Understanding and solving arithmetic word problems: A computer simulation

WORDPRO, a computer program written in Interlisp-D, implements Kintsch and Greeno's (1985) theory of the comprehension and solution of simple arithmetic word problems. The program is intended to demonstrate the sufficiency of that theory, to assist in communicating it to other researchers, and to serve as a tool for exploring the theory's consequences. In this paper, I address each of these goals. I describe the behavior of WORDPRO on a set of sample problems, show how empirical predictions are derived from it, and provide enough details of its implementation to allow other researchers to understand its output and (with the internal documentation) to test and modify it to meet their needs.