Alternative Displays for Communicating NAEP Results: A Redesign and Validity Study

Five diswlays, chosen from the NAEP 1994 Reading: A First Look , were redesigned. The redesign was informed by the principles developed and enunciated in Wainer's 1997 popular text Visual Revelations. After the redesign was completed a survey of educational policymakers was done in which substantive questions were asked about the content of the various displays. Each redesign was paired with the original and were assigned randomly to one of two survey forms. We found that, on average, the redesigns yielded both more accurate and faster answers to the questions asked. The more difficult the question the greater the disparity between the original format and the redesigned one.