One Criticism of Reading Comprehension Tests Is That While They

question 21

Essay

One criticism of reading comprehension tests is that while they may measure reading comprehension, they also measure other factors not related to reading comprehension. A reading comprehension (RC) test on a major college entrance exam provides short English prose passages, and the examinees answer a set of multiple-choice items about the passage. To see if particular items measure something other than RC, investigators gave the RC test without the reading passages to a random sample of psychology students. The investigators reasoned that if questions were measuring knowledge or memory rather than just RC, students would answer questions at a higher rate than chance (20%, since there were 5 choices for each question.)​
Suppose that on one question, 30 out of 100 examinees answered the question correctly. Is this sufficient evidence that students are using more than just reading comprehension to answer this question? Test the relevant hypothesis using α = 0.05.

---

Definitions:

Bureaucratic Organization

A type of organization structured through a hierarchy of authority with a clear set of rules and procedures aimed at achieving efficiency and predictability in operations.

ID Numbers

Unique sequences of numbers assigned to individuals or entities for identification purposes.

Deans Teaching

A situation where deans, who are senior academic officials in universities, engage directly in teaching courses, usually in their field of expertise.

Charismatic Authority

Authority based in the perception of remarkable personal qualities in a leader.