Mathematics Achievement Tests and Reading.

The purposes of this study were to determine the relationship between item readability and item difficulty in a standardized mathematics achievement test, and to determine if students could raise their mathematics achievement scores if they were given aid in reading items that presented them with reading difficulty. Two hundred third and fourth grade students from metropolitan Denver were selected for the study. It was concluded that the ability to read test items on a mathematics achievement test is a factor in the overall score, and that systematic instruction in some vocabulary words prior to the administration of a test could improve students' scores. The implications of the study are also examined. (RB)