Chapter 8 presents testing reading comprehension. The main contents in this chapter includes: The nature of the reading skills, initial stages of reading: matching tests, Intermediate and advanced stages of reading: matching tests, true/false reading tests,...
Chapter Testing reading comprehension Chapter Testing reading comprehension I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X The nature of the reading skills Initial stages of reading: matching tests Intermediate and advanced stages of reading: matching tests True/false reading tests Multiple choice items Completion items Rearrangement items Cloze procedure Open – ended and miscellaneous items Cursory reading IV True/false reading tests one of the most widely used tests of reading comprehension The scoring: straightforward & quick scoring obtained by the testees very reliable indices of reading comprehension if well constructed and tests & enough items Disadvantages of True/False items (1) (2) encourage guessing- 50% chance of giving a correct answer for each item; the base score is 50%, so the average test difficulty is 75 % the test may fail to discriminate widely enough among the testees unless a lot of items Some guidelines for True/False items Each item should be as clear and concise as possible True/false reading tests are classified into categories: (1) independent of a reading text; (2) depending on a text Notes The construction of true/false items based on a reading extract (type 2) forms one of the most widely used types of reading tests This kind of item is effectively used at both elementary and more advanced levels V Multiple choice items Short texts: (p.116-117) (1) at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels (2) described as a test of comprehension of grammatical structure (3)consisting of a very short reading extract of only a few sentences; The testees to answer only one comprehension test item on each reading passage (see in TOEIC tests) Longer texts a useful way of testing reading comprehension, but not all multiple choice reading tests are necessarily good tests of reading comprehension The sample of the reading passage: the most important & related to the broader aims of the language teaching situations Notes In a test of proficiency, the text should contain the type of reading task which will be demanded of the testees in later real life situation In a class progress test or achievement test, the reading passage should be similar to the type of reading material which students have done at school The length of the reading extract elementary level: 50-100 words intermediate level: 200-300 words advanced level: 400-600 words Passages dealing with a series of events, a collection of facts, or different opinions and attitudes suitable for multiple choice items The number of items depending on the length and complexity of the text VI Completion items (p.124-129) requiring the testees to supply a word or a short phrase, but the test constructors must ensure that there is only one correct answer Type 1: consisting of blanks for completion in the items following the text Type 2: consisting of blanks in the text itself The blanks have been substituted for what the test writer considers the most significant content words VII Rearrangement items useful for testing the ability to understand a sequence of steps in a process or events in a narrative Type (jumbled sentences): Ss have to unscramble or arrange sentences in the correct order Type 2: The jumbled sentences of this type are based on a reading comprehension text and should be unscrambled in the light of the information contained in the text VIII Cloze procedure In cloze tests, words are deleted systematically & the construction of a cloze test is purely mechanical The most common purpose of cloze test is to measure reading comprehension; it measures textual knowledge (an awareness of cohesion in a text) A true cloze text is generally used to measure global reading comprehension although insights can undoubtedly be gained into particular reading difficulties IX Open – ended and miscellaneous items The term ‘open-ended’ refers to questions which elicit a completely subjective response on part of the testees The response required may range from one-word answer to one or two sentences When marking open-ended items, at least two or three marks should be awarded for each correct answer Test constructors should write down precisely how marks should be awarded as the marking scheme will serve as a reminder all the times Brief guidelines are essential if more than one examiner is marking the items The text itself can determine the types of items A reading comprehension passage may be followed by one or two multiple choice items, several true/false items, a few completion items and one or two open-ended items X Cursory reading ‘cursory reading’- a general term to denote the skills involved in reading quickly: skimming & scanning Skimming: glancing through the text to get the gist / main idea of the content Scanning: skills used in reading to locate specific information The actual reading speed considered necessary will be largely determined by the type of the text and will be vary according to the purpose for which it is being read poor readers: below 200 wpm; average speed: 200-300 wpm; fast readers: 300-500 wpm A small number of questions concerning only the major points and general outline of the text are given in tests of skimming Testees are not allowed to refer back to the text while skimming but to jot down notes Tests of speed reading should be administered only when students have been prepared for the tasks involved in such tests ... have done at school The length of the reading extract elementary level: 5 0-1 00 words intermediate level: 20 0-3 00 words advanced level: 40 0-6 00 words Passages dealing with a series of events,... texts: (p.11 6-1 17) (1) at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels (2) described as a test of comprehension of grammatical structure (3)consisting of a very short reading extract of only... miscellaneous items The term ‘open-ended’ refers to questions which elicit a completely subjective response on part of the testees The response required may range from one-word answer to one or two