5.4.2.2 The Comprehension measures
5.4.2.2.1 Multiple choice task
Scoring criteria for the multiple choice task
Each child had to answer two questions. Each response was scored 1 for correct and 0 for
incorrect. To be scored correct, the response had to be accurate pointing to the target word
on the plate. Any other response (pointing) was scored as incorrect. Each child could get a
score from 0- 2. An error analysis was also carried out.
Analysis
If all children (192 participants) were correct on all target words (2 items) the maximum total
score would be 384 for all the participants in each post test. As the figure 5.4 below shows,
children’s successful performance reached the 95.3% during the immediate post test and
82% during the delayed post test. The multiple choice task was an easy task for the children.
Figure 5.4 Children’s performance on the multiple choice task for both tests
400
350
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250
200
150
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Immediate post test Delayed post test
Г I Wrong responses
Correct responses
To what extent does children ,s performance on the multiple choice task differ by age ?
If all children from each age group (64 participants) were correct on the two target words,
the maximum total score would be 128 for each age group and each post test. Figure 5.5
illustrates children’s performance on the multiple choice task by age for both post tests. As
the figure shows the older children performed better than the younger ones. Significant
correlations were found between children’s age and their performance on the multiple choice
task for both post tests. The same pattern was evident, even when children’s vocabulary and
memory scores were controlled for (see Table in Appendix 5.13 for correlations).