Verbal Skills as Factors in the Passageless Validation of Reading Comprehension Tests

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The reading passages from the Minnesota Scholastic Aptitude Test were removed from the test booklet and the 30 remaining comprehension questions administered to two adult populations, 101 college freshmen and 17 college faculty. In their answers to these passageless reading comprehension questions, both groups scored better than chance. Comparison of faculty with freshman scores suggested- the hypothesis that verbal skills may be a prominent factor in this task. Correlations of freshman scores on the passageless Minnesota Scholastic Aptitude Test with other measures of their verbal skills were moderately high and significant. Analysis of the test items provided further corroboration of the hypothesis.