Measuring Inferential Integrative Reasoning Using Modern Objective Measurement

• In Event: 43.061 - Applications of Rasch Models in Educational Assessments

Abstract

Using a researcher-made comic instrument, 72 participants, ages 8-12, provided inferences about various aspects of the narratives. We categorized inferences as Script-Implicit or Text-Implicit (Pearson & Johnson, 1978), or both. We investigated whether these categories are different levels of an ordinal inferential reasoning continuum using Masters’ (1982) Partial Credit Model. Results including a Wright map, mean location increase, fit statistics, and reliability (α=.86), indicate that this construct behaves ordinally. The latent variable was regressed on age, which was significant. Each item type was also modeled as a separate dimension; latent inter-dimension correlations were .76 and higher. This research provides important insights for instruction in narrative comprehension, as well as an example of using modern objective measurement methods.

Authors

• alexander mario blum, University of California - Berkeley

• James M Mason, University of California - Berkeley

• Jinho Kim, University of California - Berkeley

• P. David Pearson, University of California - Berkeley