Group members :

Alice Juan, Jessica, Erin, Jennifer

Outline and work distribution for presentation

Principles for testers

A. The definition of readingB. The nature of readingC. Variables that affect the

nature of reading D. Implications for test design E. The formats of reading test

The Definition of reading

Reading Assessment Advisory Committee (RAAC) recommended a definition of reading:

Reading is a dynamic process in which the reader interacts with the text to construct meaning.  Inherent in constructing meaning is the reader's ability to activate prior knowledge, use reading strategies and adapt to the reading situation.

(http://www.pasd.k12.pa.us/PSSA/Reading/rahand7.htm )

The Nature of Reading

Reading can be summarized by explaining a number of processes:

1.Perceptual processing

2.Word recognition

3.Syntactic processing

4.Semantic processing

5.Metalinguistic processing

6.Comprehension

The Nature of reading(2)

Reading was seen as a linear, almost mechanical process that started with readers processing each letter, combining letters into words, looking up the meaning of these words in lexical memory, storing meanings briefly in short-term memory, and finally combining word meanings to form first, sentence meaning, and then meaning for larger portions of the text. (Reynolds)

Variables that affect the nature of reading

Reader variables The reader’s background and subject/topic

knowledge, their cultural knowledge and their knowledge of the language in which the target texts are written. The reader’s ability to process printed information is clearly crucial. Text variables

Linguistic features of text clearly affect readability of text and reader’s comprehension, and text type, organization and so on as well as text topic influence how well readers can process meaning. Many features of text need to be considered in the design of tests of reading.

Implications for test design

1. Reading might be tested within a content-focused battery: texts that carry meaning for readers, that interest them, that relate to their academic background, leisure interests, intellectual level and so on, might motivate a deeper reading than the traditional, relatively anodyne or even contentless texts.

2. Students should be tested on a range of relevant skills and strategies, with the results possibly being provided in a diagnostic, profile-based format.

Implications for test design

3. Background knowledge should be recognized as influencing all comprehension, and therefore every attempt should be made to allow background knowledge to facilitate performance.

4. Tests should be open to the possibility of multiple interpretations.

5. Test designers need to consider to what extent their tests reflect and build upon what recent research into reading suggests about the process, not just the product.

Formats of Reading Assessment

1. Cloze testCloze Tests are reading passages with the blanks representing words that are deleted from the original text; the blanks are to be filled in by the reader (Taylor 1953)

Types of Cloze Test

a. Fixed Ratio Cloze or Nth word deletionWords are deleted systematically by counting off, regardless of the part of speech.

b. Rational Deletion ClozeWords are deleted by part of speech or content area vocabulary.

c. Maze TechniqueThree word choices are provided at each missing word interval.

d. Limited ClozeWord choices (one per blank) are provided all together in a word bank at the top or bottom of the page.

2. Multiple Choice Test

Multiple-choice questions are a common device for testing students’ text comprehension. They allow testers to control the range of possible answers to comprehension questions, and to some extent to control students’ thought processes when responding. ( Example )

3. Matching

One alternative objective techniques for the testing of reading is multiple matching. Here two sets of stimuli have to be matched against each other as, for example, matching headings for paragraphs to their corresponding paragraph, titles of books against extracts from each book, and so on. (Example)

4. Ordering tasks (Strip stories)

Candidates are given a scrambled set of words, sentences, paragraphs or texts and have to put them into their correct order. The ordering tasks can offer the possibility of testing the ability to detect cohesion, overall text organization. (Example)

5. Editing Tests

Editing tests consist of passages in which errors have been introduced, which the candidate has to identify. These errors can be in multiple choice format, or can be more open, for example by asking candidates to identify one error per line of text and to write the correction opposite the line. (Example)

6. The C-test

The C-test is based upon the same theory of closure or reduced redundancy as the cloze test. In C-tests, the second half of every second word is deleted and has to be restored by the reader.

7. Short-answer tests

Test-takers are simply asked a question which requires a brief response, in a few words, not just Yes/No or True/False. The justification for this format is that it is possible to interpret students’ responses to see if they have really understood, whereas on multiple-choice items students give no justification for the answer they have selected and may have chosen one by eliminating others.

