Word Maturity: A New Metric for Word Knowledge

A new metric, Word Maturity, estimates the development by individual students of knowledge of every word in a large corpus. The metric is constructed by Latent Semantic Analysis modeling of word knowledge as a function of the reading that a simulated learner has done and is calibrated by its developing closeness in information content to that of a simulated literate adult. Individual human learner knowledge is aligned with the simulation by adaptive testing. Evidence of accuracy, example applications to vocabulary assessment, teaching and reading research, properties of the metric, and a conjecture about its possible wider importance are described.

[1]  T. Landauer.  LSA as a Theory of Meaning , 2007 .

[2]  B. Wright,et al.  Best test design , 1979 .

[3]  R. Hambleton,et al.  Item Response Theory , 1984, The History of Educational Measurement.

[4]  L. Verhoeven,et al.  Prediction of the development of reading comprehension: A longitudinal study. , 2008 .

[5]  Michael N Jones,et al.  Representing word meaning and order information in a composite holographic lexicon. , 2007, Psychological review.

[6]  Peter W. Foltz,et al.  The intelligent essay assessor: Applications to educational technology , 1999 .

[7]  Danielle S. McNamara,et al.  Handbook of latent semantic analysis , 2007 .

[8]  Dean R. Smith.  The Lexile Scale in Theory and Practice. Final Report. , 1989 .

[9]  Thomas K. Landauer,et al.  On the computational basis of learning and cognition: Arguments from LSA , 2002 .

[10]  Margaret G. McKeown,et al.  Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction , 2002 .

[11]  Michael W. Berry,et al.  Mathematical Foundations Behind Latent Semantic Analysis , 2007 .

[12]  G. Rasch.  On General Laws and the Meaning of Measurement in Psychology , 1961 .

[13]  Michael I. Jordan,et al.  Latent Dirichlet Allocation , 2001, J. Mach. Learn. Res..

[14]  Arthur C. Graesser,et al.  Coh-Metrix: Analysis of text on cohesion and language , 2004, Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.

[15]  Steven A. Stahl,et al.  The Effects of Vocabulary Instruction: A Model-Based Meta-Analysis , 1986 .

[16]  Kevyn Collins-Thompson,et al.  Measuring incremental changes in word knowledge: Experimental validation and implications for learning and assessment , 2008, Behavior research methods.

[17]  Michael L. Littman,et al.  Automatic Cross-Language Retrieval Using Latent Semantic Indexing , 1997 .

[18]  T. Landauer.  Automatic Essay Assessment , 2003 .

[19]  Vladimir M. Sloutsky,et al.  Learning Words from Context , 2008 .

[20]  T. Landauer,et al.  A Solution to Plato's Problem: The Latent Semantic Analysis Theory of Acquisition, Induction, and Representation of Knowledge. , 1997 .

[21]  Curt Burgess,et al.  Explorations in context space: Words, sentences, discourse , 1998 .

[22]  Jeanne Sternlicht Chall,et al.  Poor Children's Fourth-Grade Slump. , 2003 .

[23]  Mark Steyvers,et al.  Finding scientific topics , 2004, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[24]  P. Meara,et al.  An alternative to multiple choice vocabulary tests , 1987 .

[25]  Peter W. Foltz,et al.  Supporting Content-Based Feedback in On-Line Writing Evaluation with LSA , 2000, Interact. Learn. Environ..

[26]  A Biemiller,et al.  Words worth teaching. , 2009 .

[27]  D. Langenberg.  Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction , 2000 .

[28]  Patricia A. Herman,et al.  Breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge: Implications for acquisition and instruction. , 1987 .

[29]  Todd R. Risley,et al.  The Early Catastrophe. The 30 Million Word Gap. , 2003 .

[30]  Pedro F. Miret,et al.  Wikipedia , 2008, Monatsschrift für Deutsches Recht.

[31]  R. Sternberg.  Most vocabulary is learned from context. , 1987 .

[32]  Scott Dooley,et al.  Summary Street®: Computer Support for Comprehension and Writing , 2005 .

[33]  J. Read,et al.  Validating a Test to Measure Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge , 2013 .

[34]  Charles A. Perfetti,et al.  Effects of Long-Term Vocabulary Instruction on Lexical Access and Reading Comprehension. , 1982 .

[35]  Walter P. Vispoel,et al.  Psychometric Characteristics of Computer-Adaptive and Self-Adaptive Vocabulary Tests: The Role of Answer Feedback and Test Anxiety. , 1998 .

[36]  Rebecca J. Panagos.  Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children , 1998 .

[37]  S. Suter.  Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children , 2005, European Journal of Pediatrics.

[38]  Margaret G. McKeown,et al.  The Effects and Uses of Diverse Vocabulary Instructional Techniques , 1987 .

[39]  I.S.P. Nation,et al.  Vocabulary learning and reading , 1978 .

[40]  Batia Laufer,et al.  Size and strength: do we need both to measure vocabulary knowledge? , 2004 .