The influence of prior knowledge on specific reading competencies in assessment: Their interrelations and influence on comprehension
Foertsch, Daniel James
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/23688
Description
Title
The influence of prior knowledge on specific reading competencies in assessment: Their interrelations and influence on comprehension
Author(s)
Foertsch, Daniel James
Issue Date
1990
Department of Study
Education, Tests and Measurements
Education, Educational Psychology
Education, Reading
Discipline
Education, Tests and Measurements
Education, Educational Psychology
Education, Reading
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Tests and Measurements
Education, Educational Psychology
Education, Reading
Language
eng
Abstract
The present study set out to examine how prior knowledge may influence specific reading competencies (inference ability and sensitivity to important text information) and how any of these influences may affect reading comprehension test performance. Item options from a state-wide standardized reading comprehension test were classified to determine measures of the reading variables being studied. Recent advances in psychometrics and statistics (e.g., item response theory and linear structural equations) were utilized to address the research questions of this study. Specifically, item-response theory was used to develop parameter estimates for scaling prior knowledge and reading comprehension test performances and to evaluate how these tests measured their intended constructs. In addition to the use of a multivariate regression approach to address specific research questions, a linear structural model approach was used to examine the possible causal relations among the reading variables (prior knowledge, inference ability, text importance) and their influence on reading comprehension. Results concerning specific research questions were reported and addressed in the context of psychological and educational theories of reading, and reading comprehension assessment. The requirements and benefits in applying certain psychometric and advanced statistical techniques was also explored. Finally, implications for future reading research efforts and speculations on the future of reading comprehension assessment was discussed.
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