The Purdue Elementary Problem-Solving Inventory

Abstract

The Purdue Elementary Problem-solving Inventory was designed to measure problem-solving abilities of socioeconomically disadvantaged children of different ethnic backgrounds in Grades 1 to 6 using real-life tasks. The test consists of 49 problems which are presented as slides portraying children in cartoon form in real-life situations. Ss respond by listening to a tape recording of directions, problem descriptions, and alternatives and then drawing an “X” in a test booklet over the alternative of their choice which may be a picture or a verbal description. The inventory was designed to measure the following abilities: sensing that a problem exists, defining the problem, asking questions, guessing causes, clarifying the goal of the problem situation, judging if more information is needed, analyzing details, redefining familiar objects for unusual uses, seeing implications, solving single- and multiple-solution problems, and verifying solutions. Reliability (KR-20) of the inventory is .79. Analyses of variance demonstrated that ethnic background accounted for only 3% of the variance and SES only 5% while grade level accounted for 37% A principal factor analysis demonstrated that six of the cognitive operations are indeed assessed.