Oddny Judith Solheim

The Impact of Reading Self-Efficacy and Task Value on Reading Comprehension Scores in Different Item Formats

It has been hypothesized that students with low self-efficacy will struggle with complex reading tasks in assessment situations. In this study we examined whether perceived reading self-efficacy and reading task value uniquely predicted reading comprehension scores in two different item formats in a sample of fifth-grade students. Results showed that, after controlling for variance associated with word reading ability, listening comprehension, and nonverbal ability through hierarchical multiple regression analysis, reading self-efficacy was a significant positive predictor of reading comprehension scores. For students with low self-efficacy in reading, reading self-efficacy was a significant positive predictor of multiple-choice comprehension scores but not of constructed-response comprehension scores. For students with high self-efficacy in reading, reading self-efficacy did not account for additional variance in either item format. The implication that the multiple-choice format magnifies the impact of self-efficacy in assessments of reading comprehension is discussed.

The problem of semantic openness and constructed response

During the last three decades the constructed response format has gradually gained entry in large‐scale assessments of reading‐comprehension. In their 1991 Reading Literacy Study The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) included constructed response items on an exploratory basis. Ten years later, in Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2001, the constructed response format is ascribed special significance as bearer of central insights to the definition of reading literacy. This article focuses on the significance of the scoring guides and the relation between these guides on the one hand, and the text and the items on the other hand. A discussion of this relation as it is to be found in PIRLS 2001 is performed, showing both examples of success and more problematic aspects in the operationalisation of the intentions expressed in the theoretical framework for the test. Handling the problem of semantic openness is essential in representing depth of understanding and represents a field of possibilities for further research and development.

Can Test Construction Account for Varying Gender Differences in International Reading Achievement Tests of Children, Adolescents and Young Adults?--A Study Based on Nordic Results in PIRLS, PISA and PIAAC.

Abstract Gender differences in reading seem to increase throughout schooling and then decrease or even disappear with age, but the reasons for this are unclear. In this study, we explore whether differences in the way ‘reading literacy’ is operationalised can add to our understanding of varying gender differences in international large-scale surveys. We first compare the impact of gender on reading literacy in PIRLS 2011 (10-year-olds), Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009 (15-year-olds) and Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2012 (16–24-year-olds), respectively, across the Nordic countries. Then we compare how reading literacy is operationalised in those surveys. We find similar patterns of gender differences across the Nordic countries, with the largest effect sizes in PISA and the smallest in PIAAC. Further, even though the three surveys define reading literacy in similar ways, they operationalise and assess that construct differently. The magnitude of the observed gender differences appears to be associated with certain assessment features including text type, item format, aspects of reading and implementation.

Developmental Dynamics of Early Reading Skill, Literacy Interest and Readers' Self-Concept within the First Year of Formal Schooling.

Abstract Previous studies have documented robust relationships between emergent literacy and later reading performance. A growing body of research has also reported associations between motivational factors and reading in early phases of reading development. However, there is less research about cross-lagged relationships between motivational factors and reading skills in beginning readers. To examine relationships between early reading skills, literacy interest and reader self-concept, we tested 1141 children twice during their first year of formal reading instruction in school. Cross-lagged analysis showed strong stability in reading skills and medium stability in literacy interest and reader self-concept over the first school year. We also found bidirectional relationships between reading skills and self-concept and between the motivational components of literacy interest and reader self-concept. In the final part of the article, we address the potential theoretical progress attainable through the use of cross-lagged designs in this field.

Randomised controlled trials in Scandinavian educational research

ABSTRACT Background: The Scandinavian countries have a long history of implementing social interventions, but the interventions have not been examined using randomised controlled trials until relatively recently compared with countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the history of randomised controlled trials in Scandinavian compulsory schools (grades 0–10; pupil ages 6–15). Specifically, we investigate drivers and barriers for randomised controlled trials in educational research and the differences between the three Scandinavian countries Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Methods: To locate relevant trials, we performed a systematic search of four bibliographic databases and a search for grey literature. Results were combined with trials located through direct contact with researchers and government officials. A trial was included if one or more interventions were randomly assigned to groups of students and carried out in a school setting with the primary aim of improving the academic performance of children aged 6–15 in grades 0–10 in Denmark, Norway, or Sweden. We included both conducted and ongoing trials. Publications that seemed relevant were screened based on full-text versions. Data extraction included information from the included studies on grade level, study period, sample size (N), project owner, funding source, and theme. In addition, we conducted two semi-structured interviews by phone or in person with central employees in funding agencies and ministries and 25 correspondences with researchers and policymakers. Findings and conclusion: RCTs in grades 0–10 were few in all of Scandinavia until about 2011, after which there was an increase in all three countries, although at different rates. The largest number of trials has been conducted in Denmark, and the increase is more marked in Denmark and Norway compared with Sweden. International trends towards more impact evaluations and results from international comparisons such as PISA have likely affected the development in all countries, but while many trials in Denmark and Norway are the result of policy initiatives, only one such example in Sweden was identified. We believe the lack of government initiatives to promote RCTs in Sweden is the most likely explanation for the differences across the Scandinavian countries. Funding and coordination from the government are often crucial for the implementation of RCTs and are likely more important in smaller countries such as the Scandinavian ones. Supporting institutions have now been established in all three countries, and we believe that the use of RCTs in Scandinavian educational research is likely to continue.

Towards an Integrated View of Literacy

No abstract available. (Published: 23 September 2015) Nordic Journal of Literacy Research, Vol. 1, 2015, pp. 13. http://dx.doi.org/10.17585/njlr.v1.167