Reading is a multidimensional construct at child-L2-English-literacy onset, but comprises fewer dimensions over time: Evidence from multidimensional IRT analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 026553222110452
Author(s):  
Shangchao Min ◽  
Kyoungwon Bishop ◽  
Howard Gary Cook
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Reading Tests ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Multidimensional Construct ◽  
Level Increase ◽  
English Literacy

This study explored the interplay between content knowledge and reading ability in a large-scale multistage adaptive English for academic purposes (EAP) reading assessment at a range of ability levels across 1–12 graders. The datasets for this study were item-level responses to the reading tests of ACCESS for ELLs Online 2.0. A sample of 10,000 test takers were each time randomly drawn from the test-taking population at five grade clusters without manipulation on proficiency levels, and then with manipulation on proficiency levels. The results indicated that although the bi-factor multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) model fit the data significantly better than the unidimensional two-parameter logistic (2PL) model for Grade 1, no clear evidence can be found regarding the dimensionality of the test for Grades 2–12. However, content knowledge was consistently found to contribute substantially to test performance for low-ability-level test takers across all grade clusters. The findings indicate that EAP reading ability is a multidimensional construct in the onset of EAP reading ability development, but the presence of multidimensionality decreases as proficiency level and grade level increase. This study provides insights into the developmental pattern of the interplay between language and content in EAP reading contexts.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IELTS: A STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE ON READING COMPREHENSION.Caroline Clapham. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Pp. xiii + 303. $52.95 cloth, $26.95 paper.

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-113
Author(s):  
Carol A. Chapelle
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Reading Tests ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Specific Reading ◽  
Subject Specific ◽  
The Subject

Can scores on L2 reading tests be interpreted as indicators of reading ability alone, or must they be considered indicators of the test takers' reading ability in addition to their knowledge of the subject matter chosen for a particular test? This book reports the results of a large-scale study investigating this question through analysis of ESL/EFL learners' performance on subject-specific reading tests.

scholarly journals Diagnosis of tuberculosis in wildlife: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jobin Thomas ◽  
Ana Balseiro ◽  
Christian Gortázar ◽  
María A. Risalde
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
Meat Industry ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
Serological Tests ◽  
Ongoing Research

AbstractAnimal tuberculosis (TB) is a multi-host disease caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC). Due to its impact on economy, sanitary standards of milk and meat industry, public health and conservation, TB control is an actively ongoing research subject. Several wildlife species are involved in the maintenance and transmission of TB, so that new approaches to wildlife TB diagnosis have gained relevance in recent years. Diagnosis is a paramount step for screening, epidemiological investigation, as well as for ensuring the success of control strategies such as vaccination trials. This is the first review that systematically addresses data available for the diagnosis of TB in wildlife following the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The article also gives an overview of the factors related to host, environment, sampling, and diagnostic techniques which can affect test performance. After three screenings, 124 articles were considered for systematic review. Literature indicates that post-mortem examination and culture are useful methods for disease surveillance, but immunological diagnostic tests based on cellular and humoral immune response detection are gaining importance in wildlife TB diagnosis. Among them, serological tests are especially useful in wildlife because they are relatively inexpensive and easy to perform, facilitate large-scale surveillance and can be used both ante- and post-mortem. Currently available studies assessed test performance mostly in cervids, European badgers, wild suids and wild bovids. Research to improve diagnostic tests for wildlife TB diagnosis is still needed in order to reach accurate, rapid and cost-effective diagnostic techniques adequate to a broad range of target species and consistent over space and time to allow proper disease monitoring.

scholarly journals Face Perception Deficits in Developmental Prosopagnosia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ella Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
The Face ◽  
Component Processes ◽  
Severe Difficulty ◽  
Scale Experiment

<p>Face recognition is a fundamental cognitive function that is essential for social interaction – yet not everyone has it. Developmental prosopagnosia is a lifelong condition in which people have severe difficulty recognising faces but have normal intellect and no brain damage. Despite much research, the component processes of face recognition that are impaired in developmental prosopagnosia are not well understood. Two core processes are face perception, being the formation of visual representations of a currently seen face, and face memory, being the storage, maintenance, and retrieval of those representations. Most studies of developmental prosopagnosia focus on face memory deficits, but a few recent studies indicate that face perception deficits might also be important. Characterising face perception in developmental prosopagnosia is crucial for a better understanding of the condition. In this thesis, I addressed this issue in a large-scale experiment with 108 developmental prosopagnosics and 136 matched controls. I assessed face perception abilities with multiple measures and ran a broad range of analyses to establish the severity, scope, and nature of face perception deficits in developmental prosopagnosia. Three major results stand out. First, face perception deficits in developmental prosopagnosia were severe, and could be comparable in size to face memory deficits. Second, the face perception deficits were widespread, affecting the whole sample rather than a subset of individuals. Third, the deficits were mainly driven by impairments to mechanisms specialised for processing upright faces. Further analyses revealed several other features of the deficits, including the use of atypical and inconsistent strategies for perceiving faces, difficulties matching the same face across different pictures, equivalent impact of lighting and viewpoint variations in face images, and atypical perceptual and non-perceptual components of test performance. Overall, my thesis shows that face perception deficits are more central to developmental prosopagnosia than previously thought and motivates further research on the issue.</p>

