Report on the Development and Validation of a System for Measuring Literal Comprehension in a Multiple-Choice Cloze Format: Preliminary Factor Analytic Results

Abstract

This report summarizes the results of a series of factor analyses of a new test of literal comprehension using a multiple-choice cloze format. These analyses were conducted in the validation of a test designed to measure for the most part a factor of literal comprehension independent of IQ and inferential reading processes, yet marked by certain related types of test items included in standardized and other measures of literal comprehension. In this study, the Multiple-Choice Cloze (MCC) test was administered to a sample of 3,125 students in grades 1–6 in a medium-sized urban school district in conjunction with its annual standardized testing program. Besides the MCC, other measures included in the analyses were an alternate measure of literal comprehension based on Bormuth's wh-item, a measure of passage independence based on wh-items, the Short Form Test of Academic Aptitude, and the California Achievement Test. The factor analytic results support the conclusion that the MCC measures literal comprehension, a trait that is essentially independent of IQ. However, it was also determined that the MCC had minor loadings on a second, and possibly a third, component related to IQ, inferential reading skills, and language mechanics.