Story Problem Formats: Drawn versus Verbal versus Telegraphic

Abstract

Eight story problems in a drawn format, eight matching problems in a verbal format, and eight matching problems in a telegraphic format were administered to 854 students in tests at each grade from 3 to 7. Scoring was based on the choice of correct operations to solve the problem. Readers of high ability, as measured by a reading test, chose correct operations more often than low-ability readers. The drawn format was easier than the other two formats. A significant format-by-reading-ability interaction revealed that the advantage of the drawn format was greater for low readers than for high readers.