Innovations in Blended-Learning

2014 ◽  
pp. 295-306
Author(s):  
Edith Gotesman ◽  
Miri Krisi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Computer Technology ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Reading Tests ◽  
Sample Group ◽  
E Learning

This research was born out of a necessity to accommodate students with learning disabilities who study English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at the Ashkelon Academic College in Israel. It was aimed at examining whether a convergence of traditional teaching and computer technology complemented by e-learning could assist students with Learning Disabilities (LD) to bypass their initial disadvantages when it came to studying English. Groups of LD students selected for study were given five regular and two guided reading tests to explore whether the use of blended learning improved the reading comprehension abilities of students in the sample group.

An Exploration of the Relationships Between Different Reading Strategies and IELTS Test Performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Rob Kim Marjerison ◽  
Pengfei Liu ◽  
Liam P. Duffy ◽  
Rongjuan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Reading Tests ◽  
Reading Processes ◽  
Academic Reading ◽  
Correlational Design ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Test Outcomes ◽  
Us University

This study explores which types of IELTS Academic Reading strategies are used, and the impact of these strategies on test outcomes. The study was a quantitative research, using descriptive-correlational design based on data collected from students at Sino-US University in China. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The method used in this study was a partial replication the work of a previous researcher's exploration of the reading processes learners engage in when taking IELTS Reading tests. Participants first finished an IELTS reading test, and then completed a written retrospective protocol. The analysis reveals that there is a moderately positive relationship between the choice of text preview strategy (from 1 to 5) and the outcome. A pattern was identified that using expeditious reading strategies to initially locate information, and more careful reading strategies to identify answers to the question tasks was common among high-scoring participants.

scholarly journals Effect of a Canine-Assisted Read Aloud Intervention on Reading Ability and Physiological Response: A Pilot Study

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suk-Chun Fung
Keyword(s):  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Third Graders ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Reading Tests ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Character Reading ◽  
Grade 3

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an increase in the reading fluency and accuracy of three lower performing third-graders after participating in a canine-assisted read-aloud program, as well as an increase in the relaxation level during and after the program. This study employed a pre-test-post-test design to test the hypotheses that gains would be made in both reading fluency and reading accuracy upon completion of the program. The three grade 3 students were assessed by the Chinese Character Reading Test and the Reading Fluency Test. During the intervention, they read to a trained canine in the presence of a handler. Three days after the completion of the seven 20-min interventions, the participants were assessed by the two standardized reading tests a second time. Heart rate variability (HRV) responses to the pre-test, the intervention and the post-test were recorded. The three grade 3 students attained a higher level of relaxation while reading to the dog and increased their reading fluency after the reading sessions. These results provided preliminary evidence that the canine-assisted read-aloud program can increase the reading performance of children with lower performance. Implications for future research and reading programs will be discussed.

scholarly journals Cloze testing for comprehension assessment: The HyTeC-cloze

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Kleijn ◽  
Henk Pander Maat ◽  
Ted Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Text Comprehension ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Secondary School Students ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cloze Procedure ◽  
Testing Center

Although there are many methods available for assessing text comprehension, the cloze test is not widely acknowledged as one of them. Critiques on cloze testing center on its supposedly limited ability to measure comprehension beyond the sentence. However, these critiques do not hold for all types of cloze tests; the particular configuration of a cloze determines its validity. We review various cloze configurations and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. We propose a new cloze procedure specifically designed to gauge text comprehension: the Hybrid Text Comprehension cloze (HyTeC-cloze). It employs a hybrid mechanical-rational deletion strategy and semantic scoring of answers. The procedure was tested in a large-scale study, involving 2926 Dutch secondary school students with 120 unique cloze tests. Our results show that, in terms of reliability and validity, the HyTeC-cloze matches and sometimes outperforms standardized tests of reading ability.

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