| Abstract: | A new type of test item was developed which required Ss to recognize groups of words, i.e., chunks, whose meaning had been changed from that in the original reading or listening passage. In one study involving 52 Ss and 20 test variables, individual differences on the chunked reading test were found to correlate .68 with a multiple-choice alternate form. In another study, the decrease in listening comprehension due to increased speech rate as measured by the chunked items was roughly parallel to the decrease as measured by the multiple-choice questions. These data were interpreted as providing evidence for the validity of the chunked items as measures of comprehension. However, other results suggested that the chunked items may be less dependent upon grammatical and vocabulary knowledge and more sensitive to within individual changes in comprehension as compared to the traditional multiple-choice question. |
