Downloads & Free Reading Options - Results

The use of confirmatory factor analytic procedures to examine the dimensionality of writing skills as measured by a large-scale direct writing test was illustrated. Internal construct validity evidence about the nature of writing skills measured by the test was provided. Data used were scores assigned by about 100 trained professional raters on a state-wide competency-based test of writing skills. A total of 3,430 students responded to all four prompts of the writing tests. A sequential hypothesis testing strategy was followed for a one-factor model, a two-factor mode-specific model, and a two-factor occasion-specific model. These were compared to a null model specifying no common factors. Results from these analyses provided evidence about the usefulness of the construct-based hypotheses for explaining the variability in data from this test. A one-factor model provided a more plausible and parsimonious representation of the data than did the two-factor hypotheses. Evidence in support of a unidimensional interpretation of the scores suggests there may be little practical distinction between narrative and explanatory scores. A table displays goodness-of-fit statistics. (SLD)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert