and an analysis of potential bias of the Teacher Ratings of Social Skills (TROSS) were the focus of this study. Preliminary research on the TROSS has shown it to possess adequate reliability and validity. A sample of 250 mainstreamed school-age children from four different groups that were behavior-disordered, learning-disabled mildly mentally retarded/educationally handicapped, and nonhandicapped was used to examine (a) rater, ratee, and sex biases in TROSS ratings by teachers, (b) concurrent validity and reliability, and (c) factor congruence with a previous investigation of nonhandicapped childrenThe results indicate that the TROSS discriminated between mainstreamed handicapped and nonhandicapped students at a reasonably high level. No rater, ratee, or sex biases were found. Coefficient alphas indicate that the TROSS is a highly reliable instrument. The factor structures of the present and previous research were essentially equivalent. In view of these results, the TROSS appears to be an instrument that can confidently be used as a screening instrument in a social skills assessment package.     

The effects of articulatory suppression on reading ideographic and alphabetic numbers

The present experiments investigated the effects of articulatory suppression on reading numbers written alphabetically (one, two, etc.) or as Arabic numerals (1, 2, etc.). For alphabetic numbers, but not for numerals, a phonological representation can be generated and used for lexical access. If such phonological encoding occurs, and if it is harmed by irrelevant articulatory activity, then articulatory suppression should have a greater effect on the reading of alphabetic than on numeral representations of numbers. In contrast to a finding reported by Baron (1977), involving alphabetic and Roman numerals, in two experiments suppression was found to have essentially equivalent effects on the reading of both types of numbers. A third experiment explored a possible explanation for these discrepant findings. It is concluded that although alphabetic and numeral representations of numbers may be processed differently there is no evidence to support the idea that reading alphabetic numbers involves phonological encoding prior to lexical access.     

学校生活适应量表（LASS大学版）修订报告

对学校生活适应量表高中版（LASS高中版）进行修订,编制学校生活适应量表大学版（LASS大学版）。修订后的问卷经因素分析得出4个因素,分别命名为师生关系适应、集体适应、同学关系适应和学业适应。经过质量分析,修订后的问卷有较好的信度和效度,故学校生活适应量表（LASS大学版）可以作为考察大学生学校生活适应性的测量工具。     

图文相关性对不同认知方式大学生阅读影响的眼动研究

阅读是我们日常生活中的一项重要认知活动。利用插图来帮助人们提高阅读理解能力是一种常用的方法。本研究选取了40名大学生做被试,使用眼动仪考察了图文相关程度(高和低)对不同认知方式大学生(场依存型和场独立型)图文阅读的影响。结果发现：(1)图文相关性对不同认知方式读者影响不同,图文相关程度对场独立型读者的阅读成绩无显著影响,但对场依存型读者影响显著。场依存型读者对高相关材料的阅读理解成绩显著优于低相关材料。(2)场依存型读者在阅读不同相关图文时会主动调整加工对象。图文相关高时,场依存型读者更多注视插图;而图文相关低时,场依存型读者更多注视文字内容。此外,场依存型读者在图文之间的转换和对文字的注视点平均持续时间多于场独立型读者。本研究认为,高相关插图有助于提高场依存型读者的阅读成绩;场依存型读者在阅读不同相关程度图文时会主动调整加工对象。     

Developmental changes in units of processing in reading

A visual search task was used to investigate the development of word processing skills used in reading meaningful prose. Children from the second and fourth grades and college students were asked to locate a prespecified letter, syllable, word, or category exemplar as they read through sentences. Target detection time, sentence reading time, and sentence comprehension were measured. The results provide converging evidence that whole words were the preferred units of processing during reading for all three grade levels. Reading rates for sentences in the word search condition were comparable to normal reading rates. The search for smaller units required additional processing time, but word and category search times differed only for the youngest subjects.     

A device for rapid recording of positioning responses in two dimensions

A device for rapid recording of positioning responses is described. It utilizes an extremely simple, low-cost position transducer and two digital voltmeters or their equivalent. The device has the advantages of rapid, accurate measurement, reliability, ease of reading, and the potential for automatic recording of positional data in two dimensions.     

