The development and standardization of a map reading test for grade nine students in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador

Laracy, Peter T. (1984) The development and standardization of a map reading test for grade nine students in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop and standardize a map reading test that could be used to assess the attainment of beginning grade nine students. The review of research and related literature pertaining to map skills indicated a need for assessment instruments to be relevant to local and regional skills objectives. -- Consequently, this researcher focused on the development of a test which assessed twenty-eight skill statements which had been formulated on the basis of a study of the curriculum guides and textbooks currently used in the social studies programs in the province of Newfoundland. The test attempted to assess student's ability in the use of direction, elevation, location, scale, grid systems and map interpretation. -- The following of test development procedures resulted in the creation of a revised form of the test based on suggestions from a professional cartographer, a testing expert, geography teachers, a social studies specialist and data obtained in trial testing of the instrument. -- Using a cluster sampling technique, the revised instrument was administered to two hundred twenty grade nine students in ten schools across nine different school boards in the province of Newfoundland. -- The analysis of test results involved computing mean percentage scores of all students in each skill area. On the test as a whole, the students' mean percentage score was sixty-six percent. A Kuder-Richardson 20 reliability coefficient of .89 was obtained for the test. Norms for the test were developed by transforming raw scores to T scores and percentile ranks. -- The limitations of the study were discussed. Also, a number of suggestions for further research were presented. -- On the basis of the findings of the study, it was concluded that an instrument for assessing the map reading skills of beginning grade nine students had been developed that (a) was valid and reliable; (b) could be used to diagnose students' skill deficiencies; and (c) permitted comparison of students' performance with established norms.

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