TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH Chapter 8 (reading tests)

True/false reading tests  one of the most widely used tests of reading comprehension  The scoring: straightforward & quick very reliable indices of reading comprehension if well constr

Chapter 8

Testing reading comprehension

Chapter 8

Testing reading comprehension

I The nature of the reading skills

II Initial stages of reading: matching tests

III Intermediate and advanced stages of

reading: matching tests

IV True/false reading tests

V Multiple choice items

VI Completion items

VII Rearrangement items

IX Open – ended and miscellaneous items

X Cursory reading

IV True/false reading tests

 one of the most widely used tests of reading comprehension

 The scoring: straightforward & quick

very reliable indices of reading comprehension if well constructed and tests & enough items

 Disadvantages of True/False items

chance of giving a correct answer for each item;

(2) 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

concise as possible

 True/false reading tests are classified into 2 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

(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

passage: the most important & related to the broader aims of the language teaching situations

 Notes

should contain the type of reading task which will be demanded of the testees in later real life situation

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

 intermediate level: 200-300 words

 Passages dealing with a series of events, a collection of facts, or

different opinions and attitudes  suitable for multiple choice items

on the length and complexity of the text

VI Completion items

(p.124-129)

or a short phrase, but the test constructors must ensure that there is only one correct answer

completion in the items following 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

have to unscramble or arrange sentences in the correct order

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

systematically & the construction of

a cloze test is purely mechanical.

test is to measure reading comprehension; it measures textual knowledge (an awareness of

cohesion in a text).

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

testees

from one-word answer to one or two sentences

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

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

denote the skills involved in reading quickly: skimming & scanning

to get the gist / main idea of the content

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

 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

administered only when students have been prepared for the tasks involved in such tests