Revised Procedures for Developing Reading-Input Materials and Reading-Storage Tests

Abstract

Abstract. Reading-input and reading-storage are two new, completely objective techniques, useful for measuring certain aspects of reading. Reading-input is similar to the cloze technique. Reading-storage appears to provide a good measure of reading comprehension. Reading-input and reading-storage materials are produced from prose materials using algorithms. A revised algorithm is presented for preparing reading-input materials which is easier to implement than the earlier version. A new algorithm is also presented for preparing reading-storage tests. This new algorithm produces a test quite different from that of its forerunner, and one much easier to implement. These two new techniques are compared to the multiple-choice and cloze techniques and found to encompass most of their advantages while compensating for most of their disadvantages.Standardized procedures exist for developing a variety of informationprocessing type measures for prose materials (Carver, 1971a). One of these standardized techniques, reading-input, is similar to the cloze technique and is designed to replace the cloze technique as an indicant of the readability or difficulty of prose materials. Reading-input might be considered "second generation" cloze. The usefulness of the reading-input materials has been demonstrated in several ways. A standardized reading test has been developed using the reading-input procedures (Carver 1971c). Reading-input scores appear to be as valid as cloze scores for estimating readability or input accuracy (Carver, 1975c). Also, reading-input provides a useful technique for facilitating learning from prose materials (see Carver, 1975a). Although the reading-input procedures produce valid and useful materials, the algorithm originally presented for producing the materials is unnecessarily complicated in some respects. One purpose of this article is to provide a simplified algorithm for the development of reading-input materials.A second purpose of this article is to provide the algorithm for developing the a

Manipulation of Attention during Reading Using Programmed Prose

“…It consisted of the first 1720 words from a journal article about a computer model of reading (see Carver, 1971). The programmed prose for the passage was developed according to the procedures given for the reading-input technique (see Carver, 1975). There were 344 programmed prose items, i.e., one item per each five words of running text.…”

“…The RS-Test items were reading-storage test items developed according to the standard algorithm published elsewhere (Carver, 1975). This test consists of the original material presented in capital letters with every other word having all letters except the initial letter deleted.…”

“…The reading-input technique also preserves the objectivity advantage of the cloze-technique; there is no subjectivity involved in the selection of the alternative wrong words. The alternative wrong words are selected from the surrounding context according to an algorithm that is amenable to computer production (Carver, 1975).…”

Measuring Absolute Amounts of Reading Comprehension Using the Rauding Rescaling Procedure

“…The chunked test and the cloze test used in Carver (1973) would seem to satisfy this criterion, and, indeed, the relationship reported between these objective types of tests and a subjective measure of understanding was found to be linear in that research. The reading-storage algorithm for making comprehension tests (Carver, 1975a) would also seem to satisfy this criterion, because the number of test items linearly increases with the amount of text. The data in Carver (1982) using the reading-storage test have provided strong empirical support for rauding theory, and it is unlikely that this could happen without there being a linear relationship between this empirical indicator, Ä, and A.…”