Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
English language--Morphemics; Vocabulary--Study and teaching;
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to develop and initially validate a test of students' use of morphemic analysis in deriving word meaning. Eight steps in test construction were followed: (a) definition of test objectives, (b) definition of target population, (c) review of related measures, (d) development of an item pool, (e) preparation of a prototype, (f) evaluation of the prototype, (g) revision of the measure, and (h) collection of data on test validity and reliability. The field testing was conducted with 15 fifth-grade and 15 sixth-grade readers who lived in a midwestern town with a population of about 35,000. The subjects were average readers according to their performance on a standardized reading assessment. The morphemic analysis test consisted of two subtests of 12 words each that were matched according to frequency, imagery, length, number of syllables, and pronounceability. The subtests varied according to morphemic composition. One subtest contained monomorphemic words (e.g., avalanche), and the other contained suffixed words (e.g., betrayal). Each word was placed in a sentence context. A 3-point system was used for scoring subjects' free-response definitions of the target words. Analyses of the data revealed that while some aspects of the test were satisfactory, the test as a whole could not be recommended for use in its present form. Suggestions for modifications were presented.
Year of Submission
1985
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Education
Department
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
First Advisor
David W. Moore
Second Advisor
Ned Ratekin
Third Advisor
Marlene Strathe
Date Original
1985
Object Description
1 PDF file (86 leaves)
Copyright
©1985 Maelou Kelly Baxter
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Baxter, Maelou Kelly, "The Development and Initial Validation of a Test of Students’ Use of Morphemic Analysis in Deriving Word Meaning" (1985). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2016.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2016
Comments
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