8. The free-recall test

In free-recall tests (sometimes called immediate-recall tests), students are asked to read a text, to put it to one side, and then to write down everything they can remember from the text. The free-recall test is often held to provide a purer measure of comprehension, since test questions do not intervene between the reader and the text.

9. The summary test

Students read a text and then are required to summarize the main ideas, either of the whole text or of a part, or those ideas in the text that deal with a given topic. It is believed that students need to understand the main ideas of the texts, to separate relevant from irrelevant ideas, to organize their thoughts about the text and so on, in order to be able to do the task satisfactorily. (Example: Gapped Summary)

10. Information-transfer test

The students’ task is to identify in the target text the required information and then to transfer it, often in some transposed form, on to a table, map pr whatever.

Reference

Alderson, J. Charles. Assessing Reading. Cambridge university Press, 2000. The FEC Trainer ( http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/tests/tsindex.htm)Assessment for Language Minority Students(http://wolves.dsc.k12.ar.us/ESL/assessment.htm)Reading Assessment Handbook (http://www.pasd.k12.pa.us/PSSA/Reading/rahand7.htm )Reynolds, Ralph E. Understanding the Nature of Reading Comprehension (http://www.fmls.nu/sprakaloss/reinolds_englich.htm

Evaluation for JCEE and CEEC

A. Background information of JCEE and CEECB. Evaluation of JCEEC. Evaluation of CEECD. Comparison

Background InformationJCEE

Test taker—graduate students of senior high/ vocational school Testing time— July 1~3 (89 for example ) How many—about 13 million studentsSubject— 4 groupsHistory— After 1984, testing before choosing an ideal schoolAuthority— 大學聯合招生委員會

Background InformationCEEC

Test takers–graduate students of senior high/vocational schoolTesting time— January 24-25, make-up exam on April 12-13 (91)How many— 14 million studentsSubject— Chinese, English, Math, Science, SocietyHistory— one year (91)Authority— 大學入學考試中心

89 JCEEReading Test

Example 1 (Chapter 2)

Example 2 (Chapter 4)

Item AnalysisExample 1

1. Use Negative Sentencesbad to human minds thinking45.Which of the following is NOT

true?47.Which of the following is NOT a function of tear?

2. Controversial issue “We know that animals also

experience emotion— fear, pleasure, loneliness— but they do not shed tears.”

Item AnalysisExample 2

Ex: a poem

Tricky ways of testing Not the real purpose of test

reading comprehension55. In the poem, which of the

following words was used to rhyme with “rain”?

(A)Wings(B)Pain©Again (D) Spring

Pain & Plain: The only difference is “l”.

General Analysis

1.Face validityAt the first sight, we know

that what it is going to be tested.

2.Test the main idea of the article

The questions are mainly about the general concept. It is easy to get the keys from reading, not much details.

3. Too many negative questionsThe real purpose is to test

how much students comprehending the reading, not to test “What is NOT true?” in the text.

4. Short options(1) advantage: reduce time to comprehend

the meaning of the answer(2) disadvantage: Can these answers really test

reading comprehension ability?

91 CEEC Reading Test

Item analysisGeneral analysis

Question 41-4341. How long had Tim and Dom been at sea when their boat was hit by a fishing boat?

question of simple calculation / vocabulary of months

Question 44-46 44. People enter the world of fantasy for the following reasons EXCEPT that… memorization

Question 47-50There are too many figures to distract test-takers’ attention. 47. According to this passage,

what did Marian Anderson do between 1917 and 1929?

General analysis

1. Content validity : -- non-empirical commonsense,no difficult topic, ex. Science -- used in achievement test and criterion test

2. No tricky distractors.

-- All the answers are easily to be found in the text, no need of much time to think or to infer the answers.

3. Test ability of memorization

more than reading comprehension. -- ex. “EXCEPT” “Questions of time”

4. The texts conform to current tendency. For example, the issue of racism, hot movie – Harry Potter.

Comparison JCEE & CEEC

Format- a piece of paperUsing more negative sentence ex. Not TrueThe description of the answer is shorterThe range of the topic is more professional ex. Poem, Science

Format- a booklet

Using less negative sentenceThe description of the answer is longerThe range of the topic is more related to daily life, common sense ex. Harry Potter