Coherence and Reliability: The Case of Overlapping Testimonies

A measure of coherence is said to be reliability conducive if and only if a higher degree of coherence (as measured) among testimonies implies a higher probability that the witnesses are reliable. Recently, it has been proved that several coherence measures proposed in the literature are reliability conducive in scenarios of equivalent testimonies (Olsson and Schubert 2007; Schubert, to appear). My aim is to investigate which coherence measures turn out to be reliability conducive in the more general scenario where the testimonies do not have to be equivalent. It is shown that four measures are reliability conducive in the present scenario, all of which are ordinally equivalent to the Shogenji measure. I take that to be an argument for the Shogenji measure being a fruitful explication of coherence.     

听障大学生汉语阅读中的绕口令效应：口语经验和阅读能力的影响

听障者阅读时是否激活语音信息是听障者阅读研究领域的热点问题之一。本研究使用眼动技术,采用绕口令材料,考察口语经验和阅读能力对听障大学生汉语阅读中语音激活的影响。结果发现,口语经验较多且阅读能力较高(OHRH)的听障大学生的绕口令效应大于口语经验较少但阅读能力较高(OLRH)的听障大学生,OLRH组的绕口令效应大于口语经验较少且阅读能力较低(OLRL)的听障大学生。局部指标分析发现OHRH和OLRH组在早期和晚期指标上均存在绕口令效应,OLRL组只在晚期指标上才出现绕口令效应。结果表明,口语经验和阅读能力影响听障大学生汉语阅读中的语音激活。     

不同认知灵活性大学生工作记忆和科技文阅读成绩的比较

采用Wisconsin卡片分类测验,根据测验成绩将其分为认知灵活性高、低两组;同时对工作记忆和科技文阅读进行测量。结果发现(1)认知灵活性与工作记忆具有较高相关。(2)认知灵活性高的大学生,科技文阅读成绩好;认知灵活性低的大学生,科技文阅读成绩差。(3)工作记忆与科技文阅读有较高的相关,并达到显善水平。     

Identifying reading strategies using latent semantic analysis: comparing semantic benchmarks.

We explored methods of using latent semantic analysis (LSA) to identify reading strategies in students' self-explanations that are collected as part of a Web-based reading trainer. In this study, college students self-explained scientific texts, one sentence at a time. ISA was used to measure the similarity between the self-explanations and semantic benchmarks (groups of words and sentences that together represent reading strategies). Three types of semantic benchmarks were compared: content words, exemplars, and strategies. Discriminant analyses were used to classify global and specific reading strategies using the LSA cosines. All benchmarks contributed to the classification of general reading strategies, but the exemplars did the best in distinguishing subtle semantic differences between reading strategies. Pragmatic and theoretical concerns of using LSA are discussed.     

Investigating Treatment Fidelity and Social Validity of a Peer-Mediated Postsecondary Reading Intervention

Reading opens many doors and students who do not comprehend well face serious barriers as they enter postsecondary academic institutions. Young people should be able to read and write when they graduate from high school. Such skills allow people to continue their education as well as increase their odds that they can earn an adequate salary. The percentage of 12th graders reading below grade level has remained remarkably stable over the years. A large number of students entering colleges and universities are unable to derive meaning from print at age-expected levels. The purpose of this study was to examine the treatment fidelity and social validity of a systematic and explicitly structured peer-mediated reading comprehension intervention on the reading performance of underprepared postsecondary students. Seven peer mentors and sixteen first-time college students participated in the study. Results indicated the peer-implemented reading program was implemented with high levels of treatment fidelity and social validity while also yielding statistically significant comprehension gains.     

Investigating the boundaries of reading units across ages and reading levels

In Experiments 1 and 2 first-, third-, and seventh-grade children and college subjects circled the letter a while reading passages constructed of words familiar to first graders. First graders made more errors on the letter a embedded in a word than on the word a, whereas the converse was true of the other age groups. In Experiments 3 and 4 first-, second-, fourth-, and seventh-grade children and college students read passages and circled the letter t, making more errors on the common word the than on other words and on correctly spelled than on misspelled words. The effect of misspelling the other words increased with age and reading skill. Our combined results suggest that reading unit size increases with age and reading ability and that, whereas younger children, like adults, unitize common words, the unitization of less common words increases as word configurations become more familiar.