According to these development guidelines eight projects were designed for potential use in a large-scale survey. A feasibility study in Germany, with samples of approximately 60 respondents per tested project, yielded first satisfactory results. Theoretical considerations and the analysis of the empirical results led to some modifications of the projects and their tasks. A second feasibility study in the United States, with samples ranging from approximately 125 to 210 respondents per tested project, provided more ample insight into how well the projects worked empirically. Together with the feedback from the respondents, the analysis of the results of this second pre-pilot study shaped the way for further developing the projects and making a final selection and modification of the projects to be used in the pilot study.

4.2 Example

The following example illustrates a concrete realization of a project. For this purpose a project that is not included in the final ALL instrument is introduced and one typical problem-solving task is shown. The project is about "Planning a trip and a family reunion".

In the introductory part of the project, the respondent is given the following summary describing the scenario and overall problem:

"Imagine that you live in City A. Your relatives are scattered throughout the country and you would like to organize a family reunion. The reunion will last 1 day. You decide to meet in City B, which is centrally located and accessible to all. Since you and your relatives love hiking, you decide to plan a long hike in a state park close to City B. You have agreed to be responsible for most of the organization."

The respondent is then given a list of steps he or she needs to work through, in this example the following list:

• Set the date for the reunion
• Consider your relatives' suggestions for the hike
• Plan what needs to be done before booking your flight
• Answer your relative's questions about traveling by plane
• Book your flight
• Make sure your ticket is correct
• Plan the trip from City B to the airport

The first task of this project "Set the date for the reunion" is a good example of a typical problem-solving task and is now shown as it would appear in a test booklet.