Thorndike Scale Alpha appears to test comprehension of the questions as much as comprehension of the passage read¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoreticalr2·q1
Currency · newest study 1919 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q1 i? Thorndike Scale Alpha, which calls for answers to questions on the paragraph read, eliminates the memory factor but, per Thorndike's own analysis of mistakes, seems to test comprehension of the questions as much as of the passage. → J. C. Bell 1919
Evidence¶
J. C. Bell 1919¶
J. C. Bell. (1919). Problems in Reading. The Journal of Educational Psychology, Volume X, Number 8. https://psycnet.apa.org/journal/edu
q1 · i? · theoretical · r2
Editorial assessment of Thorndike Scale Alpha, attributed by the editorial to Thorndike's own analysis of mistakes in answers; the editorial reports no new data of its own.
"from Thorndike's own analysis of the mistakes in the answers the test seems to be one of the comprehension of the questions as much as comprehension of the passage read."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Classroom reading comprehension practice differs from formal assessment in item placement relative to the passage — related
- Vocabulary Instruction Improves Comprehension — related
- Reciprocal Teaching Improves Reading Comprehension — related
- In operational reading-test data, ignoring local dependence inflates reliability estimates, with passage-based alpha 2.3%-4.9% lower than item-based alpha across six test forms — related
- Free narrative reports are incomplete but relatively free from mistakes, while interrogatory reports contain a large proportion of wrong statements — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
thorndike-scale-alpha-questions-not-passage |
title |
Thorndike Scale Alpha appears to test comprehension of the questions as much as comprehension of the passage read |
description |
Thorndike Scale Alpha appears to test comprehension of the questions as much as comprehension of the passage read |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
1919 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-23 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — j-c-bell-1919 |
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