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Content integration in performance assessment involves mixing different areas of knowledge in one assessment. In this type of testing situation, assessment tasks are designed to measure the ability of students to solve problems by applying their knowledge and skills in multiple content areas. This study examined the effect of integrated science and reading items on the reliability and construct validity of reading assessment for the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP). Using the MSPAP 1998 reading data, this study demonstrated that the integrated science-reading items provide reliable and valid information about the students reading abilities that are comparable to the nonintegrated items. Results suggest that the integrated science-reading items did not compromise the integrity of reading scales in question. There is evidence that the scales are essentially unidimensional. However, there are minor task-related factors that warrant further analysis on the latent structure of the reading scales. This finding is complemented by the high local item dependency among tasks. (Contains 4 tables and 23 references.) (Author/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