A comparison of the sensitivity of two prose analysis models to developmental differences in free recall of text∗

This article was based on a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston, Massachusetts, April, 1980.

Abstract

Two prose analysis models (Kintsch, 1974; Meyer, 1975) were compared to determine the sensitivity of each to developmental differences in children's recall of prose. The Meyer analysis revealed that older “good” readers showed significantly higher recall of certain idea units than younger “good” readers or “poor” readers of any age. This analysis suggests that older “good” readers are better able to recall certain implicit semantic relationships than their younger or less skilled counterparts. The analysis using the Kintsch model did not reveal any such apparent developmental differences. The authors conclude that the Meyer model, because it explicitly describes the high‐level organization of text of a passage, is more sensitive to such developmental differences.

Notes

This article was based on a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston, Massachusetts, April, 1980.